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Yunnan: China's Premier Coffee Growing Region

As China's largest coffee-producing region today, Yunnan has attracted the attention of major coffee companies such as Starbucks and Nestlé, who have recognized its immense potential.

The History of Coffee in Yunnan

The history can be traced back to 1892, over 100 years ago, when French missionary Father Alfred Tiende Neng planted the first coffee tree in Zhukula Village, Binchuan County, Dali City. This is generally considered the earliest record of coffee being introduced to Yunnan. In the following 100 years, coffee trees did not grow extensively in this region until multinational companies entered Yunnan in the late 1980s, when this foreign product was replanted and utilized for export worldwide.

After 1930, the renowned overseas Chinese leader Mr. Liang Jinshan brought coffee to Pupiao and Luoming for cultivation, continuing until after the founding of New China. After 1952, under the guidance of Expert Ma Guojin from the Baoshan Tropical Crop Research Institute, large-scale coffee cultivation began in areas such as Lujiang, and the history of large-scale cultivation now spans nearly 60 years.

By the end of 1997, the province's coffee cultivation area had reached 7,800 hectares. Currently, the province's cultivation area accounts for 70% of the national area, and production accounts for 83% of the national total. Whether in terms of cultivation area or coffee bean production, Yunnan coffee has established its dominant position in China.

Appendix: Major Timeline of Yunnan Coffee Development

First Phase: 1880s

The Qing government was forced to sign treaties with France to end the Sino-French War and opened Mengzi (Mengzi County, Honghe Prefecture) as a treaty port. In 1889, the Mengzi Customs opened, initiating the prelude to communication between the southwestern frontier and foreign countries. Foreign merchants flocked in, and foreign companies followed one after another.

Second Phase: 1902

A French missionary with the Chinese name Tian De Neng brought coffee from Vietnam to a mountain village called Zhukula in Dali, Binchuan County, Yunnan Province for cultivation. To this day, descendants of those coffee plants still survive, and the ancient coffee groves tell stories of a century of history in the morning dew and evening glow.

Third Phase: 1952

Experts from the Yunnan Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences distributed 80kg of coffee seeds to farmers in the Lujiang Basin of Baoshan. Several years later, they provided large-scale cultivation guidance, which led to the swaying coffee trees along the Yunnan-Myanmar Road. Due to the huge demand from the Soviet Union, Yunnan's coffee cultivation experienced rapid development.

Fourth Phase: 1988

Nestlé established a joint venture in China and began supporting the development of the local coffee industry in Yunnan by launching coffee cultivation projects. Yunnan coffee rose again. Starting from 1992, Nestlé established a Coffee Agriculture Department specifically to guide and research the improvement and cultivation of Yunnan coffee, purchasing coffee at prices based on the US spot market. To date, not only Nestlé, Maxwell House, Kraft, Starbucks, and other coffee giants are engaged in coffee business in Yunnan, but local coffee enterprises have also gradually developed and grown.

Yunnan Coffee Grading System

Although Yunnan has been growing coffee for many years, overall it is still not mature enough. Its grading system is also rather disorganized.

1) Commonly Used International Grading Standards:

Coffee beans are graded by size using round-hole grading screens. The commonly used international small-bean coffee sizes range from grade 10 to grade 20. The numbers used represent sieve hole diameters as fractions with the number as the numerator and 64 as the denominator, measured in inches. For example: grade 14 refers to green coffee beans that can pass through a sieve with a hole diameter of 14/64 inches or larger, while grade 19 refers to green coffee beans that can pass through a sieve with a hole diameter of 19/64 inches or larger. (1 inch ≈ 2.54 centimeters)

2) Commonly Used Domestic Coffee Grading Standards:

Divided into five grades according to sieve holes of 6.5, 6.0, 5.5, and 5.0 millimeters.

Grade 1: Above 6.5 millimeters, plump and complete.

Grade 2: 6.0-6.4 millimeters, plump and relatively uniform.

Grade 3: 5.3-5.9 millimeters, relatively plump, slightly lacking uniformity.

Grade 4: 5.0-5.4 millimeters, with incomplete grains, complete accounting for over 75%.

Grade 5: Below 5.0 millimeters, with incomplete grains, complete accounting for over 30%.

International Standards for Defect Inspection of Small-Bean Coffee:

Grading is based on the number of defects, often determined by how many defects are present in a certain amount of coffee beans. According to the identification method for impurities and defective beans in coffee stipulated by the International Organization for Standardization, a 300-gram coffee bean sample is randomly selected to calculate impurities and defective beans for grading.

(Source: http://www.yunnancoffee.org/ProductShow.asp?id=84)

Yunnan Coffee Growing Regions

The western and southern parts of Yunnan Province are located between 15° north latitude and the Tropic of Cancer. Most areas have an altitude of 1000-2000 meters, with mountainous and sloping terrain that varies greatly. The fertile soil, abundant sunshine, plentiful rainfall, and significant temperature differences between day and night create the unique characteristics of Yunnan small-bean coffee—strong without bitterness, fragrant without intensity, with a slight fruity flavor.

Coffee cultivation in Yunnan is mainly distributed in Lincang, Baoshan, Pu'er, and Dehong. These regions have the natural resources of low latitude, high altitude, and large temperature differences between day and night, making Yunnan a golden cultivation area for producing high-quality Arabica (small-bean) coffee.

