What does yunnan coffee taste like in a pour-over?

Yunnan coffee brewed as a pour-over shows a balanced profile of nuts, brown sugar and a heavy body, with far less citrus brightness than Yirgacheffe and none of the white floral lift of Panama Geisha coffee or the herbal spice of Mandheling. It is a mild, sweet, approachable cup rather than a sharply acidic one.

The flavor traces back to the growing conditions: Yunnan sits at the northern edge of the coffee belt, where high altitude and a distinct dry and wet season shape the bean. Local small-bean varieties, many of them Typica-related, plus washed and honey processing, keep the cup clean and sweet with restrained acidity.

Coffee is often seen as an imported product, but China also has its own important producing region—Yunnan. With the development of the domestic coffee market and the influence of films and television works, more and more people have begun to pay attention to Yunnan coffee. Unlike the citrus notes of Yirgacheffe, the floral fragrance of Geisha, and the herbal spice of Mandheling, Yunnan coffee shows a balanced style of nuts, brown sugar, and high body. This article will help you understand the source of Yunnan coffee's flavor from three angles: Yunnan's main producing regions, planted varieties, and processing methods, and will also answer the question "Is Yunnan coffee good to drink?" The article also retains Front Street brand's representative recommendations from Yunnan producing regions for coffee lovers' reference.

The biggest image coffee gives people may be that of an imported product. Coffee, as a crop, originated in Ethiopia in Africa. Today, the largest Arabica coffee producing country is Brazil. When talking about the best coffee, people used to say Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, and now perhaps Panama Geisha coffee.

So does China grow coffee? Of course it does, especially after a film released last year, "Coffee or Tea?", which made more people realize and recognize China's most important coffee producing region—Yunnan.

Unlike the commonly seen [Front Street Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Coffee], [Front Street Panama Geisha Coffee], and other coffees already well known to many enthusiasts, Yunnan coffee has also gradually risen with the development and promotion of the domestic coffee market. Many people have developed a strong interest in Yunnan coffee, but the unknown nature of Yunnan coffee forms a sharp contrast with coffees already famous abroad. We know that [Front Street Washed Yirgacheffe] mostly carries citrus fruit notes, Front Street Panama Geisha reminds people of white florals, and the classic Front Street Indonesia Mandheling coffee has an herbal spice flavor base. So what about Yunnan coffee? What does Yunnan coffee taste like? Is Yunnan coffee good to drink?

The taste of coffee is influenced by many factors. To know whether Yunnan coffee is good to drink, we may as well first understand Yunnan coffee from the following aspects.

Yunnan's coffee producing regions

Coffee is generally suitable for cultivation between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, which we call the "Coffee Belt." It happens that the western and southern parts of Yunnan Province lie between 15°N and the Tropic of Cancer. At the same time, most areas also have the high altitude required for coffee cultivation and production. The terrain is mainly mountainous and sloping, with significant undulation, fertile soil, ample sunshine, abundant rainfall, and a large temperature difference between day and night.

Yunnan coffee is mainly grown in Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Wenshan, Baoshan, Dehong, Lincang, and other places.

Dehong

Dehong's climate resources are also uniquely favorable. The entire prefecture is close to the Tropic of Cancer, at a low latitude, and is influenced by the southwest monsoon from the Indian Ocean, belonging to a southern subtropical monsoon climate.

The Gaoligong Mountains on the northeast side block the dry and cold air currents flowing south from Siberia from entering. In summer, the warm and humid air currents from the Indian Ocean rise along the windward slopes of the southwest-inclined mountainous terrain, forming abundant natural precipitation. In addition, because of the large solar incidence angle in the low-latitude plateau zone and good air transparency, it is one of the country's high-quality sunshine areas.

Annual solar radiation is 137–143 cal/cm², annual rainfall is between 1,400 and 1,700 mm, the annual average temperature is 18.4–20°C, annual sunshine is 2,281–2,453 hours, annual accumulated temperature is 6,400–7,300°C, annual land evaporation is between 1,400 and 1,900 mm, and the aridity index is between 0.4 and 1.2.

This forms Dehong's characteristics of no severe cold in winter, no extreme heat in summer, abundant rainfall, rain and heat in the same period, dry and cold in the same season, small annual temperature difference, large daily temperature difference, short frost period, and few frost days, providing good conditions for coffee trees to grow and overwinter.

Baoshan

Coffee cultivation in Baoshan began in the mid-1950s. The first coffee seedling was introduced from Southeast Asia by the late patriotic overseas Chinese Mr. Liang Jinshan. In recent years, with the expansion of international trade, the small-seed coffee of Lujiangba has become even more famous.

Baoshan has a low-latitude mountainous subtropical monsoon climate. Because it is located in a low-latitude plateau, with complex topography and landforms, it forms a three-dimensional climate of "one mountain divided into four seasons, ten miles with different weather."

Its characteristics are: small annual temperature difference, large daily temperature difference, and an average annual temperature of 14–17°C; abundant precipitation, distinct dry and wet seasons, and uneven distribution, with annual rainfall of 700–2,100 mm.

