How Coffee Beans Are Grown: Stringent Conditions and Why Yunnan is the Only Suitable Region in China

FrontStreet Coffee - An Introduction to Coffee Cultivation

Once the outer skin and pulp are removed from a coffee cherry, the seed with its endocarp still attached is planted in the nursery. After 1-2 months the seeds gradually sprout and send out a taproot to anchor the seedling. After about 9 months they grow into small trees with 12-16 leaves and a height of roughly 50 cm, at which point they are transplanted to the plantation. Coffee then continues to grow for 3-5 years - at least 3 - before it flowers for the first time. The pure white coffee flowers generally have 5 petals and usually carry a hint of jasmine. The flowering window is very short: the blossoms wilt within about 3 days and drop within a week.

After flowering, the fruit begins to grow slowly. Coffee cherries mature gradually over 6-8 months. At first they are green and hard, then they slowly change color and soften into ripe red fruit - though there are special varieties such as Yellow Bourbon that turn yellow when ripe. This is why coffee fruit is also called "red cherry" or "coffee cherry".

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 the province from abroad.

Yunnan's geography and climate are uniquely well suited to coffee. Low latitude, high altitude and dense forest cover together create an excellent ecological environment for the crop. On top of those natural advantages, the province has vast stretches of land suitable for coffee and a policy of returning farmland to forest, both of which laid the groundwork for the industry. Add the low planting costs of the industry's early years - no longer a meaningful advantage today - and it becomes clear why Yunnan became China's main coffee-producing region.

More than 99% of the Arabica coffee grown in China comes from Yunnan. The western and southern parts of the province are mountainous and steeply sloped, with dramatic changes in terrain, abundant sunshine and rainfall, and wide day-night temperature swings. These are precisely the conditions high-quality Arabica needs. After long-term development and improvement, Yunnan has formed four major coffee-producing areas: Pu'er, Dehong, Baoshan and Lincang.

With the Tropic of Cancer running through it, Pu'er sits in a golden zone for coffee. It also has a long history of cultivation. At the end of the 19th century, British and French missionaries crossed the border from Myanmar into counties such as Lancang and Menglian, built churches in villages like Nuofu, Nanling and Jingxin to preach, and brought coffee seeds with them to plant.

From scattered plantings in a few areas to industrialized cultivation in the late 1980s and on to the present day, more than 60% of "Yunnan small-grain coffee" is produced in Pu'er, which has the largest planted area, the highest yield and the best quality. It is also an important distribution hub for the international coffee trade - a veritable "coffee capital".

Knowledge Point

High-quality coffee fruit generally benefits from good shade. Tree cover blocks the high midday sun, slows the plant's metabolism and supports the development of nutrients, fruit acids and aromatic compounds.

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a research-focused coffee establishment, glad to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We hold nothing back, simply to help more people fall in love with coffee. Every month we run three coffee events with substantial discounts, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more friends to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price. That has been our principle for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yunnan's growing conditions are best understood through the cup, and FrontStreet Yunnan Small-Grain is the place to begin. Sourced from the Baoshan growing area, it is washed and roasted medium, so it keeps a touch of caramel alongside a little acidity - a soft, approachable introduction to the region's terroir with gentle nut and chocolate sweetness and a faint plum-like tartness.

For a clearer picture of what Yunnan can do, step up to FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan Typica. We planted Typica in Yunnan that year because it is one of the oldest and purest Arabica varieties and because it was also the first coffee ever planted in the province, brought in by French missionaries - so it is a way of tasting the region's original character. Only fully ripe red cherries are used, and the coffee is dried in the sun in the traditional way and then roasted medium. The result has more weight in the mouth and a more pronounced sweet-tart balance, with dark berry notes, caramel sweetness, chocolate, a hint of dried apricot and a black tea finish.