What Does Typica Bring to Yunnan Coffee Beans?
Yunnan coffee first became known through Typica, one of the oldest Arabica varieties. A French missionary brought seeds into the country in 1904 and planted them at Zhukula. Before the 1980s, Yunnan's large-scale plantings were mainly Typica and Bourbon, the small-bean Arabica types that distinguish the region from the Robusta grown in Hainan.
Typica coffee is valued for rich fruit acidity and a delicate mouthfeel, and it also stands behind Blue Mountain and Hawaiian Kona. Its trade-offs are low yield per plant and weak resistance to leaf rust, coffee berry disease and nematodes. In Yunnan, Baoshan Huaguoshan uses washed processing for a rounded cup, while Lincang natural lots lean toward caramel, berries and black tea.
Yunnan coffee has attracted much attention in recent years, and behind the term "small-bean coffee," it was the ancient variety Typica that first made Yunnan coffee widely known. This article focuses on Yunnan Typica coffee beans, first reviewing the history of their introduction to Yunnan and their varietal characteristics, then separately introducing the performance of Typica in the two producing regions of Baoshan and Lincang. The Baoshan Huaguoshan coffee on Front Street Coffee's bean list uses washed processing, presenting a delicate aroma and rounded mouthfeel; while Front Street 2013 comes from Typica personally planted by Front Street in Lincang, processed by the natural method, with prominent sweetness and notes of caramel, berries, and black tea. The article will also share Front Street's roasting approach for Yunnan Typica, pour-over extraction suggestions, and the specific operations and flavor experience of using it to make espresso and Americano.
Yunnan coffee's popularity has continued to rise in recent years, and whenever you look up related information, "small-bean coffee" is almost the most commonly appearing term. And what first made Yunnan small-bean coffee famous was one of the oldest native varieties—Typica. Today Front Street will talk about what characteristics the Typica coffee beans grown in Yunnan's producing regions possess.
How did Typica coffee come to Yunnan?
The starting point of Yunnan coffee can be traced back to 1904. At that time, a French missionary brought coffee seeds from abroad into Yunnan and planted the first batch of coffee trees in a place called Zhukula. Before the 1980s, the varieties planted on a large scale in Yunnan were mainly two ancient small-bean species: Typica and Bourbon. The small-bean species mentioned here refers to Arabica varieties with relatively small beans, used to distinguish them from the medium-bean Robusta coffee beans grown in Hainan.
Typica's flavor expression is quite rich, often carrying various fruit acids and a delicate mouthfeel, and it is recognized as a high-quality variety. The famous Blue Mountain coffee and Hawaiian Kona coffee both belong to Typica. In appearance, the Typica tree is relatively tall and has decent cold resistance, but its yield per plant is low, and its stress resistance is also weak, making it highly susceptible to leaf rust, coffee berry disease, and nematode disease. Therefore, it requires more manual management, and since the variety does not have much price advantage in the market, many Yunnan coffee farmers have turned to planting higher-yielding replacement varieties.
Although Yunnan is currently dominated by the Catimor variety, some growers still insist on planting the ancient high-quality variety Typica in pursuit of better coffee flavor. For example, two Yunnan coffees on Front Street's bean list use the Typica variety: one is the Huaguoshan coffee from Baoshan, and the other is Front Street 2013 coffee.
Yunnan Baoshan Typica Coffee
Baoshan is one of the earlier-developed coffee producing regions in Yunnan. Lujiangba has the largest coffee planting base in the country, and there is also Xinzhai Village, known as "China's No. 1 Coffee Village." There, every household's mountain is covered with coffee trees, coffee beans are dried in the courtyards, and the houses are filled with the aroma of coffee. The local warm climate with no frost throughout the year allows coffee trees to grow vigorously in a nourishing and comfortable environment. Fertile soil combined with just the right rainfall provides crops with sufficient moisture. Such good mountains and good water also make the local coffee beans have less pulp and a fresh, sweet taste.
The concentrated harvest period is from November each year to March of the following year, when coffee cherries in the mountains gradually ripen and turn red, and busy farmers can be seen scattered across the hills picking coffee fruit. Most Yunnan coffee farmers have limited conditions and do not have expensive processing equipment, so Yunnan coffee beans generally adopt natural processing methods, namely washed and natural. Yunnan is rich in freshwater resources, but the harvest season easily coincides with rainy days, so washed processing is more suitable for production, and washing has also become the most common green bean processing method in Yunnan at present.
This Baoshan Huaguoshan coffee from Front Street uses washed processing. Before drying, the coffee pulp is removed cleanly through depulping, soaking, and fermentation. In flavor, it shows the delicate aroma of the Typica coffee beans themselves, as well as a rounded and smooth mouthfeel, while also having rich fruity notes. Front Street believes that washed coffee beans have better cleanliness and can also express the basic flavor tone of the producing region, which is also a natural processing method that Front Street particularly likes.
Yunnan Lincang Typica Coffee
In order to explore more coffee knowledge, Front Street went to Lincang, Yunnan in 2013 and began the chapter of planting coffee. From site selection, seed selection, seedling cultivation, planting, harvesting, processing, to roasting, everything was handled personally by Front Street colleagues, and from this they also summarized a great deal of experience and knowledge about varieties, altitudes, and processing methods.
