Macro Environmental Analysis of Coffee Development and Evolution - Future Development Trends of Yunnan Coffee Market

I. Macro Environmental Analysis

With the development of the times and the further evolution of people's lifestyle philosophies, the coffee industry is also developing at a rapid pace. Urbanization and cultural cultivation have become driving forces for coffee shop development. Government policies support university students in entrepreneurship. With the popularization of coffee culture and the rise of petty bourgeoisie sentiment, coffee shops are becoming important venues for interpersonal communication and personal enjoyment. Their value lies not only in providing consumers with high-level spiritual enjoyment but also in expressing atmospheric culture and life pursuits.

II. Industry Analysis

In many major cities across China, coffee shops are no longer uncommon, and many young people have become enthusiastic supporters of coffee. In Chinese cities, the average annual coffee consumption per person is 4 cups. Japan and the United Kingdom, both world-renowned tea culture countries, have now developed into enormous coffee markets. China, with its strong tea culture, possesses vast potential for coffee consumption and is becoming the world's largest coffee consumer market.

Coffee (scientific name: Coffea arabica), also known as coffee tree and Arabian coffee, is the national flower of Yemen. Before the 6th century AD, Yemen was always called Arabia, thus coffee trees shipped from there to other places were also called Arabian coffee trees. The name "coffee" originates from the Arabic word "Qahwah," meaning plant beverage. Later, as coffee spread to various parts of the world, it was named after its place of origin, Kaffa, until it was formally named "coffee" in the 18th century.

The world's first coffee tree was discovered in the Horn of Africa. Coffee cultivation began in the 15th century. For several hundred years, Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula was the world's only coffee-producing region, and market demand for coffee was extremely strong. At Yemen's port of Mocha, when coffee was loaded onto ships for export, it often required heavy military protection. Meanwhile, Yemen also took various measures to prevent coffee seedlings from being taken abroad. Despite these restrictions, Muslim pilgrims to the holy city of Mecca secretly brought coffee seedlings back to their hometowns, and thus coffee quickly took root in India. At that time, in Venice, Italy, countless merchant fleets traded with Arab merchants in perfumes, tea, and textiles. This way, coffee spread through Venice to vast regions of Europe. Many European merchants gradually became accustomed to drinking coffee as a beverage. Later, street vendors selling coffee appeared on the streets of many European cities, and coffee rapidly gained popularity in Europe. In the 17th century, the Dutch introduced coffee to their colony of Indonesia. Meanwhile, the French also began cultivating coffee in Africa. Today, coffee has become the second most traded commodity on Earth,仅次于石油! Among the numerous legends of coffee's discovery, two are most fascinating: the shepherd's story and the Arabian monk.

III. World Coffee Cultivation Regions

The world's three major coffee cultivation and growing regions are: Africa, Indonesia, and Central and South America. Yemen was the first country in the world to produce coffee on a large scale as an agricultural crop. Today's Yemen Mocha coffee cultivation and processing methods remain basically the same as those used hundreds of years ago. In most Yemeni coffee farms, coffee farmers still resist using artificial chemical products such as chemical fertilizers. Coffee farmers grow poplar trees to provide the shade needed for coffee growth. Coffee trees are planted on steep terraces to maximize the use of limited rainfall and land resources. Yemen Mocha beans are still shipped in bags woven from straw, unlike other places that use chemical woven bags.

Yemen has a coffee cultivation history of over 2,000 years. According to statistics, 76 countries worldwide cultivate coffee. Coffee was first introduced to Taiwan, China in 1884. In 1908, overseas Chinese brought large-bean and medium-bean varieties from Malaysia to Hainan Island. Currently, the main cultivation areas are distributed in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan.

IV. Future Domestic Coffee Development Trends

The coffee industry is also the most well-developed and mature market economy industry among the government-led industries in Baoshan City since the founding of New China. To better develop this industry, Baoshan has made various attempts in this regard, including launching the Yunnan Baoshan Coffee World project.

Baoshan, Yunnan is situated at a low-latitude plateau and has long been known as "one mountain has four seasons, ten miles have different weather." Such climate conditions are extremely suitable for growing coffee beans. Let me share some data: Yunnan Province's coffee production reaches 136,000 tons, accounting for over 95% of the country's total coffee production, and its export volume ranks highest in the country at 60,700 tons.

Although Yunnan has good coffee growing conditions, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the current quality of Yunnan coffee beans has not yet reached "specialty coffee" standards, mainly possibly because: 1. Varieties. Most of Yunnan grows Catimor, which is inherently inferior to the superior Typica coffee variety. 2. Use of anaerobic processing. This is a novel processing method, but doing so has already covered the original flavor of coffee, so how can we talk about specialty coffee?

The most widely cultivated coffee variety in Yunnan's coffee-producing regions is currently Catimor. Additionally, there are actually small amounts of Typica and Bourbon coffee varieties planted in the Baoshan area. Although Typica and Bourbon both belong to the Arabica species, they are essentially very different.

In 2013, FrontStreet Coffee realized that high-quality coffee depends on variety, altitude, and climate. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee established its own coffee plantation estate on a mountain 1300m above sea level near Myanmar in Lincang, planting the most ancient Arabica variety—Typica.

The difference between Typica and Catimor varieties is that Typica, as one of the oldest coffee varieties, possesses pure Arabica variety genes. Because of its elegant and clean flavor, it has always been recognized as a specialty coffee variety, with the disadvantage of lower yield.

True specialty coffee involves not just processing and quality—variety is also extremely important. FrontStreet Coffee hopes that by changing the variety at its root, everyone can enjoy Yunnan small-bean coffee with better flavor and quality. Currently, these self-grown Yunnan Typica coffee beans can be purchased at FrontStreet Coffee's flagship store and FrontStreet Coffee physical retail locations.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473