Want to know where coffee is actually grown in China and what the quality and flavor of Yunnan coffee beans is like? This article will take you through the tortuous development of Yunnan coffee from its introduction in 1904 to the present, sort out the characteristic differences between the two major varieties, Typica and Catimor, and explain in detail the terroir conditions of core producing areas such as Baoshan and Lincang. At the same time, we retain Front Street brand's selection approach for Baoshan Catimor and Lincang sun-dried Typica, with pour-over parameters and flavor descriptions attached, to help coffee lovers fully understand the potential and charm of Yunnan beans.

In recent years, with the rise of national trend culture in the new era, more and more coffee professionals have turned their attention to local coffee. Yunnan coffee has accordingly become a trend for coffee brands across the country, and a group of coffee brands born in Yunnan have also begun to emerge, becoming shining examples of "national goods."

Under the spotlight of the rise of national trends, Yunnan coffee beans have ushered in their own golden age. Let us first review the difficult development of Yunnan coffee.

The Development of Yunnan Coffee

The beginning of the story of Yunnan coffee can be traced back to 1904, when a French missionary brought coffee seeds into Yunnan from abroad and successfully planted the first coffee tree in a place called Zhukula. He probably would not have imagined that a century later coffee would become a highlight of Yunnan's plateau characteristic agriculture.

The 1960s were a stage in which the scale of coffee planting in Yunnan further expanded. In 1952, after the founding of New China, under the leadership of expert Ma Guojin from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, large-scale coffee planting was officially developed, and the coffee produced was used to supply the Soviet Union. During this period, in 1937, the patriotic overseas Chinese Mr. Liang Jinshan brought a batch of seeds back from Myanmar to Baoshan, opening up coffee farmland in Lujiangba, Baoshan. At this time, the varieties in Yunnan all belonged to Typica and the Bourbon variant, and the planting area reached as much as 50,000 mu.

Later, Yunnan coffee was affected by global leaf rust, causing large-scale death of coffee trees and a sharp reduction in planting area. By the 1980s, during the reform and opening up, Yunnan coffee gradually began to enter the international market. In 1988, foreign enterprises such as Nestle established branches in China and supported the development of Yunnan's coffee industry in many ways. They not only introduced high-yield, disease-resistant varieties such as Catimor, but also promised to purchase Yunnan coffee beans as raw materials at the then-current U.S. futures price. These measures further expanded Yunnan's coffee planting area and also increased the enthusiasm of coffee farmers. In 1995, the Yunnan Provincial Government officially included Yunnan coffee planting in the "18 Project" for biological resources, and coffee planting developed rapidly, with both area and output greatly increased.

After the turn of the millennium, various industries in China developed vigorously, and the concept of specialty coffee was continuously promoted domestically. In many producing areas in Yunnan, some second- and third-generation coffee farmers adopted planting and processing methods in line with international standards, and many domestic specialty coffee brands also began deep connections with Yunnan producing areas. Every year, more stunning Yunnan specialty coffee appears in our field of vision.

The Varieties of Yunnan Coffee

Before the 1980s, the varieties widely planted in Yunnan were two ancient small-bean varieties: Typica and Bourbon. The so-called small-bean type refers to Arabica varieties with smaller beans, in contrast to Hainan's medium-bean Robusta coffee beans.

Typica has rich and diverse flavors, presenting various fruit acidity and delicate mouthfeel, and is recognized as a high-quality variety. The renowned Front Street Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee and Front Street Hawaiian Kona coffee both belong to Typica. In appearance, the Typica tree is tall and has good cold resistance, but the yield per plant is low, and its resistance is poor, making it highly susceptible to leaf rust, coffee berry disease, and nematode disease. Therefore, it requires more labor for management, and since the variety does not have much advantage in market selling price, many Yunnan coffee farmers choose to switch to higher-yield varieties to replace Typica.

In 1995, the Yunnan Provincial Government officially included Yunnan coffee planting in the "18 Project" for biological resources, which greatly encouraged farmers' enthusiasm for planting, and the planting area in the village also expanded rapidly. In the same year, the Institute of Tropical and Economic Crops of the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences introduced a new disease-resistant and high-yield coffee variety—Catimor, and began planting it in Xinzhai Village in the Nujiang Gorge of Yunnan.

