How Many Coffee Beans Can One Coffee Tree Produce and How Many Typica Coffee Trees Can Be Planted Per Acre

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In Yunnan, where the Catimor coffee variety is predominantly grown, what makes the Typica coffee variety become the "main force" of FrontStreet Coffee's plantation? How many coffee trees can be planted on one mu of land, and how many coffee fruits can one mu produce? In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will answer these questions one by one!

How Many Coffee Trees Can Be Planted Per Mu? How Much Coffee Can One Mu Produce?

In FrontStreet Coffee's practice of growing Yunnan coffee, because Catimor grows in a cylindrical, straight manner and can be densely planted, generally 330 trees are planted per mu, with an approximate yield of 300kg per mu; whereas Typica coffee trees' main vertical trunk can reach up to 5 meters in height. This height means that compared to other varieties, the distance between branches and between nodes on the same branch is longer, so 100 trees are planted per mu, with an approximate yield of 100kg per mu.

Coffee Tree Growing Conditions

The most ideal growing conditions for coffee trees are: a warm climate with temperatures between 15-25°C, and the annual rainfall must reach 1500-2000 millimeters, while the timing of rainfall must align with the flowering cycle of coffee trees. Of course, in addition to the coordination of seasonal rainfall, fertile soil with good drainage is also essential. Furthermore, although sunlight is an indispensable element for coffee growth and fruiting, excessively strong sunlight will inhibit the growth of coffee trees, so various production areas usually plant some shade trees in coordination. The ideal altitude for coffee tree growth is 500-2000 meters. From this, we can see that the conditions for cultivating high-quality coffee are quite strict: sunlight, rainfall, soil, temperature, as well as the methods and processes of coffee bean harvesting and processing, will all affect the quality of the coffee itself.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan coffee plantation is situated at 1200m in Baoshan. The Yunnan Baoshan coffee production area has an average temperature of 21.5°C, is basically frost-free year-round, and has sufficient rainfall throughout the year, making it very suitable for coffee tree growing conditions. Coffee cultivated in the Baoshan coffee production area is rich but not bitter, fragrant but not strong, with small and uniformly shaped coffee beans that offer a mellow, rich flavor and carry fruity notes.

How Long Does It Take for Coffee Trees to Flower and Bear Fruit?

The first flowering period of coffee trees occurs around three years of age. The white, five-petaled, tubular flowers emit a faint jasmine fragrance, with dense inflorescences arranged in clusters. The petals will wither within two to three days, and fruits will appear several months later. The fruit is a drupe with a diameter of about 1.5 centimeters, initially green, gradually turning yellow, and becoming red when mature, very similar to cherries, hence called coffee cherries. At this point, they can be harvested.

Coffee cherries contain two seeds, which are the coffee beans. These two beans stand upright facing each other with their flat sides connected. Each coffee bean has a thin outer membrane called the silver skin, which is covered by a yellow outer skin called the endocarp. The entire coffee bean is enclosed in a mucilaginous pulp, forming soft, sweet-tasting coffee flesh, with the outermost layer being the husk.

In Yunnan Where Catimor Prevails, Was Typica Actually the First Variety Planted?

The earliest history of coffee cultivation in Yunnan can be traced back to the early 20th century, but at that time it was mainly foreign missionaries planting coffee for their own consumption. Subsequently, in the 1950s, the earliest large-scale commercial cultivation began, with the produced coffee mainly exported to the Soviet Union. During that period of Yunnan's coffee cultivation history, considering Yunnan's coffee growing environment and conditions, as well as coffee quality, the Typica variety was primarily chosen.

However, Typica is a rather difficult-to-care-for and low-yielding "little guy." Although Typica coffee is characterized by its elegant, clean flavor, balanced characteristics, and high cleanliness. Perhaps relying on its "excellence," Typica trees have low yield per tree, require high altitude, are susceptible to coffee leaf rust, and have weak resistance to pests and diseases! Ah~ clearly a difficult "little guy" to deal with - at altitudes insufficient for Typica to develop its flavor characteristics, while yield is low and it's prone to disease! On the other hand, farmers did not yet have specialty coffee awareness, so they would naturally stay away from Typica. Since the flavor quality wasn't good, Yunnan coffee farmers gradually turned their attention to the hybrid son of Arabica and Robusta - "Catimor."

FrontStreet Coffee's choice to primarily plant Typica coffee in their plantation stems from the belief that to change the current flavor profile of Yunnan coffee, we must start from the root cause. Currently, Yunnan coffee blindly relies on special processing methods to quickly change undesirable coffee flavors, leading consumers to have the fixed impression that "only specially processed Yunnan coffee is drinkable." Typica coffee has its unique elegant and clean flavor, as well as balanced characteristics with high taste cleanliness - something special processing methods cannot achieve. Whether coffee tastes good ultimately depends on the coffee bean variety, after all, special processing methods cannot be a long-term solution.

Main Green Bean Processing Method in Yunnan Coffee — Washed Processing

When FrontStreet Coffee visited the Yunnan production area during the planting season, they truly experienced what a rainy season means. Sunny for a few minutes, raining for half an hour. It's precisely because of the perennial rainy season and unstable climate that most Yunnan coffee beans use washed processing. The harvested cherries have most of their pulp separated from the coffee beans using a depulper, then the parchment beans are guided to a clean water tank and soaked in water for fermentation to completely remove the remaining pulp layer.

In the past (about five years ago), washed processing was often the first choice for high-quality coffee bean processing. Through water processing, unripe and defective beans are selected out due to buoyancy, and the fermentation process is easier to control, so the flavor unlike natural processed beans doesn't have off-flavors, but instead presents distinct fruit acidity, slightly stronger complexity, and cleaner cup characteristics (without any negative flavors like astringency or sharpness).

How Does FrontStreet Coffee Roast Yunnan Typica Coffee Beans?

Yangjia 800N (roasting amount 300 grams): Preheat roaster to 200°C, set air damper to 3. After 1 minute, adjust heat to 160°C, temperature recovery point at 1'32", roast until 5'40" when yellowing occurs at 149°C, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration complete, maintain heat, adjust air damper to 4. At 6 minutes, adjust heat to 140. At 7 minutes, adjust heat again to 120.

At 8 minutes, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transforms to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'37", first crack begins, adjust heat to 90, open air damper fully to 5. At 9 minutes, reduce heat to 20 degrees. First crack develops for 2'00", drop at 196°C.

How Does FrontStreet Coffee Brew Yunnan Typica Coffee?

Dripper: Hario V60 (the rib design of this dripper can enhance the coffee's layering)

Dose: 15g

Ratio: 1:15

Grind: Medium-fine grind (76% pass-through rate with 0.85mm aperture sieve)

Temperature: 90°C

FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented brewing. First, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, during which the coffee expands into a "hamburger" shape. For the second segment, pour 125g of water in small circles from the center. Pour height is 4cm, with gentle force to minimize agitation of the coffee bed, water flow rate at 4g per second. When the water level drops to 1/2 of the coffee bed, begin the third segment. This pour is also gentle, starting from the center and spiraling outward until reaching 225g. End extraction when all coffee liquid has dripped through the filter, with a total time of 2'01". After extraction is complete, gently swirl to ensure the coffee is fully mixed before tasting.

Brewing Flavor:

Rich fruit aroma on entry, with melon and herbal plant notes. The mid-section reveals nuts and milk chocolate, while the finish shows lively, bright plum acidity. As the temperature cools from hot to warm, you can experience layers of sweet and sour - first sweet then acidic, with apricot and citrus-toned acidity, and a black tea finish with some brown sugar sweetness.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: 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