Introduction to the History and Current Development of Arabica Coffee, Yunnan Small Bean Black Coffee Brewing Methods

While tea culture has flourished in China for over a millennium, coffee has only been present for a little more than a century. Yunnan is widely renowned for its tea production, but did you know that this same province has also become a major coffee-producing region?

In fact, Yunnan is China's largest coffee-growing area. The western and southern parts of Yunnan Province lie between 15°N and the Tropic of Cancer, with most areas situated at elevations of 1,000-2,000 meters. The terrain is predominantly mountainous and sloped with significant variations in altitude, featuring fertile soil, abundant sunshine, plentiful rainfall, and substantial temperature differences between day and night—ideal conditions for growing Arabica coffee beans. Yunnan's small-grain coffee arrived on mainland China in 1892, and this foreign species has thrived on this mystical Eastern land for over a century of cultivation history.

The History of Yunnan Coffee

In 1904, French missionary Alfred Tiedje brought coffee seeds into Yunnan from abroad and successfully planted the first coffee tree in a village called Zhukula (now within Binchuan County, Dali). This marks the beginning of Yunnan's coffee cultivation history. After 1930, the renowned overseas Chinese leader Mr. Liang Jinshan further introduced coffee to Pupiao and Luoming for cultivation, continuing until after the founding of New China.

After 1952, under the guidance of expert Ma Guojin from the Baoshan Institute of Tropical Agriculture, large-scale coffee cultivation began in areas like Lujiang, with nearly 60 years of large-scale planting history to date. During this period, all coffee varieties grown in Yunnan were Typica.

In 1992, with further reform and opening up, foreign companies including Nestlé entered Yunnan to develop the province's coffee industry. At that time, large-scale cultivation of Catimor varieties provided by Nestlé began. This variety is known for its high disease resistance and high yield, quickly replacing the position of Typica, which had excellent flavor but was delicate and weak. Catimor became Yunnan's primary coffee variety. Consequently, Yunnan coffee's main use at that time was selling to Nestlé as raw material for instant coffee.

By the end of 1997, Yunnan's total coffee planting area had reached 7,800 hectares. Today, FrontStreet Coffee understands that Yunnan's coffee planting area accounts for 70% of the national total, with production volume representing 83% of China's output. Therefore, in terms of both planting area and coffee bean production, Yunnan coffee has established its dominant position within China.

Currently, Yunnan coffee is mainly cultivated in the southern and western regions of the province, including Pu'er, Wenshan, Baoshan, Dehong, and Lincang.

Dehong

Known as the "Hometown of Chinese Coffee," Dehong Prefecture's coffee plantations are all situated at elevations above 1,000 meters, with 30,000 mu planted on mountainous terrain above 1,600 meters. Additionally, Dehong's coffee cultivation primarily uses organic fertilizers and organic pesticides, resulting in high-quality coffee that makes it one of the world's rare premium coffee-producing regions.

Baoshan

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-grain coffee from Lujiang Basin has gained widespread fame. European, American, and Arab countries, especially merchants from Britain, America, Egypt, Hong Kong, and Macao, consider it 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-Grain Coffee."

FrontStreet Coffee chose to plant 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 at its highest, with basically no frost throughout the year, making it a recognized optimal region for small-grain coffee cultivation. The small-grain coffee cultivated here is renowned both domestically and internationally for being rich without bitterness, aromatic without intensity, with small yet uniform beans, rich mellow flavor, and fruity notes. Yunnan Baoshan small-grain coffee has a long cultivation history and can be considered a national geographical indication product.

Lincang

Lincang City is located in the southwestern part of Yunnan Province. The Tropic of Cancer passes through its southern region. It borders Pu'er to the east, Dali to the north, Baoshan to the west, and Myanmar to the southwest. Therefore, it is also known as the Lancang River, a brilliant pearl on China's southwestern border. Lincang City's average annual temperature ranges between 16.8°C and 17.2°C. Dry and wet seasons are distinct, with abundant sunshine. Due to its unique geographical location and climate conditions, Lincang has become a focus of attention for many coffee enterprises. High-quality coffee seedling bases of 200 mu and 100 mu were established respectively in Mengding Town, Gengma Dai and Yi Autonomous County, and Lincang Xingfu Farm, with coffee cultivation carried out in Gengma, Zhenkang, Yunxian, Cangyuan, and Yongde.