Lincang

Its unique geographical location and climatic conditions have made Lincang the focus of many coffee enterprises, and high-quality coffee seedling bases of 200 mu and 100 mu were successively established in Mengding Town, Gengma Autonomous County, and Lincang Xingfu Farm. Coffee cultivation is carried out in Gengma, Zhenkang, Yunxian, Cangyuan, Yongde, and other places.

Lincang City has a subtropical low-latitude plateau mountainous monsoon climate. Its topography and terrain are complex, and it is a region with multiple climate types.

Lincang is mainly affected by the warm and humid air currents of the Indian Ocean and the southwest monsoon. The distinction between the four seasons is not obvious, but the dry and rainy seasons are distinct. There is relatively more rain, and sunshine duration is long. The annual average sunshine number is more than 2,000 hours, and the frost period is relatively short. Some areas are frost-free all year round. The three-dimensional climate is obvious, and the average annual temperature in mountainous areas is 13–15°C.

Pu'er

Pu'er, a tea township, has a history of coffee cultivation for 150 years. In the early 1990s, Pu'er City began to cultivate coffee as an advantageous pillar industry for adjusting the industrial structure and increasing farmers' income and prosperity.

Because Pu'er is affected by a subtropical monsoon climate, most areas here are frost-free all year round, with no severe cold in winter and no extreme heat in summer. The average annual temperature in Pu'er City is 15–20.3°C, the annual frost-free period is more than 315 days, and annual rainfall is 1,100–2,780 mm.

Yunnan's coffee varieties

The taste of Yunnan coffee is also affected by the coffee varieties planted there. Front Street baristas often share that the coffee variety is the main source of the flavor base of a coffee. The Geisha variety is an example. The Geisha variety planted in Panama has exquisite tea-like and floral aromas that make people happy. After winning the Best of Panama green bean competition in 2004, it became famous, and producing regions around the world have tried planting Geisha. Even in Yunnan, you can find Geisha. In 2020, a small batch of Yunnan Geisha was even released in the domestic market.

But Front Street Coffee believes that Yunnan's flavor comes from the Catimor variety, which has been planted there for many years and is the most widespread. Therefore, Front Street Coffee selected a Yunnan Catimor as the entry-level Front Street daily coffee bean from the Yunnan producing region. Its flavor is nuts and brown sugar, with high body and overall balance.

Although classified under the Arabica species, Catimor is not entirely of Arabica lineage. Catimor is a hybrid variety from Timor and Caturra. Caturra, as we know, comes from a natural mutation of Bourbon, while Timor is a coffee variety carrying Robusta genes. The Robusta lineage also gives Catimor higher resistance to disease and pests and higher yield, but it also means the flavor lacks refinement.

In addition to Catimor, Yunnan also grows varieties such as Typica and Bourbon. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has also listed a Typica variety as a representative of Yunnan coffee. Compared with Catimor, Yunnan Typica coffee as a whole is still mainly nutty and brown sugar in tone, but the Typica variety gives this Yunnan coffee slightly more refined acidity, slightly lower body, and greater balance.

By the entrance of the Front Street shop, there happen to be a pot of Typica and a pot of Catimor planted. The Typica variety tree is tall, with long nodes and low yield, and new leaves are brown. The Catimor variety has many leaves, short nodes, dense branches, high yield, and a shorter growth cycle than Typica.

Yunnan coffee processing methods

Finally, the taste of Yunnan coffee comes from the choice of processing method. Yunnan coffee is mainly washed and sun-dried. Washed coffee is characterized by being clean, stable, and having higher acidity. Sun-dried coffee is characterized by high sweetness, rich layering, and a full mouthfeel.

What is the process of the washed processing method? The harvested coffee cherries are put through a machine to remove the skin and pulp. The peeled coffee beans are placed in a fermentation tank for fermentation, using fermentation to break down the mucilage layer. The fermented coffee beans are repeatedly washed with clean water to wash away the decomposed mucilage. Finally, the coffee beans are dried. After that, the dried coffee beans can be stored and wait to be transported to various places.

Front Street believes that washed processing is the best way to reflect the basic flavor characteristics of a producing region's coffee. So if you want to lightly taste the unique terroir flavor of Yunnan coffee, buy Front Street Yunnan small-seed daily coffee beans from Baoshan with washed processing.

But if you want to drink the pure taste of Yunnan specialty coffee, then it is recommended to taste Front Street 2013 Sun-Dried Typica planted in Lincang, Yunnan by Front Street. This single-origin product is the result of Front Street's cultivation on a Yunnan estate. It uses sun-dried processing and is presented with a medium roast. The coffee flavor shows plum, prune, brown sugar, and nuts, and is very suitable for beginners to taste.

So is Yunnan coffee good to drink?

Now that we understand Yunnan's producing areas, Yunnan's coffee varieties, and Yunnan coffee's processing methods, these factors combine to form Yunnan coffee's nutty, brown sugar, and richly aromatic tone. If you ask whether Yunnan coffee is good to drink? For people who like balanced, nutty flavors, of course it is good to drink.

Coffee is a subjective beverage. Everyone has different preferences, so naturally the types of coffee they like are also different. Front Street Coffee's store bean list includes more than fifty kinds of coffee. Different coffee producing regions combined with different coffee varieties and processing methods form different flavors.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.