How is Yunnan Coffee? Yunnan Small Bean Coffee Varieties, Flavors, and Brewing Methods

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For Chinese people, coffee seems to carry an inherent exotic quality, labeled as a "foreign product." Little do they know that Made in China Yunnan coffee production has already secured a place in the global coffee output, with coffee brands like Maxwell House and Nestlé sourcing much of their raw materials from here. Yunnan small bean coffee, in particular, has been repeatedly rated as "one of the world's best coffees" by world-class coffee experts.

Those who have tasted Yunnan small bean coffee know that it features uniform and full beans, moderate acidity, fresh aroma, rich fruit fragrance, mellow taste, and richness without harshness. Below, we explore the secrets behind why Yunnan small bean coffee tastes so good.

Currently, the most widely cultivated variety in Yunnan is Catimor—a variation of the Arabica original species, which is an improved variety of Typica with 25% Robusta genes.

From a botanical perspective of coffee, Yunnan small bean coffee shares genetic similarities with the world-renowned Jamaica Blue Mountain and Kona coffees.

Coffee has extremely stringent requirements for growing conditions, with factors like humidity, latitude, and altitude all influencing coffee flavor. The main production areas for small bean varieties include Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Wenshan, Baoshan, Dehong, and Lincang—regions remarkably similar to world-famous coffee origins like Colombia and Jamaica: long sunshine hours, low latitude, high altitude, and significant day-night temperature differences. These conditions produce small bean coffee with moderate acidity, rich and mellow flavor, uniform beans, high oil content, and fruity notes.

Yunnan Baoshan Lujiang small bean coffee can even compete with the world-renowned Blue Mountain coffee. It is a national geographical indication product and has been rated as one of the coffees with better quality both nationally and globally.

Initially, coffee bean processing methods were primarily focused on washing. However, with the growing reputation of small bean coffee, Yunnan has begun adopting special processing methods such as natural, honey, and wine processing.

These processing methods not only add fruity notes and higher sweetness to the beans but also, to some extent, mask the herbal taste inherent in Catimor itself, making the coffee's flavor more full-bodied.

As China's largest coffee origin, Yunnan's coffee cultivation and development history spans just over a hundred years. Today, major coffee companies including Ecom, Starbucks, Arabica Star, and Volcafe have successively established branches here. It is believed that Yunnan coffee will go further and further in the wave of world specialty coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Suggested Brewing Parameters:

Hand pour: V60 dripper, Small Fuji R440 grind 3.5, water temperature around 90°C

French press: suggested grind setting 4, water temperature 90°C

Siphon: suggested grind setting 4, water temperature 90°C~91°C

AeroPress: suggested grind setting 3.5, water temperature 90°C

Related recommendations: How to brew Yunnan small bean coffee, Yunnan small bean coffee brand recommendations

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