Yunnan Typica Coffee Beans Small-Grain Coffee Variety Flavor Profile Introduction Which Yunnan Coffee Origin Brand is Best?

Did you know? A long, long time ago, the first coffee tree in Yunnan was brought by French missionaries and recorded as Coffea arabica. Because the coffee beans were small in size after removing the fruit skin and pulp, they were called "small-grain coffee" by the Chinese people.

Later, through genetic identification, these coffee trees that first entered Yunnan were identified as the Typica variety of the Arabica species. But strangely, the most widely planted coffee beans in Yunnan today are the Catimor variety, a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta. Why is this? FrontStreet Coffee will discuss the stories of these two varieties in Yunnan in this article.

What is the Typica Variety?

Typica is the oldest native variety from Ethiopia, originating from southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan. According to years of research, all current Arabica varieties are derived from Typica.

Because it lacks genes from other varieties, it has the most pure Arabica bloodline. Typica coffee beans offer elegant flavors, clean mouthfeel, delicate aromas, and excellent sweetness.

However, its disadvantages include weak constitution, poor disease resistance, low fruit yield, and high cultivation costs. Initially, Yunnan mainly planted Typica, including when China provided coffee goods to repay debts to Russia, which was also the Typica variety.

But later, after the debt repayment was completed, the state no longer uniformly purchased coffee for export. Due to the high cost of maintaining Typica coffee and limited domestic demand for coffee, many farmers cut down their coffee trees and planted other crops instead. It wasn't until Nestlé took interest in Yunnan's precious land and distributed Catimor coffee with stronger disease and pest resistance and higher yields that Yunnan resumed coffee cultivation.

Flavor and Taste Characteristics of Yunnan Typica Coffee Beans

Since 2013, FrontStreet Coffee has been planting a small batch of Typica coffee on mountains at 1300m altitude in Lincang, Yunnan. FrontStreet Coffee chose Typica because we believe that specialty coffee should start with the variety. The Typica variety, which first entered the Yunnan region, has adapted over more than a century, with its genes making better adjustments to adapt to the local terroir and climate. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that if we want Yunnan coffee to have a clean mouthfeel, we should start with the variety.

Currently, FrontStreet Coffee's annual harvest of Typica in Yunnan is approximately 600 kilograms. Traditional sun-drying processing brings fuller body and slight fermentation notes to the coffee beans. Using a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, medium grind, and 89°C water temperature for pour-over drip brewing, the coffee flavors display plum, berry, fermentation notes, brown sugar, and a black tea-like aftertaste.

What is the Catimor Variety?

In 1959, the Portuguese crossed Brazilian Caturra with Timor to create the disease-resistant Catimor variety.

Catimor is not a pure Arabica bloodline. It's a hybrid of Timor (a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta) and Caturra (a variant of Bourbon), so Catimor has 25% Robusta bloodline. Its Robusta heritage also determines its flavor defects: insufficient aroma richness and overall bitterness in taste.

Some poor-quality Catimor varieties tend to exhibit astringency and rather irritating moldy flavors. However, because they don't require shade trees, are easy to cultivate, have low maintenance costs, and high yields, Catimor coffee is an important mainstay of commercial beans. For a long time, Yunnan's Catimor was the raw material for Nestlé instant coffee. But this was largely because these coffee beans at that time didn't receive scientific cultivation and proper processing. These coffee beans were usually planted in areas below 1000m altitude.

In fact, as long as Catimor varieties are planted above 1200 meters, with scientific cultivation and clean, hygienic processing and drying procedures, Yunnan Catimor coffee can also exhibit quite good flavors under traditional sun-dried/washed processing.

Flavor and Taste Characteristics of Yunnan Catimor Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee's best-selling coffee beans are the "Frontsteet Daily Coffee" carefully selected by our baristas, which can represent the producing region and showcase regional flavors. Among them, the coffee beans from Yunnan region use FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan washed Catimor coffee beans from 1200m altitude in Baoshan, Yunnan, processed using the washed method.

Using a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, medium grind, and 89°C water temperature for pour-over drip brewing, the coffee flavors display plum, melon and fruit notes, nutty flavors, and a black tea-like aftertaste.

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