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What Coffee Beans from Yunnan Have the Best Quality? Introduction to Flavor Profile of Yunnan Typica Coffee Beans

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Yunnan Coffee Varieties: Arabica coffee is suitable for growing in mountainous areas at altitudes of 800-1800 meters. If the altitude is too high, the taste becomes sour; if too low, it becomes bitter. Most Arabica coffee is planted in dry, hot valley areas around 1100 meters altitude, resulting in moderate acidity, rich aroma, and mellow body.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Yunnan Coffee Varieties

Arabica coffee is suitable for growing on mountainous terrain at altitudes of 800-1800 meters. If the altitude is too high, the taste becomes sour; if too low, it becomes bitter. Most Arabica coffee is planted in dry, hot valley areas around 1100 meters altitude, resulting in moderate acidity with rich, mellow aroma. Many regions in Yunnan have unique environments suitable for Arabica coffee cultivation, producing exceptionally high-quality Arabica beans.

Planting areas are mainly distributed in Lincang, Baoshan, Simao, Xishuangbanna, Dehong and other prefectures. Baoshan has an average temperature of 21.5°C, reaching up to 40.4°C, with basically no frost throughout the year, making it a recognized optimal producing area for Arabica coffee. The Arabica coffee cultivated here is renowned both domestically and internationally for being rich but not bitter, fragrant but not strong, with small, uniform grains, rich mellow aroma, and fruity notes. International Coffee Organization tasting experts have evaluated Yunnan coffee as comparable to Colombian wet-processed Arabica coffee, ranking it among the world's highest-quality coffees.

Varieties

Typica

The oldest native variety from Ethiopia, originating from southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan. All Arabica varieties are derived from Typica. It has elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and low fruit yield. Excellent estate beans such as Jamaican Blue Mountain, Sumatran Mandheling, and Hawaiian Kona all belong to the Typica variety. Typica has reddish-brown terminal leaves, known as red-top coffee, and belongs to the Arabica species.

Catimor

In 1959, the Portuguese crossbred Brazilian Caturra with Timor to create Catimor, which has strong disease resistance. It is currently an important variety among commercial beans.

Typica is actually an old variety within the Arabica species. The well-known Hawaiian Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain are actually Typica varieties. Among a vast field of Catimor, it's actually quite easy to recognize. After careful observation, you'll find that each variety has its own appearance. Catimor leaves all droop downward, with the tree shape appearing as if wearing a cloak. Typica, on the other hand, has branches pointing upward, with bronze-colored new leaves growing at the tree tips.

Knowledge Extension

Most coffee currently planted in Yunnan is Catimor, a hybrid between Caturra (a Bourbon branch within the Arabica species) and Robusta species.

In Brief

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