How Have Yunnan Coffee Bean Varieties Changed Over Time?

Yunnan is the only province in China that grows Arabica coffee, and opinions on its quality are split. Some drinkers notice an earthy, muddy taste, while others find anaerobic natural processed beans sweet and fragrant. Behind that contradiction sit variety replacement and cultivation history, with Typica and Catimor at the center of the shift.

Yunnan small bean coffee refers to the Arabica species, since Hainan grows Robusta, also called medium bean or Robusta bean. In 1904 a French missionary planted Typica trees in Zhugula Village, the earliest written record of coffee cultivation there; in the 1930s Liang Jinshan promoted Typica, and cultivation expanded again in the 1950s and 1960s. The coffee beans origin story explains today's flavor.

Yunnan is the only province in China that grows Arabica coffee. In recent years, as the domestic coffee market has expanded, evaluations of Yunnan coffee have become polarized. Some people find it has an earthy, muddy taste, while others are pleasantly surprised by its sweet aroma after drinking anaerobic natural processed beans. Behind this contradiction lies the variety replacement and cultivation history of Yunnan coffee. This article will start with the origin of the name "small bean coffee," trace the introduction of varieties such as Typica and Catimor, analyze the causes of Yunnan coffee's flavor characteristics, and explore two directions of its recent specialty transformation. At the same time, Front Street will share the brewing parameters and flavor performance of its own Yunnan Baoshan washed Catimor daily beans and espresso blend.

"How is Yunnan coffee actually developing now?" This is probably a question in many coffee lovers' minds. At Front Street's stores, we often meet customers interested in Front Street's Yunnan coffee beans.

As China's coffee consumption market continues to expand, Yunnan, as the only province in China growing Arabica coffee, has naturally become a focus of discussion. Some say, "I think Ethiopian beans are especially good—why does Yunnan coffee always have an earthy, muddy smell?" Others retort, "Today's Yunnan beans are clearly delicious. Last week I had an anaerobic natural one, and it was sweet and fragrant." These two opposite evaluations—"Yunnan coffee isn't good" and "Yunnan coffee is great now"—can both be heard today. To understand this disagreement, we need to look back at the path Yunnan coffee has taken.

Yunnan small bean coffee ?

I wonder if anyone has ever been curious about why Yunnan coffee is called small bean coffee. In fact, small bean coffee refers to the Arabica species. Because Hainan, China, also grows another kind of coffee—Robusta, which is also called medium bean coffee or Robusta bean. Generally speaking, Arabica has better flavor performance than Robusta.

In 1904, a French missionary planted Typica coffee trees in Zhugula Village, which is the earliest written record of coffee cultivation in Yunnan. Later, in the 1930s, the overseas Chinese Liang Jinshan led the promotion of Typica cultivation in Yunnan, and in the 1950s and 1960s, the scale of coffee cultivation expanded again.

The Typica variety has excellent flavor performance and is recognized as a specialty coffee variety, but its drawbacks are also obvious: low yield, susceptibility to coffee leaf rust, and the need for more manpower to manage. Once international coffee prices fall, the income of Yunnan coffee farmers decreases noticeably, their enthusiasm for growing coffee declines, and they switch to other cash crops. When Front Street visited Yunnan for field research in 2013, we saw coffee trees in many places in a semi-wild state, left to compete naturally and grow freely.

What truly rekindled the enthusiasm of Yunnan coffee farmers was Nestlé's entry. As one of the world's largest coffee buyers at the time, Nestlé began supporting Yunnan's coffee cultivation industry while entering the Chinese market.

In 1988, Nestlé supported Yunnan's coffee agriculture development, introduced Catimor 7963 from the Portuguese Coffee Rust Research Center (CIFC), conducted selection and breeding at the Dehong Tropical Agriculture Research Institute, and first trial-planted it in Hainan, Baoshan Lujiangba, and Ruili.