FrontStreet Coffee has established its own estate in Yunnan's Lincang producing region. FrontStreet Coffee selected and cultivated Typica varieties, which are pure Arabica varieties with superior flavor compared to the Catimor varieties currently widely planted in Yunnan. From seedling to first fruiting requires at least 4-5 years, which is why Yunnan's coffee farmers are reluctant to replant even though they know Catimor varieties have inferior flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's first batch of self-produced Yunnan coffee beans from 2020-21 was named "Frontsteet 2013" and received unanimous praise. In February 2022, the new season's Frontsteet 2013 was finally available to the public again.

Pu'er

Known as the "City of Coffee," in 2012, Pu'er had a coffee planting area of 43,433 hectares, with 18,000 hectares of harvested area, producing 36,500 tons of coffee annually, including 24,700 tons of exported coffee. Pu'er's coffee industry has 70 registered enterprises, 30,000 households, and approximately 1 million people involved. While Pu'er tea is renowned as the "City of Thousand-Year Tea," Pu'er is also an important coffee-producing region in China, with the largest planting area, highest production, best quality, and serves as an important distribution hub for international coffee business.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Varieties

Currently, the most widely planted coffee variety in Yunnan is Catimor, though small amounts of Typica and Bourbon coffee beans are still cultivated in the Baoshan region. Although all these varieties belong to the Arabica species in broad terms, there are still significant differences between them. Most varieties are now Catimor, which is a hybrid of Timor and Caturra, possessing strong disease resistance and high yield, occupying a significant place among Central American coffee varieties. Among the Yunnan coffee beans offered by FrontStreet Coffee, there is a Yunnan Small-Grain Coffee, with the Catimor variety. Yunnan small-grain coffee originally referred to pure Arabica variety coffee, with small-grain coffee originating from Ethiopia or the Arabian Peninsula.

Typica

Typica is currently the oldest original Arabica variety in the coffee market, and almost all existing Arabica coffee bean varieties are derived from Typica. Typica has elegant flavor but weak constitution, low disease resistance, and is susceptible to leaf rust disease. Therefore, coffee bean yields are low, making it difficult to meet economic requirements. In recent years, Typica in Central and South America has gradually been replaced by Caturra and Catuai. As a result, Typica has become increasingly rare. Although Typica has elegant flavor, it is not as widespread as Bourbon.

FrontStreet Coffee's estate in Yunnan primarily cultivates Typica variety coffee trees because Typica coffee has its unique subtle and clean flavor, balanced characteristics, and high taste clarity. Therefore, although Typica variety coffee trees are difficult to cultivate, FrontStreet Coffee still wants coffee enthusiasts to experience the best flavor that Yunnan coffee can offer.

Bourbon

It is a sub-variety mutated from Typica, belonging to the same category as Typica as one of the oldest existing coffee varieties. When green cherries mature, they display bright red color. Compared to Typica, Bourbon varieties have broader leaves and grow more densely. Although the yield is higher than Typica, the harvest period is still 2 years, making it a low-yield variety. However, it offers high-quality taste with wine-like acidity and sweet aftertaste.

Catimor

Catimor is a combination of Arabica and Robusta species. Robusta has good leaf rust resistance and rich oil content, high yield, and is easy to cultivate. Therefore, after hybridization with Arabica's Typica, Catimor acquired 25% Robusta genes, improving leaf rust resistance while retaining rich oil content and partially maintaining the rich flavor of the original Typica variety.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Due to Yunnan's perennial rainy season and unstable climate, most Yunnan coffee beans are processed using the washed method. However, FrontStreet Coffee still insists on choosing the most traditional washed and natural processing methods to produce Yunnan coffee beans, aiming to let coffee enthusiasts taste the most original flavors of Yunnan's local coffee. Of course, FrontStreet Coffee also offers natural Yunnan Catimor coffee beans.

Washed Processing Method

Most of FrontStreet Coffee's coffee beans from different producing regions are also washed processed, especially FrontStreet Coffee's daily beans. Because washed processed coffee beans are cleaner and their flavor expression is more transparent, representing the most original taste of coffee fruit. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee often says that washed processed coffee beans are the guiding light for understanding a region's flavor characteristics. This is also why FrontStreet Coffee insists on using the washed processing method to produce coffee beans.