The coffee varieties originally planted in Yunnan were the ancient Typica and Bourbon. Later, Yunnan coffee was affected by global leaf rust, coffee trees died on a large scale, and the planting area shrank significantly. After that, with the support of various foreign enterprises, the high-yield and disease-resistant Catimor was introduced. This also established Catimor's position in replacing the ancient Typica and becoming the main variety of Yunnan coffee today. Because Typica coffee beans have low yield, are prone to disease, and have high management and protection costs, it means growers need a longer exploration period, which is also the reason most Yunnan coffee farmers are unwilling to plant it.
Lincang, Yunnan is affected by the warm, humid airflow from the Indian Ocean and the southwest monsoon. The distinction between the four seasons is not obvious, but the dry and rainy seasons are distinct, with relatively high rainfall, long sunshine hours, and a short frost period. Some areas have no frost all year round, and the vertical climate is obvious, making it very suitable for Arabica coffee cultivation. Therefore, Front Street specially chose the most primitive Typica. However, the delicate Typica is also notorious for low yield and poor resistance, so Front Street put a lot of effort into planting and management. After 5–6 years of cultivation, Front Street finally harvested the first batch of results in 2020, produced them with the natural sun-dried processing method, and named it "Front Street 2013."
After harvesting, the Typica coffee fruit planted by Front Street is immediately processed by the natural method to maintain the freshness of the coffee. Front Street first performs screening, and flotation is one of the commonly used screening methods. After screening, the coffee fruit is placed under the sun for sun-drying. Front Street arranges for personnel to turn it at regular intervals to avoid uneven heating of the coffee fruit, which could lead to excessive fermentation. When the coffee fruit dehydrates from bright red to dark purple and reaches the target moisture content, it can be sent for hulling and roasting. The naturally processed Typica presents a fuller fermented flavor than washed processing, with prominent sweetness and aromas of caramel, berries, and black tea.
Flavor Characteristics of Yunnan Typica Coffee
In roasting, Front Street believes that the taste of Yunnan coffee should carry a mellow coffee aroma while also having a certain amount of acidity, so Front Street uses a medium roast level. For daily store output, Front Street extracts by pour-over, hoping to present the coffee's own aroma for everyone to taste. Pour-over black coffee is not only the extraction method used by Front Street Coffee baristas for daily output, but also a method many coffee people can easily operate at home.
Front Street takes into consideration that Yunnan Typica coffee tends toward a balanced mouthfeel, that is, not too high in acidity and not too heavy in bitterness. Front Street prefers to use a V60 dripper, with a medium-fine grind size and medium water temperature for extraction, to highlight the neutrality and balance in the mouthfeel of Yunnan Typica coffee beans.
Is Yunnan Typica suitable for making espresso?
Out of a desire to present the balanced tonality of Yunnan coffee, Front Street presents this self-produced naturally processed Typica with a medium roast, so after grinding it carries aromas of brown sugar, chocolate, cream, and nutty cookies, with balanced acidity, bitterness, and sweetness. Therefore, in addition to pour-over, it is also suitable for extraction with a moka pot and an espresso machine. Below, Front Street will use the store's output equipment to demonstrate how to make a delicious Yunnan SOE.
The coffee machine at Front Street's store is the commercial single-group "Lelit Bianca," which can adjust extraction by changing pressure, with a maximum pressure of 11 bar. A home coffee machine only needs to reach 9 bar of pressure to satisfy the functions of extraction and milk frothing, paired with an espresso grinder.
Front Street uses the capacity of a double filter basket, with a dose of about 18–20 grams, and Front Street uses 20 grams of coffee powder for output. Usually the ratio of coffee powder to coffee liquid is between 1:1.5 and 1:2.5, and Front Street's extraction ratio is 1:2, that is, 20 grams of coffee powder extracting 40 grams of coffee liquid. Time is related to the flow rate of the coffee powder; generally a single extraction is controlled within 20–35 seconds, because within 20 seconds the coffee usually tastes thin, while exceeding 35 seconds makes it easy to over-extract and produce a burnt bitter taste. Front Street's espresso is mostly in the range of 28–30 seconds.
Front Street first wipes the filter basket dry, turns on the grinder, grinds the amount for a double shot of coffee powder, places it on an electronic scale to increase or decrease until it reaches 20 grams. Then use a tool to distribute the grounds evenly, and tamp the coffee puck firmly to ensure more stable coffee extraction. Then turn on the extraction switch to release water, wetting the group head while also carrying away the coffee grounds stuck on it. Attach the portafilter gently and slowly to the group head, and begin pulling the extraction. When the electronic scale shows that 40 grams of coffee liquid has been extracted, at about 30 seconds, the extraction switch can be pulled down. Pour the coffee liquid into an Espresso cup and it is ready to enjoy.
The taste and mouthfeel of Espresso are related to the coffee beans used, and today this Yunnan naturally processed Typica from Front Street made into Espresso has moderate crema, with the sweetness of chocolate and cocoa on the palate, as well as soft acidity, and the overall mouthfeel is relatively balanced.
In order to better experience the charm of this espresso, Front Street adds a certain proportion of hot water to make it into Americano. According to a 1:4 ratio, add 160 ml of warm hot water to the espresso. On the palate there are flavors of plum, dried apricot, chocolate, and nuts, with a black tea-like finish, making it very comfortable to drink.
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
