Coffee culture

How are Yunnan Coffee Beans? A Brief Introduction to the History and Development of Coffee Cultivation in China

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's Introduction to Yunnan Small-Bean Coffee: The first coffee seeds took root and sprouted in Yunnan can be traced back to 1892, more than 120 years ago, when a French missionary brought coffee seeds from abroad into Yunnan. Yunnan's geographical conditions and climatic advantages for coffee cultivation can be considered

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

FrontStreet Coffee - Yunnan Small Bean Coffee Introduction

The first coffee seed to take root and sprout in Yunnan can be traced back to 1892, more than 120 years ago, when a French missionary brought coffee seeds into Yunnan from abroad.

Yunnan's geographical conditions and climatic advantages can be described as uniquely favorable for coffee cultivation. Low latitude, high altitude, and high forest coverage have all created an excellent ecological environment for coffee growth.

In addition to these inherent advantages, the vast land resources suitable for coffee cultivation and the policy of returning farmland to forests have laid the foundation for the development of the coffee industry. Combined with the low cultivation costs in the early stages of coffee industry development (which no longer offers significant advantages today), these factors indirectly contributed to Yunnan becoming China's main coffee-producing region.

Advantages

More than 99% of Arabica coffee beans in China are produced in Yunnan. The western and southern regions of Yunnan Province have many mountains and slopes, with varied terrain, abundant sunshine and annual rainfall, and significant temperature differences between day and night - all of which are essential conditions for the growth of high-quality Arabica coffee. After lengthy development and optimization, Yunnan has formed four major coffee-producing regions: Pu'er, Dehong, Baoshan, and Lincang.

Pu'er

The Tropic of Cancer passes through Pu'er, making it a golden zone for coffee cultivation. Pu'er has a long history of coffee cultivation. In the late 19th century, British and French missionaries crossed the border from Myanmar to counties such as Lancang and Menglian, built churches in villages like Nuofu, Nanling, and Jingxin to spread their faith, and brought coffee seeds for cultivation. It has a soft fruity acidity and caramel flavor.

From scattered cultivation to industrialized cultivation in the late 1980s, and now to the present day, more than 60% of "Yunnan Small Bean Coffee" comes from Pu'er. With the largest cultivation area, highest yield, and best quality, it has also become an important distribution center for international coffee business, truly earning its title as the "Coffee Capital"!

Knowledge Extension: Most coffee currently planted in Yunnan is Catimor, a hybrid of the Caturra branch of the Bourbon lineage within Arabica species and Robusta species.

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research center dedicated to sharing knowledge about coffee with everyone. Our unreserved sharing is aimed at helping more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three coffee promotion events with significant discounts. The reason is that FrontStreet Coffee wants to provide the best coffee to more friends at the lowest possible price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years!

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