What are the Three Major Growing Regions of Yunnan Arabica Coffee and What are the Characteristics of Pu'er Coffee Beans

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Yunnan Small-Grain Coffee

The western and southern regions of Yunnan Province are located between 15° north latitude and the Tropic of Cancer. Most areas have an altitude of 1000-2000 meters, with predominantly mountainous and sloped terrain. The fertile land, abundant sunshine, plentiful rainfall, and significant temperature differences between day and night create unique natural conditions that give Yunnan small-grain coffee its distinctive characteristics—rich without being bitter, aromatic without being overpowering, with a subtle fruity note.

Main Growing Areas

Yunnan Province has a total of 42 towns and counties cultivating coffee, distributed across 11 cities, with 380,000 farming households and 1.14 million coffee farmers engaged in coffee cultivation. The main producing areas are the four cities and prefectures of southern and southwestern Yunnan: Baoshan, Pu'er, Dehong, and Lincang. The planting area and production volume of these four regions account for over 85% of the entire province. The coffee industry across the province has become a distinctive advantageous industry that promotes agricultural and rural economic development, increases farmers' income, and contributes to prosperity and stability in the border regions.

Varieties

Typica and Bourbon, two classic high-quality coffee varieties, are the main cultivated varieties in Yunnan. In 1991, the Catimor series was introduced from Kenya, which offers stronger virus resistance and higher yields. These belong to the Arabica species (also known as small-grain varieties). Due to the similar morphology and habits of these two varieties, they are often cultivated together.

Growth Period

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

Coffee is a short-daylight plant. Coffee exhibits the phenomenon of multiple flowering periods with concentrated blooming seasons. Small-grain coffee in Yunnan flowers from February to July, with the peak flowering period from March to May. Coffee flowering is greatly influenced by climate, particularly rainfall and temperature. Coffee flowers have a short lifespan of only 2-3 days. Small-grain coffee typically begins to bloom between 3-5 AM and reaches full bloom between 5-7 AM.

Coffee fruit development requires a relatively long time. Small-grain coffee fruit takes 8-10 months to mature, typically ripening from October to December of the same year. Rainfall has a significant impact on fruit development, and climatic conditions directly affect fruit development.

Knowledge Expansion: Most coffee cultivation in Yunnan today is Catimor, a hybrid of the Caturra variety (a branch of the Bourbon lineage within Arabica) and Robusta species.

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