In 1991, Nestlé introduced Catimor P1, P2, P3, and P4 from CIFC for trial planting, where P stands for Population. Among them, P4 showed the highest yield, so starting in 1994, the P series was promoted for planting in Pu'er City, with P4 accounting for the majority. Later, expert investigations confirmed that Catimor P1, P2, P3, and P4 actually corresponded to 7960, 7961, 7962, and 7963, respectively.

T5175 and T8667 were introduced by Nestlé from Central America in 1994. These two lines were first trial-planted in Pu'er, and both had lower yields than 7963.

After Nestlé vigorously promoted Yunnan's coffee agriculture, 99% of Yunnan's coffee became Catimor, which is what we often call Yunnan small bean today. These beans were originally purchased by Nestlé as raw material for instant coffee, and the requirements for flavor were not high.

Why do some people find Yunnan coffee tastes very "devilish," with woody and earthy, muddy notes? Part of the reason lies in Catimor itself. Catimor has four times the chromosomes. Although it belongs to the Arabica species, its bloodline is not pure and contains about 1/4 Robusta genes. After inheriting Robusta genes, Catimor's yield increased, its disease and pest resistance strengthened, and its environmental adaptability improved, but its flavor was compromised. Therefore, Yunnan small bean coffee has long been positioned as raw material for instant coffee or as the base for blended coffee.

In recent years, the domestic specialty coffee market has continued to grow, more and more people have begun to pay attention to Yunnan coffee, and some have asked: Can Yunnan produce specialty coffee? As a result, many coffee professionals have devoted themselves to building up Yunnan's producing areas. At present, there are two directions for improving the flavor of Yunnan coffee: the short-term path is to use post-processing methods to mask undesirable flavors, such as the currently popular anaerobic and enzyme treatments; the long-term path is to return to the essence of agriculture, starting with cultivation and varieties. If Catimor's flavor is not ideal, then switch to varieties with excellent flavor, such as Typica, Bourbon, Geisha, and so on. In fact, these varieties are all grown in Yunnan, but only on a small scale and still at an exploratory stage. They are not enough to shake Catimor's dominant position in Yunnan, nor can they immediately reverse outsiders' flavor impressions of Yunnan coffee. Yunnan coffee is indeed getting better and better, but it must be admitted that agricultural improvement cycles take at least five years, or as long as ten, and there are still many areas that need time to change gradually.

Front Street believes that a region's coffee beans, whether sour or bitter, represent that origin's flavor characteristics. Yunnan currently mainly grows Catimor small bean coffee, so what best represents Yunnan's flavor is naturally small bean coffee. In Front Street's daily bean series, the Yunnan coffee selected is Baoshan washed Catimor. Baoshan is a relatively long-established coffee-producing area in Yunnan, and its cultivation level is among the best, while washed processing best showcases a region's coffee bean flavor characteristics.

Front Street Daily Bean Series Yunnan Small Bean Coffee Beans

Origin: Baoshan, Yunnan, China

Altitude: 1200 meters

Processing method: Washed processing

Variety: Catimor

In addition to single-origin pour-over beans, Front Street has also launched a Yunnan-flavored espresso blend, combining Yunnan small bean with Brazilian Red Bourbon, using a medium-dark roast to create a Front Street dark cocoa base blend designed specifically for espresso machines and moka pots. It has nutty, chocolate, and creamy flavors, moderate crema, and a soft mouthfeel, suitable for making various fancy coffees.

Brewing parameters

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90°C

Dose: 15 grams

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: 75% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve

Pour 30 grams of water and bloom for 30 seconds, then pour from the center with a fine stream in slow circles until 125 grams. When the water level in the dripper drops to the point where the coffee bed is about to be exposed, continue pouring in circles until 225 grams. The total extraction time is about 2 minutes.

Front Street Yunnan small bean coffee flavor: melon and fruit aroma, sweet melon, brown sugar, plum acidity, black tea note.

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