Yunnan Premium Coffee Estates: Yunnan Small-Bean Coffee Estates, Chinese Yunnan Coffee, Pour-Over Coffee Flavors

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

Yunnan: China's Premier Coffee Growing Region

The history can be traced back to 1892, more than a century 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. Over the following hundred years the trees did not spread widely, until multinational companies entered Yunnan in the late 1980s, when this foreign crop was replanted and used for export around the world.

After 1930, the renowned overseas Chinese leader Mr. Liang Jinshan brought coffee to Pupiao and Luoming for cultivation, which continued 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 that history of large-scale growing now spans nearly 60 years.

By the end of 1997, the province's coffee cultivation area had reached 7,800 hectares. Today the province accounts for 70% of the national growing area and 83% of national production. Whether measured by cultivation area or 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, beginning the exchange between the southwestern frontier and foreign countries. Foreign merchants flocked in, and foreign companies followed one after another.

Second Phase: 1892

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 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 swaying coffee trees along the Yunnan-Myanmar Road. Driven by huge demand from the Soviet Union, Yunnan's coffee cultivation developed rapidly.

Fourth Phase: 1988

Nestle established a joint venture in China and began supporting the local coffee industry in Yunnan by launching coffee cultivation projects, and Yunnan coffee rose again. Starting in 1992, Nestle set up a Coffee Agriculture Department specifically to guide and research the improvement and cultivation of Yunnan coffee, buying coffee at prices based on the US spot market. Today, not only Nestle but also Maxwell House, Kraft, Starbucks, and other coffee giants do business in Yunnan, and local coffee enterprises have gradually grown as well.

Yunnan Coffee Grading System

Although Yunnan has grown coffee for many years, the industry as a whole is still not fully mature, and its grading system is 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 represent sieve hole diameters written 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 beans that can pass through a sieve with a hole diameter of 19/64 inches or larger. (1 inch is about 2.54 centimeters.)

2) Commonly Used Domestic Coffee Grading Standards:

Divided into five grades by 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 are present in a given amount of beans. According to the method for identifying impurities and defective beans stipulated by the International Organization for Standardization, a 300-gram coffee bean sample is randomly selected and its impurities and defective beans counted for grading.

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

Yunnan Coffee Growing Regions

The western and southern parts of Yunnan Province lie between 15 degrees north latitude and the Tropic of Cancer. Most areas sit at an altitude of 1000-2000 meters, with mountainous and sloping terrain that varies greatly. Fertile soil, abundant sunshine, plentiful rainfall, and large day-to-night temperature differences create the unique character of Yunnan small-bean coffee: strong without bitterness, fragrant without intensity, with a slight fruity flavor.

Coffee cultivation in Yunnan is mainly distributed across Lincang, Baoshan, Pu'er, and Dehong. These regions share the natural advantages of low latitude, high altitude, and large temperature differences between day and night, making Yunnan a golden area for producing high-quality Arabica, or 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 uniquely suited to the crop.

Pu'er coffee has a century-long history, with cultivation beginning in the late 19th century and industrialized development in 1988. Today the city has the mainland's largest cultivation area, highest production, and best quality as a 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 exported to more than 30 countries and regions across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, creating a new "black gold" market.

Lincang

Lincang City lies in the southwestern part of Yunnan Province, with the Tropic of Cancer running through its south. It borders Pu'er to the east, connects to Dali to the north, joins Baoshan to the west, and borders Myanmar to the southwest. Named for its proximity to the Lancang River, it is a bright pearl on China's southwestern frontier. Lincang's annual average temperature is between 16.8 degrees Celsius and 17.2 degrees Celsius, with distinct wet and dry seasons and abundant sunshine.

Baoshan

Yunnan Baoshan small-bean coffee has a long cultivation history and is a national geographical indication product, among the better-quality coffees in the country and even the world.

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

Yunnan Coffee Processing Methods

In Yunnan, the main processing method is washing.

The harvested cherries pass through a pulping machine that separates most of the fruit flesh from the beans, and the parchment is then guided to a clean water tank, soaked, and fermented to completely remove the residual mucilage. Through washed processing, unripe beans and defective beans are separated out by buoyancy, and fermentation is easier to control. So unlike sun-dried beans, which may carry miscellaneous flavors, washed beans present distinct fruit acidity, slightly greater complexity, and cleaner cup characteristics.

Yunnan Varieties

Varieties

Typica and Bourbon, two classic high-quality varieties, are the main cultivated varieties in Yunnan. In 1991 the Catimor series was introduced from Kenya (with stronger virus resistance and higher yield), also belonging to the Arabica species, known locally as the small-bean variety. Because Typica and Bourbon 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 with the characteristic of multiple flowering and concentrated flowering periods. Small-bean coffee in Yunnan flowers from February to July, with the peak from March to May. Flowering is greatly affected by climate, especially rainfall and temperature. Coffee flowers last 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 relatively long. Small-bean coffee fruit takes 8-10 months to mature, generally ripening from October to December of the same year. Rainfall has a greater impact on fruit development, and climate conditions directly affect it.

Small-bean coffee, scientifically known as Arabica, is a category 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 in fact 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, and is easy to cultivate; cupping this year's AA grade Catimor reveals flavors of barley tea, licorice, chocolate, and caramel with a deep, 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 seedlings grown in the nursery bed last year have now reached 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, two classic high-quality varieties, are the main cultivated varieties in Yunnan. In 1991 the Catimor series was introduced from Kenya (with stronger virus resistance and higher yield), also belonging to the Arabica species, known locally as the small-bean variety. Because Typica and Bourbon have similar morphology and habits, they are often mixed in cultivation.

Here are the highlights from this Yunnan trip:

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

The robustly growing seedlings are ready and can be transplanted.

Workers load the seedlings onto trucks for transport to the mountains for transplantation.

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For an introduction to Yunnan terroir, start with FrontStreet Yunnan Small Bean, grown in the Baoshan region and processed by washing with a medium roast. It keeps some caramel sweetness while retaining a little acidity, so the cup shows soft nut and chocolate notes with a light plum-like tartness, all at an approachable price.

To taste Yunnan more clearly, choose FrontStreet 2013 Sun-Dried Typica, from our own estate. Typica is one of the oldest and purest Arabica varieties, and the natural process gives this coffee a fuller body and more forward sweet-tart balance, with dark berry, caramel sweetness, chocolate, and a hint of dried apricot, finishing on a black tea note. It represents a real step up from the entry-level Yunnan cup.

If you want Yunnan in an espresso, try FrontStreet Black Cocoa Blend, which combines Yunnan small beans with Brazil Cerrado. The Brazilian component supplies mixed-nut aroma and balance, while the Yunnan component contributes chocolate and citrus, so the resulting Americano is balanced across sweet, sour, and bitter with nut and brown sugar sweetness, and a latte comes out smooth with almond and cream.