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The Best Coffee Beans from Yunnan: Flavor and Taste Comparison of Washed and Natural Yunnan Catimor

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Yunnan coffee, a premium coffee from China that has gained significant international recognition in recent years, offers diverse origins of high-quality coffee beans with unique flavor profiles. The pursuit of excellence has long been the goal of Yunnan's coffee industry. As early as 2013, Li Gongqin, Secretary-General of the Yunnan Provincial Coffee Industry Association, pointed out that Yunnan's coffee production capacity falls far short of large-scale foreign coffee operations.

Yunnan coffee from China, a top-tier coffee that has gained significant international recognition in recent years, serves as the origin of various premium coffee beans with unique flavors. Sophistication has long been the goal of Yunnan's coffee industry. As early as 2013, Li Gongqin, Secretary-General of the Yunnan Provincial Coffee Industry Association, pointed out that Yunnan's coffee production falls far short of large-scale foreign coffee-producing regions, leaving virtually no room to determine pricing based on volume alone. However, without "pricing power," Yunnan could still strive for "discourse power."

The key to gaining discourse power lies in quality. For instance, in 2012, Jamaica's Blue Mountain coffee production was only 2,400 tons, far below Yunnan's 65,000 tons in the same year. Yet in the Chinese market, its green beans could sell for NT$1,700-2,200 per kilogram, precisely because of its high quality. Similarly, in 2015, Yunnan's premium coffee once sold for over NT$10,000 per kilogram, demonstrating that specialty coffee is definitely the direction for development. However, Yunnan's overall coffee industry currently lacks comprehensive planning, unified quality standards, and effective processing technology and management, making integration difficult to achieve.

Yunnan Coffee Regions and Varieties

Yunnan is China's primary and largest coffee-producing region. Currently, Yunnan's coffee-producing areas are mainly distributed in the southern and southwestern parts of the province, including Simao, Xishuangbanna, Wenshan, Baoshan, and Dehong regions. Yunnan coffee predominantly consists of the Catimor variety, offering distinctive flavor profiles. Both washed and natural processing methods are used for Yunnan coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan Xiaoli daily blend uses washed processing, while FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan Catimor uses natural processing. The washed Yunnan Xiaoli coffee features bright acidity, soft acidity, balanced body, rich complexity, and distinct notes of dark chocolate, honey, and cane sugar in its aftertaste. When completely cooled, brown sugar flavors emerge. The natural processed Yunnan Catimor, grown at altitudes of 1,450-1,550 meters, is cinnamon-roasted by FrontStreet Coffee, presenting overall flavors of nuts, chocolate, spices, and caramel.