FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Coffee Farming Story - Yunnan Small Bean Coffee Varieties Catimor Coffee Bean Flavor Profile

In recent years, single-origin coffees from China's Yunnan region have begun appearing frequently in the specialty coffee market, receiving widespread acclaim. This demonstrates the growing potential of Yunnan coffee, which is expected to continue expanding in the future. Although the flavor profile of Yunnan coffee has not yet been fully established, FrontStreet Coffee believes that Yunnan will certainly produce coffee beans with their own distinctive flavor characteristics. For this reason, FrontStreet Coffee has established a dedicated estate in Baoshan, Yunnan, specifically for growing Typica variety coffee trees. However, Typica is not the most widely grown variety in Yunnan. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will share knowledge about what coffee beans are grown in Yunnan and how many times coffee trees bear fruit annually.

What Coffee Varieties Are Mainly Grown in Yunnan?

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, Yunnan currently cultivates numerous varieties, including common ones such as Catimor, Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai. However, experienced coffee enthusiasts know that the most common Yunnan coffees on the market are Catimor varieties. For instance, Yunnan small-bean coffee in the coffee market almost always refers to Yunnan Catimor coffee beans.

This is because Yunnan Catimor is grown at high altitudes above 1,500 meters, which enhances aroma and body, combined with appropriate post-harvest processing, resulting in flavor complexity that rivals traditional old varieties. The notion that "Yunnan coffee is not inferior" emerged in this context. This is not baseless claim from FrontStreet Coffee, but rather the view of Ted Lingle, senior consultant at the American CQI.

FrontStreet Coffee primarily grows Typica variety coffee beans because Typica remains the most ancient Arabica native variety, with inherently superior flavor compared to Catimor. FrontStreet Coffee's original intention is to allow coffee enthusiasts to taste the most original flavors of coffee beans. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee hasn't used special processing methods for Yunnan coffee beans, but instead employs the most traditional washed processing to make the flavors of Yunnan coffee beans cleaner and more prominent.

Yunnan Small-Bean Coffee Variety: Catimor

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, the Catimor variety originated in 1959 when the Portuguese crossbred Brazilian Caturra with Timor, creating the disease-resistant Catimor, which has become an important commercial variety today.

Coffee is a short-day plant with multiple flowering periods and concentrated blooming seasons. In Yunnan, Arabica coffee flowers from February to July, with peak flowering from March to May. Coffee blooming is significantly influenced by climate, particularly rainfall and temperature. Coffee flowers have a short lifespan of only 2-3 days. Arabica coffee typically begins blooming between 3-5 AM and reaches full bloom between 5-7 AM. Coffee fruit development takes a considerable time. Arabica coffee cherries require 8-10 months to mature, typically ripening from October to December of the same year. Rainfall greatly affects fruit development, and climatic conditions directly impact the fruit. Therefore, under normal circumstances, a coffee tree bears fruit only once per year.

Typica

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Typica is currently the most ancient Arabica native variety in the coffee market, and almost all Arabica coffee bean varieties are derived from Typica. Typica has elegant flavors but relatively weak constitution and low disease resistance, making it susceptible to leaf rust. Therefore, coffee bean yields are low and cannot meet economic requirements. In recent years, Typica in Central and South America has gradually been replaced by Caturra and Catuai. Consequently, Typica is becoming increasingly rare. Although Typica has elegant flavors, it is not as widespread as Bourbon.

Another reason FrontStreet Coffee grows Typica variety coffee trees is its clean, subtle flavors and balanced characteristics. Its high flavor clarity makes it an ideal choice for showcasing single-origin coffee beans grown in the Yunnan region.

In addition to coffee varieties and processing methods, factors affecting coffee flavor include growing conditions in the producing region. After all, even within the same province, each city has slightly different climate conditions. Since coffee is an agricultural product, it naturally develops different flavors influenced by climate, altitude, and soil. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce several famous Yunnan coffee producing regions.

Yunnan Coffee Producing Regions

First, it's important to know that Yunnan is located in southwestern China, with the Tropic of Cancer crossing its southern part. It has a mountainous plateau terrain, with medium-altitude areas between 1,000-3,500m accounting for nearly 90% of the province's total area. Yunnan's climate is subtropical highland monsoon type, with large daily temperature variations and abundant rainfall. As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned in previous articles, the optimal growing environment for coffee requires high altitudes and suitable temperature and precipitation to produce high-quality coffee fruits.

Therefore, the vast majority of single-origin coffee beans on the Chinese market today come from Yunnan, which represents 98% of China's coffee market, essentially representing China's entire coffee cultivation industry.

