Yunnan Coffee Varieties, Roasting Requirements for Yunnan Arabica Coffee, Brewing Parameters and Flavor Characteristics of Yunnan Catimor

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Introduction to Yunnan Coffee

With the release of the movie "Coffee or Tea?", more and more friends have learned about Yunnan coffee. FrontStreet Coffee has also been asked how to brew the newly purchased small-grain coffee and what kind of flavor characteristics it should have. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce Yunnan's characteristic coffee - Yunnan small-grain coffee.

What is Small-Grain Coffee?

Small-grain coffee refers to Arabica coffee beans. Because the coffee beans are relatively small in size, they are also called small-fruit coffee. Robusta coffee is called medium-fruit coffee, and Liberica belongs to large-fruit coffee. Yunnan grows Arabica coffee, so it's also called Yunnan small-grain coffee.

Coffee Varieties in Yunnan

Yunnan's small-grain coffee is mainly Typica. Due to Typica's poor disease resistance and susceptibility to leaf rust, it requires constant monitoring of its growth conditions and careful attention to every leaf. Because of Typica's low yield, another variety was added to Yunnan's small-grain coffee: Catimor. Catimor is a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta. Robusta has good leaf rust resistance, rich oils, high yield, and is easy to cultivate. After hybridizing with Arabica's Typica, Catimor has 25% Robusta genes. It improved leaf rust resistance while retaining rich oils and maintaining some of the rich flavors of the original Typica. Therefore, most Yunnan plantations began large-scale cultivation of Catimor, while Typica's cultivation range began to shrink.

Currently, the main coffee varieties cultivated in Yunnan include Catimor, Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and others. However, almost all of what you see on the market is Catimor. So now Yunnan small-grain coffee refers to Yunnan Catimor.

In 1959, the Portuguese moved the Bourbon mutant variety Caturra from Brazil to East Timor and crossbred it with Timor, which has Robusta ancestry. They successfully cultivated Catimor, which has excellent disease resistance and productivity. As leaf rust affected coffee-producing countries worldwide, with the assistance of international organizations, various producing countries vigorously promoted Catimor to resist leaf rust and increase productivity.

Yunnan Coffee Growing Conditions

Small-grain coffee is suitable for growing in mountainous areas at altitudes of 800-1800 meters. If the altitude is too high, the flavor becomes sour; if too low, it becomes bitter. Most small-grain coffee is planted in dry-hot valley areas around 1100 meters altitude, so it has moderate acidity, rich aroma, and mellow flavor. Many areas in Yunnan have unique environments suitable for growing small-grain coffee, producing excellent quality small-grain coffee.

The main growing areas are distributed in regions such as Lincang, Baoshan, Simao, Xishuangbanna, and Dehong. Baoshan has an average temperature of 21.5°C, reaching up to 40.4°C, with basically no frost throughout the year, making it recognized as the best small-grain coffee producing area. The small-grain coffee cultivated here is famous both domestically and internationally for being strong but not bitter, fragrant but not intense, with small and uniform grains, rich mellow aroma, and fruity notes. International Coffee Organization tasting experts have evaluated Yunnan coffee as being in the same category as Colombian wet-processed small-grain coffee, making it one of the better quality coffees in the world.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Small-Grain Coffee

Origin: Baoshan, Yunnan
Altitude: 1200m
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: Catimor

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

Due to the bean variety, Yunnan small-grain coffee may have some earthy and herbal flavors. FrontStreet Coffee's roasters use a medium-light roast with an extended dehydration period to reduce these flavors while highlighting the black tea and plum acidity characteristics.

Roasting Profile: Enter beans at 190°C, heat at 120, damper at 3; return temperature at 1'40", when furnace temperature reaches 145°C, open damper to 4, heat unchanged; when furnace temperature reaches 166°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration stage. When furnace temperature reaches 188°C, adjust heat to 60°C, damper at 5; at 8'37", bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black patterns, 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 9'00", first crack begins, damper unchanged, develop for 3 minutes after first crack, discharge at 198°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using the V60 conical dripper. The V60 has a large opening and, combined with its unique spiral ribs, allows air to be discharged more easily, thereby improving extraction quality. The body might not be thick enough, but its high concentration that brings out Yunnan coffee's fruity acidity and distinct aroma is one of its major characteristics.

Dripper: V60
Water Temperature: 90-92°C
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Medium-fine grind, equivalent to fine sugar size (Chinese standard #20 sieve pass rate 70%)
Brewing Method: Segmented extraction. Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, when injecting water to 124g with small circular flow, create segments. When water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 227g and stop pouring. When water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. Extraction time is 2 minutes (starting from bloom timing).

Flavor Profile

Smooth entry with Asian herbal plant aromas, lively and bright acidity, saliva-inducing on both cheeks. The acidity is soft, with good balance between richness and body, rich layers, and distinct black chocolate, honey, and cane sugar flavors in the aftertaste. When completely cooled, brown sugar flavors emerge.

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