Yunnan China Arabica Coffee Bean Production Yunnan Small Bean Coffee Flavor Pros and Cons

Most of China's coffee is produced in Yunnan Province, which borders coffee-rich countries such as Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. Regarding the history of Yunnan coffee, FrontStreet Coffee has previously introduced it, and here we will revisit it to help everyone recall. In 1904, French missionary Alfred Tientsin introduced some plants to Yunnan, hoping to enjoy a small cup of coffee daily. Thus, coffee plants were introduced from Myanmar, but the scale was small and more experimental. It wasn't until 1989, when Nestlé planted rust-resistant Catimor varieties throughout Yunnan, that coffee became a major economic crop in China.

Today, 98% of China's coffee comes from approximately 90,000 hectares in Yunnan, producing about 100,000 metric tons of coffee annually. It can almost be said that Yunnan coffee is Chinese coffee. Of course, coffee crops are also grown in other regions such as Fujian and Hainan, but due to altitude issues, most coffee beans are Robusta varieties with flavors too intense for the rising specialty coffee market, nor do they suit the current consumer group of single-origin pour-over coffee. Consequently, Yunnan, which can produce high-quality Arabica coffee beans, has become the mainstream development direction for China's specialty coffee.

The advantage of the Yunnan growing region lies in its higher altitude compared to other coffee-producing areas in China, ranging approximately from 800 to 1,850 meters. The significant temperature difference between day and night, coupled with relatively abundant rainfall, provides a good foundation for high-quality raw coffee beans. However, according to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, most Yunnan coffee growing areas hover around the qualification line for high-quality coffee cultivation, approximately 1,000 meters. The main coffee-growing areas in Yunnan are in the southwestern regions: Pu'er, Baoshan, Lincang, Xishuangbanna, and other areas. Currently, the main Arabica coffee varieties grown in Yunnan are Catimor and Typica, but last year, Yunnan's Baoshan region pioneeringly launched a milestone coffee variety—Geisha. FrontStreet Coffee won't elaborate too much on this matter, just a brief introduction: in 2016, Lao Fan, the owner of Zuo Garden Manor in Baoshan, Yunnan, planted Yunnan's first batch of Geisha at an altitude of 1,400-1,600 meters in the shaded valleys.

Yunnan Geisha is not mainstream. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the Catimor and Typica coffee bean varieties based on our personal experience. FrontStreet Coffee has been growing coffee in Yunnan longer than we have had our physical store. Initially, FrontStreet Coffee's barista grew coffee in our headquarters—Guangzhou, but due to various limitations, we turned our attention to Yunnan. In May 2016, FrontStreet Coffee planted the first batch of Typica coffee beans on Yunnan's mountains. At the same time, we understood why locals chose Catimor. It's quite simple: cost-effectiveness is not high. Coffee enthusiast friends who have done some research should know that Catimor coffee beans have genetic traits from Robusta coffee beans; this variety is a hybrid of Timor and Caturra.

Catimor was bred in Portugal in 1959. Due to the small size of Catimor coffee trees, dense branching, high planting density, and low requirements for altitude and other natural conditions, it is very suitable for commercial coffee production. Of course, Catimor is often criticized by coffee lovers due to its Robusta genetic traits. The flavor of Catimor coffee is stronger than other Arabica coffee beans. In fact, initially, Yunnan introduced the Typica variety. Because the coffee beans were smaller compared to Robusta coffee, they were called small-grained coffee. Later, due to the entry of coffee brands like Nestlé, which needed more "commercial coffee varieties to adapt to the evolving coffee market, Yunnan began extensive cultivation of high-yield Catimor coffee. The more mainstream Catimor then became known as Yunnan small-grained coffee.

However, FrontStreet Coffee hopes to consider flavor factors beyond yield, so we chose the better-flavored Typica coffee bean variety and named it "FrontStreet Coffee 2013." The enthusiastic sales also indicate the popularity of FrontStreet Coffee 2013. For this coffee, FrontStreet Coffee uses a natural processing method to maximally preserve the overall sweetness of the coffee, compensating for the insufficient sweetness caused by altitude. After drying the coffee, FrontStreet Coffee transported it to our roasting factory in distant Guangdong. For this coffee, FrontStreet Coffee adopted a medium roast. At the same time, this coffee performs impressively: the rich fruit flavors are stunning. If not for the chocolate flavor in the aftertaste, one would feel like drinking fruit juice.

Today's Yunnan small-grained coffee mainly refers to the Catimor variety. FrontStreet Coffee also has Catimor coffee beans from Baoshan, Yunnan. Now, FrontStreet Coffee will brew and compare them to see the differences between FrontStreet Coffee's planted Typica coffee beans and general Yunnan farm's Catimor:

FrontStreet Coffee Extraction Parameters:

V60 dripper
Water temperature: 91°C
Water-to-coffee ratio: 1:15
Coffee amount: 15g
Grind size (75% pass rate through China No. 20 standard sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Extraction Method:

Bloom the coffee grounds with twice the amount of water as the coffee dose. Using a small water stream, pour in a circular motion from the center outward to 125 grams. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to the required amount. Remove the dripper when all water has dripped through. The entire extraction time is about 2 minutes.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Characteristics and Taste:

Natural processed Catimor: This coffee's taste tends toward nutty and chocolate flavors, with high body and overall balance, without special acidity.

FrontStreet Coffee 2013: The entry is rich with juice-like qualities, slightly with herbal plant aromas, smooth mouthfeel, tending toward balance, with a short, lively and bright plum acidity. Rich layers, transforming from apricot-peach to citrus from beginning to end. The sweetness tends toward brown sugar flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that the Yunnan growing region is located in an area suitable for coffee cultivation, and the overall quality of the coffee is good. However, everything has pros and cons. FrontStreet Coffee will list the advantages and disadvantages of the Yunnan coffee industry:

Advantages:

Fresh, with short delivery cycles. Good balance, easy for blending. Some specialty washed coffees have berry flavors, and special processing methods and new processing attempts have brought some interesting tones and flavors to Yunnan specialty coffee, making Yunnan specialty coffee suitable for single-origin use. Commercial-grade Yunnan coffee beans are cheaper than imported coffee beans.

Disadvantages:

Due to coffee variety issues, flavors are relatively monotonous. The production cost of high-quality coffee is high, and it's difficult to compete with imported high-quality coffee in terms of price. The usage rate by domestic roasters is low, lacking market share, and the growing region's brand influence is insufficient. Additionally, due to domestic prejudices against Yunnan coffee and limited awareness of Yunnan coffee, the actual domestic consumption of Yunnan coffee is still limited. The quality of Yunnan coffee is not very stable, and the standardization and rationalization of planting, processing, and manufacturing need improvement.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473