Pu'er

Although Pu'er City is world-famous for tea, its coffee cultivation area has reached 789,000 mu, with coffee bean production of 58,600 tons and a total output value of 2.469 billion yuan. It has become Yunnan's largest coffee cultivation base. Its climate, geography, and soil conditions are uniquely advantageous for coffee cultivation.

Pu'er coffee has a century-long history, with cultivation beginning in the late 19th century and industrialized development in 1988. Today, the city's coffee cultivation area reaches 767,000 mu, making it the mainland's largest cultivation area, highest production, and best-quality coffee-producing region and coffee trade distribution center.

Pu'er City is honored as the "Coffee Capital of China." Besides being China's main coffee-producing area, Pu'er coffee is also exported to more than 30 countries and regions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, creating a new "black gold" market.

Lincang

Lincang City is located in the southwestern part of Yunnan Province, with the Tropic of Cancer running through its southern part. It borders Pu'er to the east, connects to Dali to the north, joins Baoshan to the west, and borders Myanmar to the southwest. It is named after its proximity to the Lancang River and is a brilliant pearl on China's southwestern frontier. Lincang's annual average temperature is between 16.8°C and 17.2°C, with distinct wet and dry seasons and abundant sunshine.

Baoshan

Yunnan Baoshan small-bean coffee has a long cultivation history. Baoshan small-bean coffee can be said to be a national geographical indication product and is one of the better-quality coffees in the country and even globally.

The average temperature in Baoshan is 21.5°C, with a maximum of 40.4°C. It is basically frost-free throughout the year and is recognized as the best small-bean coffee producing area. The small-bean coffee cultivated here is famous at home and abroad for being strong without bitterness, fragrant without intensity, with small and uniform beans, rich mellow flavor, and a fruity taste.

Yunnan Coffee Processing Methods

In Yunnan, the main processing method is the washed method.

The harvested berries are processed through a pulping machine that separates most of the fruit flesh from the coffee beans, and then the parchment beans are guided to a clean water tank, soaked in water for fermentation to completely remove the residual pulp layer. Through washed processing, unripe beans and defective beans are selected out due to buoyancy, and the fermentation process is easier to control. Therefore, unlike sun-dried beans which may have miscellaneous flavors, washed beans present distinct fruit acidity, slightly stronger complexity, and cleaner cup characteristics.

Yunnan Varieties

Varieties

Typica and Bourbon, these two classic high-quality coffee varieties, are the main cultivated varieties in Yunnan. In 1991, the Catimor series was also introduced from Kenya (with stronger virus resistance and higher yield), belonging to the Arabica species (also known as small-bean variety). Because these two varieties have similar morphology and habits, they are often mixed in cultivation.

Growth Period

Yunnan small-bean coffee begins to bear fruit after 3-4 years of growth.

Coffee is a short-daylight plant. Coffee has the characteristic of multiple flowering and concentrated flowering periods. Small-bean coffee in Yunnan flowers from February to July, with the peak flowering period from March to May. Coffee flowering is greatly affected by climate, especially rainfall and temperature. Coffee flowers have a short lifespan of only 2-3 days. Small-bean coffee generally begins to open between 3-5 AM and blooms between 5-7 AM.

Coffee fruit development takes a relatively long time. Small-bean coffee fruit takes 8-10 months to mature, generally maturing from October to December of the same year. Rainfall has a greater impact on fruit development, and climate conditions directly affect fruit development.

Small-bean coffee, scientifically known as Arabica, is a category of coffee with over 100 varieties.

Among them, Typica, Bourbon, and others are recognized worldwide as the best varieties in the Arabica species. What Baoshan locals usually call "old varieties" are actually Typica and Bourbon.

The more common Yunnan beans on the market are of the Catimor variety. Catimor has 1/4 Robusta genes, produces more fruit, is easy to cultivate, and cup testing of this year's AA grade Catimor reveals flavors of barley tea, licorice, chocolate, and caramel, with a deep and rich texture. This differs from our "Yunnan Flower and Fruit Mountain Typica" variety, which has caramel and brown sugar flavors with floral notes. Each has its own merits—only the coffee that suits you is the right choice.

FrontStreet Coffee has also come to Yunnan and started our own coffee cultivation. The coffee seedlings cultivated in the nursery bed last year have now grown to 50 centimeters tall and can be transplanted to suitable mountains this year to continue developing. In the near future, we will have our own grown coffee to drink!

We cultivated 12,000 seedlings this time, mainly Typica, Bourbon, and Yellow Bourbon. Typica and Bourbon, these two classic high-quality coffee varieties, are the main cultivated varieties in Yunnan. In 1991, the Catimor series was also introduced from Kenya (with stronger virus resistance and higher yield), belonging to the Arabica species (also known as small-bean variety). Because Typica and Bourbon have similar morphology and habits, they are often mixed in cultivation.

Let's take a look at the highlights from this Yunnan trip:

Our own coffee—this is Typica, planted in 2017.

The robustly growing coffee seedlings are ready and can be transplanted.

Workers load the coffee seedlings onto trucks for transportation to the mountains for transplantation.

Related recommendations: How to brew Yunnan small-bean coffee beans? Recommended Yunnan small-bean coffee brands.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473