Catimor 7963 is a hybrid variety obtained by the Portuguese Tropical Research Institute (HCT) through research aimed at coffee rust, and its form is stable. In appearance, this variety has the characteristics of a compact tree shape, dwarf habit, many branches, and short fruiting nodes. It grows vigorously and has extremely strong vitality. Its greatest features are its amazing rust resistance and high yield. Therefore, it is deeply loved by Yunnan coffee farmers, and currently more than 90% of coffee trees in Yunnan are Catimor.

What Are the Producing Areas of Yunnan Coffee?

Yunnan coffee planting is distributed across 35 counties and districts in 9 prefectures and cities, including Pu'er City, Baoshan City, Dehong Prefecture, Lincang City, Wenshan Prefecture, and Xishuangbanna. The Yunnan coffee on Front Street's bean list is selected from the Baoshan producing area and the Lincang producing area.

At the foot of Gaoligong Mountain and beside the Nujiang Grand Canyon, Lujiangba nurtures delicious Baoshan small-bean coffee. Lujiangba's altitude is between 640 meters and 1,400 meters, with the altitude most suitable for growing small-bean coffee. In addition, Lujiangba is also a rare typical subtropical dry-hot valley climate in the country, with sufficient sunlight, no frost all year round, and a large temperature difference between day and night, which is conducive to the accumulation of organic matter. Therefore, Baoshan small-bean coffee is rich in protein, crude fiber, crude fat, and sucrose, and low in caffeine, "strong but not bitter, fragrant but not harsh." Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), based on the flavor characteristics of the Yunnan producing area, found a Front Street Catimor coffee bean from the Baoshan producing area in Yunnan. As part of Front Street's signature daily-bean series, this Front Street Baoshan Yunnan small-bean coffee allows everyone to taste the flavor of the Yunnan producing area with extremely high cost performance.

Another Front Street Yunnan coffee on Front Street's bean list comes from Lincang. It is a coffee bean grown and produced by Front Street itself, selected from the elegant-flavored Typica variety and using the natural sun-dried processing method.

Yunnan coffee planting is distributed across 35 counties and districts in 9 prefectures and cities, including Pu'er City, Baoshan City, Dehong Prefecture, Lincang City, Wenshan Prefecture, and Xishuangbanna. The Yunnan coffee on Front Street's bean list is selected from the Baoshan producing area and the Lincang producing area.

Yunnan's Lincang is affected by the warm and humid air flow 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. There is more 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. Front Street specifically chose the most original Typica. Typica has rich and diverse flavors, presenting various fruit acidity and delicate mouthfeel, and is recognized as a high-quality variety. The renowned Front Street Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee and Front Street Hawaiian Kona coffee both belong to Typica.

When November arrives, the coffee fruits grown by Front Street also mature one after another. Front Street arranges workers to pick the red coffee cherries one by one, spread the fresh coffee fruit under the sun, dry it naturally, and turn it from time to time to allow even dehydration, avoiding negative flavors produced by excessive fermentation.

Brewing Suggestions for Yunnan Coffee

Some friends do not know how to extract Front Street Yunnan small-bean coffee beans after purchasing the roasted beans. First, Front Street believes that the freshness of coffee beans is very important. Because roasted coffee beans have an optimal tasting period, if the peak aroma has passed, the flavor will be difficult to extract. The beans shipped by Front Street are all freshly roasted within 5 days, with the aim of allowing everyone to enjoy the most complete tasting period.

Front Street's Pour-over Parameters:

Dripper: hario v60

Dose: 15g

Water temperature: 90°C

Grind size: 75% passing through a No. 20 sieve

Water-to-coffee ratio: 1:15

Three-stage pouring: Wet the coffee bed with twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds to form a dome and bloom for 30s, then pour in a small stream in a circular motion from the inside out until 125g, then pause. Wait until the coffee bed drops to half the position of the dripper, continue pouring the third stage with the same fine stream until 225g, and remove the dripper after all the coffee liquid has filtered through. The time is about 2 minutes.

Front Street Yunnan Small-Bean Daily Coffee Flavor: It smells of very nutty aromas. On the palate there are herbs, chocolate, and caramel, with a slight faint fruit acidity in the finish. The overall mouthfeel is balanced and has good cleanliness.

Front Street 2013 Sun-Dried Typica Coffee Flavor: The dry grounds present aromas of caramel, nuts, and citrus. When hot, there are chocolate, fermented notes, and berries. As the temperature drops, plum-like acidity appears, with a sweet finish of black tea and sugarcane. Medium-high body, clear mouthfeel, and rich, varied layers.

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