The Best Coffee Origin in China Comes from Yunnan: Characteristics and Varieties of Yunnan Coffee Beans

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

Introduction to Yunnan Coffee Varieties

Coffee from Yunnan, China

Coffee is a tropical product. You might not believe it, but the world's best coffee-producing region is actually in Yunnan Province, China. Unfortunately, Chinese people don't value coffee and don't know how to use it to earn foreign exchange. While I don't have many hobbies, I greatly love what's in the cup. By "what's in the cup," I don't mean strong liquor, but coffee from various regions. Having tasted coffee from everywhere, it was only today that I discovered the best coffee-producing region is not Colombia, not Turkey, not Indonesia, but mainland China.

After examining Yunnan's coffee cultivation and primary processing bases, tasting experts from the International Coffee Organization evaluated Yunnan coffee as being in the same category as Colombian wet-processed small-bean coffee—among the highest quality coffees in the world.

As everyone knows, coffee is produced from the equator to 15 degrees north latitude. Therefore, South America, Indonesia, and Africa all produce coffee. However, coffee produced from the equator to 15 degrees north latitude is too strong and bitter, so only those who drink coffee without truly appreciating its flavor would enjoy it. In fact, the best coffee should be produced between 15 degrees north latitude and the Tropic of Cancer.

Coincidentally, southern Yunnan Province in China (especially areas near Laos) and northern Hainan Island happen to be located within this golden zone. Although places like Hawaii in the United States and Saudi Arabia are also situated in this zone, Hawaii lacks mountains and dense fog, while Saudi Arabia's desert lacks water, making it unsuitable for coffee cultivation. Therefore, the world's best coffee-producing region is actually in China.

In fact, what people often refer to as "Yunnan coffee" actually refers to Arabica coffee grown locally in Yunnan. Only Arabica coffee is named according to its origin. Robusta coffee, regardless of where it's grown, is never named after its producing region.

Finally, let me share an interesting variety of Yunnan coffee with you. Its name is Catimor. When I was studying coffee, I discovered that Arabica coffee has excellent flavor but low yield, while Robusta coffee has high yield but poor taste. Could we combine the two to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses? However, the answer I received was that no one was willing to do this—people preferred to either expand Arabica cultivation area or increase its yield. Nevertheless, this idea was realized in Yunnan, China.

That brings us to what we mentioned above—Catimor. This is a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta varieties. Although successful in terms of biological variety, it still retains some characteristics of Robusta in flavor. Therefore, it cannot be considered a completely successful reform. However, it's worth affirming that Catimor's unique flavor does have its own group of enthusiasts.

Knowledge Point: Arabica coffee is generally believed to originate from the Ethiopian highlands and is widely distributed in tropical regions. Through repeated mutations and breeding, it has given rise to numerous varieties.

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hall dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three coffee promotion events with significant discounts. This is because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price—this has been our mission for the past six years!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473