Natural Processing Method

The natural processing method is the oldest coffee bean processing method, also known as "natural drying method." The natural processing method doesn't require sophisticated equipment—only continuous sunny days are needed for sun drying, with exposure requiring 27-30 days. Therefore, it has strict climate requirements and is suitable for countries with arid regions.

However, it's worth noting that although the natural processing method is relatively simple, precisely because of this, coffee beans processed through natural drying often don't have an attractive appearance and may have some cracks, making them less appealing.

Differences Between Washed and Natural Processed Coffee Beans

The most fundamental difference between natural and washed processing methods is that natural processing retains the fruit pulp flavor, while washing removes the fruit pulp flavor, representing the most essential flavor of coffee beans. There are obvious differences in taste—washed coffee is cleaner and brighter, while natural coffee has richer texture. FrontStreet Coffee, precisely because the washed method can best express the essential flavor of coffee beans, when recommending Yunnan coffee beans, if customers are tasting Yunnan region coffee beans for the first time, FrontStreet Coffee will优先推荐 washed processed coffee beans, allowing people to more clearly understand the flavor characteristics of the Yunnan region.

Which is Better: Yunnan Coffee Beans or Imported Coffee?

Advantages of Yunnan Coffee Beans

Compared to imported coffee beans, the biggest advantage of Yunnan small-grain coffee is: freshness!

Imported beans not only travel across oceans but also undergo lengthy customs inspection procedures. By the time they reach major domestic distributors, more than half a year has already passed, making freshness impossible to guarantee. In contrast, domestic coffee can be roasted within days, giving it an absolute advantage over imported coffee beans.

Currently, Yunnan coffee beans have already made a name for themselves in the specialty coffee rankings. More and more people are getting to know and understand Yunnan coffee, and it has gradually become a top choice for specialty coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

For coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans to maximize the experience of coffee's rich flavors. All coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness has a significant impact on flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee possible. The coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at peak flavor.

Of course, some customers need FrontStreet Coffee to grind the beans for them, which is perfectly fine. However, FrontStreet Coffee reminds customers that once coffee beans are ground in advance, they need to be brewed promptly, because coffee grounds oxidize quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate relatively quickly, resulting in less-than-optimal taste. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends grinding fresh and brewing immediately to better enjoy the coffee's flavor.

Frontsteet 2013 and Yunnan Small-Grain Brewing Parameter Recommendations:

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a V60 dripper for brewing. Because the V60 has a large opening and its unique spiral rib design allows air to be more easily expelled, improving extraction quality. The body might not be as full, but its high concentration brings out Yunnan coffee's fruit acidity and distinct aroma as its major characteristic.

Dripper: Hario V60, Water Temperature: 88°C, Coffee Amount: 15g, Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15, Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (Chinese standard #20 sieve 75% pass rate)

Use segmented extraction, blooming with twice the coffee powder amount of water, i.e., 30g of water for 30 seconds. Blooming is necessary during brewing to allow coffee powder to release internal carbon dioxide gas, making the subsequent extraction more stable. Use small water flow in circular motions until reaching 125g, then continue pouring to 225g and stop. Remove the dripper once the water has finished dripping through. Time from the start of pouring: 2'00". Next, pick up the entire pot of coffee and shake it well before pouring into cups for tasting.

Frontsteet 2013 Brewing Flavor Description: Dried apricot, gentle fruit acidity, chocolate, black tea

Yunnan Small-Grain Brewing Flavor: Starfruit, plum, melon, cream, black tea—overall smooth texture with bright fruit acidity, tea-like finish with hints of fruit acidity.

Yunnan small-grain coffee, in terms of taste, belongs to a relatively neutral category—neither too acidic nor too bitter. It's truly aromatic without bitterness, rich without intensity, with gentle and comfortable acidity, making it quite suitable for popular tastes. If you particularly like fruit acidity, you should specifically select high-altitude grown, light-roasted Yunnan small-grain coffee beans, which have high acidity and weak bitterness. If you simply don't like acidity, then choose dark-roasted beans, though the bitterness will be relatively higher.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473