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 beans were small once the fruit skin and pulp were removed, the Chinese called them small-grain coffee.

Later, genetic identification showed that these first coffee trees in Yunnan were the Typica variety of the Arabica species. Strangely, the coffee most widely planted in Yunnan today is Catimor, a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta. Why? FrontStreet Coffee looks at the stories of these two varieties in Yunnan here.

What is the Typica Variety?

Typica is the oldest native variety from Ethiopia, originating in southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan. Years of research indicate that all Arabica varieties grown today descend from Typica.

Because it carries no genes from other varieties, it has the purest Arabica lineage. Typica beans give elegant flavours, a clean mouthfeel, delicate aromas and excellent sweetness.

Its drawbacks are a weak constitution, poor disease resistance, low yield and high cultivation costs. Yunnan originally planted mainly Typica, including the coffee China supplied to Russia to repay debt, which was also Typica.

After the debt was repaid, however, the state no longer bought coffee uniformly for export. With Typica expensive to maintain and domestic demand for coffee limited, many farmers cut down their trees and planted other crops. It was not until Nestlé took an interest in Yunnan's precious land and distributed Catimor, which resists disease and pests better and yields more, that coffee cultivation in Yunnan resumed.

Flavor and Taste Characteristics of Yunnan Typica Coffee Beans

Since 2013 FrontStreet Coffee has planted a small batch of Typica on mountains at 1,300m altitude in Lincang, Yunnan. FrontStreet Coffee chose Typica because specialty coffee should start with the variety. The Typica that first entered Yunnan has adapted over more than a century, its genes adjusting to the local terroir and climate. If Yunnan coffee is to have a clean mouthfeel, FrontStreet Coffee believes, the work has to begin with the variety.

Today FrontStreet Coffee harvests roughly 600 kilograms of Yunnan Typica a year. Traditional sun-drying gives the beans a fuller body and a slight fermentation note. Brewed as pour-over at a 1:15 ratio with a medium grind size and 89°C water, the cup shows plum, berry, fermentation notes, brown sugar and a black-tea 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 pure Arabica. It is a cross of Timor, itself a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta, with Caturra, a variant of Bourbon, so it carries 25 percent Robusta lineage. That Robusta heritage also sets its flavour limits: insufficient aroma richness and an overall bitterness in the cup.

Some poor-quality Catimor lots turn astringent with a rather irritating mouldy note. But because it needs no shade trees, is easy to cultivate, costs little to maintain and yields well, Catimor is a mainstay of commercial coffee. For a long time Yunnan Catimor was the raw material for Nestlé instant coffee. That was largely because these beans received no scientific cultivation and no proper processing at the time. They were usually planted below 1,000m altitude.

In fact, as long as Catimor is planted above 1,200 metres and given scientific cultivation and clean, hygienic processing and drying, Yunnan Catimor can show quite good flavour under traditional sun-dried or washed processing.

Flavor and Taste Characteristics of Yunnan Catimor Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee's best-selling line is Daily Coffee, selected by its baristas to represent each producing region and its regional flavours. The Yunnan beans in that line are FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yunnan Catimor from 1,200m altitude in Baoshan, processed by the washed method.

Brewed as pour-over at a 1:15 ratio with a medium grind size and 89°C water, the cup shows plum, melon and fruit notes, nutty flavours and a black-tea aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you are new to Yunnan coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan small-grain coffee is the natural entry point. It comes from the Baoshan region and is washed and medium roasted, giving soft nut and chocolate sweetness with a light plum acidity at an easy price. Yunnan's small-grain coffee is really Arabica under another name: among the three original coffee species, Arabica bears the smallest fruit. The variety traces back to 1904, when the French missionary Tian Deneng brought coffee seed, Typica among it, from Vietnam and planted the first tree in Zhukula village, Binchuan county, Yunnan. The region's geography and climate suited it so well that cultivation took off.

For a clearer, more advanced taste of the region, FrontStreet Coffee's 2013 sun-dried Typica is the next step. FrontStreet Coffee planted its own estate and Typica trees in 2013, choosing Typica because it is one of the oldest varieties with a pure Arabica lineage, prized for elegant, clean flavour, and because it was the variety the first missionaries planted in Yunnan. Only fully ripe red cherries are used; after natural processing the beans are medium roasted for a more balanced cup with brighter sweetness and acidity, showing dark berry, caramel sweetness, chocolate and a hint of dried apricot, with a black-tea finish.

If you want Yunnan in an espresso-driven cup, FrontStreet Coffee's Cocoa Blend combines Yunnan small-grain coffee with Brazil Cerrado, leaning toward the espresso range. The Brazilian side supplies mixed nut aroma and balance, while the Yunnan side carries chocolate and citrus. As an americano it is balanced across sweet, sour and bitter with nut and brown-sugar sweetness, and as a latte it turns smooth with almond and cream.