Currently, coffee cultivation in Yunnan is concentrated in the southern and western regions: Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Wenshan, Baoshan, Dehong, and Lincang.

Dehong: Known as "China's Coffee Hometown"

Coffee cultivation in Dehong Prefecture is all at altitudes above 1,000 meters, with 30,000 mu grown on mountainous areas above 1,600 meters. Additionally, Dehong primarily uses organic fertilizers and organic pesticides for coffee cultivation, resulting in high-quality coffee that makes it one of the world's rare excellent coffee producing areas.

Baoshan: Coffee Pioneer with International Recognition

Coffee cultivation in Baoshan began in the mid-1950s, with the first coffee seedling introduced from Southeast Asia by the late patriotic overseas Chinese Mr. Liang Jinshan. In recent years, with the expansion of international trade, the small-bean coffee from Lujiang Basin has become renowned. European, American, and Arab countries, especially British, American, Egyptian, Hong Kong, and Macau merchants, regard it as premium coffee, with demand exceeding supply. In December 2010, after review by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, it was decided to implement national geographical indication product protection for "Baoshan small-bean coffee."

FrontStreet Coffee chose to grow coffee at the border of Yunnan's Baoshan and Myanmar because Baoshan has an average temperature of 21.5°C, reaching up to 40.4°C, with basically no frost year-round, making it a recognized optimal producing area for small-bean coffee. The small-bean coffee cultivated here is renowned both domestically and internationally for being rich but not bitter, fragrant but not strong, with small, uniform beans, rich mellow aroma, and fruity notes. Yunnan Baoshan small-bean coffee has a long cultivation history and can be considered a national geographical indication product.

Lincang: Focus of Coffee Enterprise Attention

Unique geographical location and climate conditions have made Lincang a focus of attention for numerous coffee enterprises, which have successively established 200-mu and 100-mu high-quality coffee seedling bases in Mengding Town of Gengma Autonomous County and Xinfu Farm in Lincang, respectively, and developed coffee cultivation in Gengma, Zhenkang, Yunxian, Cangyuan, and Yongde.

Pu'er: Tea Town's Coffee Legacy

Pu'er, the tea town, has a 150-year history of coffee cultivation. In the early 1990s, Pu'er City began to cultivate coffee development as a dominant backbone industry for adjusting industrial structure and increasing farmers' income.

The above are the different cultivation characteristics of Yunnan's coffee producing regions. Currently, FrontStreet Coffee has introduced several single-origin Yunnan coffee beans, each with its own unique flavor characteristics. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce them to everyone.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Huaguoshan Coffee Beans

Country: China

Region: Yunnan Baoshan

Altitude: 1450-1550m

Variety: Typica

Processing: Washed

Flavor: Citrus, nuts, plum, melon fragrance, brown sugar, black tea sensation

The difference between FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan Huaguoshan coffee beans and Yunnan small-bean coffee lies in the variety: Huaguoshan is Typica, while Yunnan small-bean is Catimor. Both beans can be called small-bean coffee, but because Typica's floral and fruity acidity is more mellow and rich, the name "Huaguoshan" (Flower-Fruit Mountain) was specifically chosen to distinguish between the two varieties.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Small-Bean Coffee Beans (Daily Coffee)

Country: China

Region: Yunnan Baoshan

Altitude: 1200m

Variety: Catimor

Processing: Washed

Flavor: Herbal, nutty, chocolate, caramel

Yunnan small-bean coffee refers to small-bean coffee cultivated in the Yunnan region. Coffee is an evergreen small tree of the Rubiaceae family, native to Africa. Currently, the main cultivated beverage plants are small-bean coffee and medium-bean coffee. Small-bean coffee cultivated in China's Yunnan traditionally refers to a mixed group of Bourbon and Typica varieties.

Small-bean coffee is the most widely cultivated species in the Coffea genus. Due to its strong cold resistance and tolerance to short-term low temperatures, it can grow on mountains up to 2,100 meters altitude in tropical regions, but it is not drought-tolerant; its branches are relatively fragile and cannot withstand strong winds; it has relatively weak disease resistance; fruits fall easily after ripening; after processing, the coffee has mellow aroma and lower caffeine content.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Natural Catimor Coffee Beans

Country: China

Region: Yunnan (Baoshan)

Altitude: 1450-1550m

Variety: Catimor

Processing: Red Cherry Natural

Flavor: Caramel, dried fruit, cocoa, dark chocolate, herbal, woody

Most of what is grown in Yunnan today is Catimor, a hybrid of Caturra (a Bourbon lineage branch within Arabica) and Robusta. The reason for growing this variety is that Catimor has Robusta genes, making it more disease-resistant than single old varieties, with better yields. Compared to delicate old varieties with poor disease resistance and low yields, farmers naturally prefer growing Catimor, so Yunnan has now seen a Catimor boom.

