Which Countries in Asia Produce Coffee? The Spread History of Coffee in Asia

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

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

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Asian Coffee Regions

Although the Arabs prohibited the export of coffee seeds, they were very open at home. The first coffee houses, known as "Kaveh Kanes," opened in Mecca, marking the first time in human history that a place existed where anyone could enter for the price of a cup of coffee and sit comfortably to conduct business or meet in a pleasant environment.

The Arabs did not succeed in spreading coffee throughout Asia, but the Dutch did. During their colonial expansion they cultivated coffee in Malabar, India, and in 1699 brought coffee to Batavia, now Java in Indonesia. Dutch colonies once became the main suppliers of coffee to Europe. Today, Indonesia is the world's fourth-largest coffee exporter. Coffee entered Europe when Venetian merchants first brought it to the continent in 1615.

According to historical records, coffee was first successfully cultivated in Taiwan in 1884, marking the beginning of coffee development in China. The earliest coffee cultivation in mainland China began in Yunnan, when a French missionary brought the first coffee seedlings to Binchuan County at the beginning of the 20th century. Over the following nearly hundred years, coffee cultivation across China's vast territory remained merely sporadic.

Coffee cultivation in mainland China is most famous in Yunnan, which has exported its coffee abroad. Yunnan coffee originated in 1892, when a French missionary began cultivating it in the valley areas of Binchuan County. Today, Zhukula Township in Binchuan County still has dozens of old coffee trees, some as old as 90 years, that still bloom and bear fruit.

Currently, Yunnan coffee uses the washed processing method, and cultivation areas have gradually expanded to include Dehong, Xishuangbanna, Simao, Yuxi and Baoshan. Production has also increased significantly, gradually attracting attention from the international market. The Simao area mainly cultivates "Arabica" and "Catimor" varieties, with most products sold back to Nestlé Company; the Lujiangba area in Baoshan mainly cultivates "Typica" and "Bourbon" varieties, with mellow flavors suited to specialty coffee.

Indonesia's main coffee bean production areas are on the three islands of Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi, all of which have volcanic terrain.

India's Famous Representative Coffee: Monsooned Malabar

Vietnam

Yemen Region: Mocha

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research center dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation simply to help more friends fall in love with coffee. We also hold three discounted coffee events every month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to offer the best coffee at the lowest prices to more friends. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for 6 years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Among Asia's coffee origins, Yunnan is the one FrontStreet Coffee knows best. The coffee grown there is commonly called Yunnan small bean, and "small bean" is simply another name for Arabica, because it bears the smallest fruit of the three main coffee species. Its history traces to 1904, when the French missionary Tian Deneng brought coffee seed — Typica — from Vietnam and planted the first coffee tree in Zhukula village, Binchuan County, Yunnan. Yunnan's favorable geography and climate made small bean coffee a great success, and FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan Small Bean comes from the Baoshan region: washed and medium roasted, it shows soft nut and chocolate sweetness with a light plum acidity, and its friendly price has made it many drinkers' first encounter with Yunnan coffee.

To go deeper into the region, FrontStreet Coffee's 2013 Natural Typica is the next step. FrontStreet Coffee built its own estate in Yunnan in 2013 and planted a batch of Typica — one of the oldest coffee varieties, with pure Arabica genetics and an elegant, clean flavor long regarded as a specialty variety; it also happens to be the first variety planted in Yunnan, brought in by the French missionary, so FrontStreet Coffee set out to recover that original sense of place. While the Yunnan Small Bean is an introduction, the 2013 Typica is a marker of progression: only fully ripe red cherries are used, dried naturally, then medium roasted for better balance and more prominent acidity and sweetness, giving dark-berry notes with caramel sweetness, chocolate and a hint of dried apricot, and a black tea finish.

Behind all of it is the terroir: coffee prefers warmth and tolerates heat but not cold, and grows best from 16 to 21 degrees Celsius, which is why the world's coffee belt centers on the equator and spans roughly 25 degrees north — and Yunnan sits right on it. Most of Yunnan is around 1000 meters in altitude, with fertile slopes, ample sunshine, abundant rainfall and a wide day-night temperature swing, all favorable to the trees. Yunnan's coffee is grown mainly across the southwest of the province, in Baoshan, Dehong, Pu'er and Lincang, and FrontStreet Coffee's two Yunnan specialty beans come from Baoshan and Lincang. If you want a Yunnan-flavored espresso, FrontStreet Coffee's Black Cocoa Blend pairs Yunnan small bean with Brazilian Cerrado: the Brazil delivers mixed-nut aroma and balance, while the Yunnan contributes chocolate and citrus, giving an Americano balanced across sweet, sour and bitter with nut and brown sugar sweetness, and a latte with almond and cream smoothness that is very beginner-friendly.