Yunnan Catimor was introduced by the French. Does Catimor coffee have characteristics and appearance as rough as a tough man?

FrontStreet Coffee - Catimor Coffee Bean Introduction

The distinctive small-bean coffee "Catimor" comes from the Baoshan region of Yunnan. As early as 1958, Baoshan small-bean coffee won first prize at the London International Tasting Competition in the UK and was even hailed as "the crown of national coffee." Catimor is a subspecies of Arabica. "Not bitter and not astringent is the basic requirement for specialty coffee, but Catimor goes beyond other specialty coffees - a special throat resonance, a slight walnut-wood aroma, fruity acidity and a layered sweetness in the aftertaste." Those are the key characteristics of Catimor's flavor profile.

Yunnan is China's main coffee-producing region. Lying south of the Tropic of Cancer, Yunnan belongs to the subtropical mountainous climate zone, with a unique plateau red soil that is fertile and loose and a mild climate, making it particularly suitable for planting small-bean coffee varieties. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will help you understand the characteristics and flavor profile of Yunnan Catimor beans.

In 1902, a French missionary named Tian Deneng brought coffee from Vietnam to Zhukula, a mountain village in Binchuan County, Dali, Yunnan Province. To this day, descendants of that batch of coffee still survive, their ancient groves telling the story of a century past in the morning dew and evening glow.

Catimor, also spelled Catimor, was cultivated by the Portuguese in 1959. It carries three-quarters Arabica bloodline and one-quarter Robusta bloodline, and its extreme vigor and strong resistance to leaf rust disease are its greatest characteristics. For coffee producers, whether they consider yield, ripening period, pest and disease resistance, or flavor, it is a relatively ideal commercial variety. Catimor beans are round and thick, whereas Typica beans are thin and long, and Catimor's center line is disordered.

Once Catimor is planted at high altitude, however, its inherent "inferior characteristics" are exposed, while the advantages of older Arabica varieties closer to the original species, such as Typica and Bourbon, become fully apparent. Today, various Catimor lines are planted on a large scale in Yunnan, and coffee farmers value its three main advantages: short trees, high yield and disease resistance (against coffee borers and leaf rust).

Somewhat unfortunately, Yunnan Catimor has not yet won any authoritative award and cannot be considered specialty grade, and improvement and exploration still have a long way to go. Catimor fruit ripens quickly and yields heavily, requiring sufficient fertilizer and shade. Its high yield also corresponds to a relatively short commercial lifespan, averaging only ten years. Planted at low altitude, Catimor's cup shows no clear superiority or inferiority against other commercial varieties. Planted above 1,200 meters, its cup flavor is significantly inferior to Bourbon, Caturra and Catuai.

Knowledge Point

Coffee is a short-day plant. It displays multiple flowering phenomena and concentrated flowering periods.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To explore Yunnan without starting with Catimor, FrontStreet's Yunnan small-bean coffee comes from the Baoshan region and is washed and medium-roasted. The cup shows soft nut and chocolate sweetness with a light plum acidity, and its friendly price makes it many drinkers' first encounter with Yunnan coffee. Baoshan's coffee history dates back to the mid-1950s, when it was introduced by the overseas Chinese philanthropist Liang Jinshan; the warm, frost-free climate and the dry-hot river valley around Lujiangba, with its wide day-night temperature swings and moderate rainfall, give Baoshan small-bean coffee its distinctive sweet aftertaste.

If you want a clearer, more defined Yunnan flavor, FrontStreet's 2013 Yunnan sun-dried Typica comes from FrontStreet's own estate. Typica is one of the oldest and purest Arabica varieties, and the sun-dried process gives the cup more weight and a more prominent sweet-and-sour structure, with citrus and berry notes, a hint of fermented wine, caramel sweetness and a creamy finish. FrontStreet began building the estate and planting Typica in 2013, partly because Typica was also the first variety planted in Yunnan, brought in by the French missionary, and partly to recover that original sense of place.

To taste Yunnan in an espresso, FrontStreet's Black Cocoa blend combines Yunnan small-bean with Brazil Cerrado. The Brazilian half supplies mixed-nut aroma and a balanced body, while the Yunnan small-bean contributes chocolate and citrus. As an Americano it is balanced across sweet, sour and bitter with nut and brown-sugar sweetness, and as a latte it is smooth with almond and cream - a very approachable starting point for newcomers.