Yunnan Coffee Processing Methods

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Yunnan coffee beans have used many processing methods to date, including various anaerobic processing methods. Although these special processing methods have created various distinctive flavors with high recognition; FrontStreet Coffee believes that starting from the growing region and coffee varieties is fundamental, while changes in processing methods only address symptoms rather than root causes. Catimor will always be Catimor. Only by selecting the correct growing altitude and high-quality coffee varieties from the source can sustainable long-term development of Yunnan coffee be achieved. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee still insists on using the most traditional washed and natural processing to produce Yunnan coffee beans, aiming to let coffee enthusiasts taste the most original coffee flavors from Yunnan.

Natural Processing Method

Natural processing is the oldest coffee bean processing method, also known as "natural drying." Natural processing doesn't require high-end equipment, only continuous sunny days for drying operations, with exposure taking 27-30 days. Therefore, it has strict climate requirements and is suitable for arid countries.

However, it's worth noting that although natural processing is relatively simple, precisely because of this, coffee beans processed naturally do not have an attractive appearance, with some cracks, making them less appealing.

Washed Processing Method

Most of FrontStreet Coffee's coffee beans from different regions are also washed processed, especially FrontStreet Coffee's daily coffee, because washed processed coffee beans are cleaner and their flavor expression is more thorough, representing the most original taste of coffee fruit. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee often says that the flavor of washed processed coffee beans is a guide to understanding a region's flavor profile. This is why FrontStreet Coffee insists on using washed processing to produce coffee beans.

Differences Between Washed and Natural Processed Coffee Beans

The most fundamental difference between natural and washed processing methods is that natural processing preserves the pulp flavor, while washing removes the pulp flavor, representing the most essential flavor of coffee beans. There are obvious differences in taste - washed is cleaner and brighter, while natural is richer in flavor. FrontStreet Coffee precisely because washed processing can bring out the most essential flavor of coffee beans, when recommending Yunnan coffee beans, if guests are tasting Yunnan region coffee beans for the first time, FrontStreet Coffee will prioritize recommending washed processed coffee beans, allowing people to more clearly understand the flavor characteristics of the Yunnan region.

Before launching any new coffee bean, FrontStreet Coffee conducts roasting and brewing flavor tests to select the most excellent flavor curve, making it convenient for future brewing for coffee enthusiasts visiting FrontStreet Coffee. Next, Frontsteet will share the roasting and brewing data for FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan Huaguoshan coffee beans.

Frontsteet Yunnan Huaguoshan Coffee Roasting Recommendations

General coffee beans have a moisture content of 10.9%, so FrontStreet Coffee's roaster plans to add beans when the roaster reaches 200°C, then use high heat and small air opening to speed up dehydration. After the dehydration stage ends, open medium air opening and medium heat to avoid rushing the Maillard reaction time, develop for 3 minutes after first crack, then discharge. Temperature return point: 1 minute 32 seconds, 92.5°C; Yellowing point: 5 minutes 40 seconds, 148.5°C; First crack: 8 minutes 59 seconds, 188.0°C; Develop for 3 minutes then discharge: 12'00, 196°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Huaguoshan Coffee Beans Pour-Over Recommendations

Frontsteet recommends using V60 conical filter. The V60 has a large opening, and its unique spiral rib design allows air to be discharged more easily, improving extraction quality. The body might not be as rich, but its high concentration brings out Yunnan coffee's fruit acidity and distinct aroma, making it a significant feature.

Filter: V60

Water Temperature: 90-92°C

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Medium-fine, fine sugar granularity (VARIO 50: China standard #20 sieve 57% pass-through)

Brewing Method: Segmented extraction

Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, continue pouring with small water flow in circles to 124g for segmentation. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 227g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup. Extraction time (starting from bloom): 2 minutes.

Huaguoshan Brewing Flavor Description

Rich but not bitter, fragrant but not strong, floral notes, mid-palate cantaloupe sweetness, finish with black tea sensation.

The above is the knowledge about single-origin Yunnan coffee beans compiled and shared by FrontStreet Coffee, hoping to help coffee enthusiasts learn more about Yunnan coffee.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on WeChat: ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473