Is Yunnan coffee specialty grade, and how is it classified?

Yunnan small-bean coffee is grown from Arabica, which is why the name distinguishes it from the medium-bean Robusta planted in Hainan. The region's cultivation is dominated by Catimor, a variety carrying Robusta genes, so its flavor differs from pure Arabica. Specialty-grade Yunnan beans do exist, but they make up a limited share of total output.

The first coffee tree was planted in 1904 by a French missionary in Zhugula Village, Binchuan. Commercial growing began in 1937, scaled up from 1952, and moved toward export after 1988, when Nestlé opened a branch in China. Yunnan uses a five-tier standard based on screen size, color, cleanliness, aroma, and moisture, alongside a newer grading system from the YCE trading center.

Yunnan small-bean coffee is a topic that domestic coffee enthusiasts can't avoid, but does it actually count as specialty coffee? Front Street starts from the planting history of Yunnan coffee, tracing the complete thread from the first coffee tree introduced by missionaries to the entry of international brands like Nestlé and Starbucks for purchasing. Currently, Yunnan's cultivation is dominated by Catimor, which carries Robusta genes, and its flavor falls short of pure Arabica—but specialty-grade beans do exist, just in limited proportion. The article also introduces Yunnan coffee's five-tier standard based on screen size, color, cleanliness, aroma, and moisture content, as well as the new grading system promoted by the YCE trading center. Finally, Front Street recommends the washed Yunnan small-bean everyday coffee and the sun-dried bean named after the brand, "Front Street 2013," along with pour-over parameter suggestions.

As a representative of domestically produced coffee beans, Front Street has always felt that Yunnan-grown coffee is worth every coffee enthusiast experiencing firsthand, so Front Street has added washed Yunnan small-bean coffee to its everyday lineup, letting everyone taste Yunnan's regional flavors. At the same time, some friends have asked Front Street: does Yunnan coffee reach the level of specialty coffee? To answer this question, Front Street needs to start from the ins and outs of Yunnan coffee.

The Past of Yunnan Coffee

Yunnan coffee is often called Yunnan small bean because the region grows Arabica, which is classified as small-bean coffee, clearly distinguishing it from the medium-bean Robusta grown in Hainan.

In 1904, French missionary Tian Deneng planted the first coffee tree in Zhugula Village, Binchuan, Yunnan, opening the history of coffee cultivation in Yunnan. But true commercial cultivation had to wait until 1937, when patriotic overseas Chinese Liang Jinshan brought coffee seeds back from Myanmar to the Lujiangba area of Baoshan to begin raising seedlings. After the founding of New China, in 1952, agricultural academy expert Ma Guojin led a team to formally promote the scaled development of coffee cultivation, with products mainly supplied to the Soviet Union.

Yunnan coffee truly began moving toward the international market in 1988, when Nestlé established a branch in China. Nestlé not only brought the high-yield, disease-resistant Catimor variety, but also promised to purchase Yunnan coffee beans as production raw material at then-current U.S. futures prices. Afterward, brands such as Starbucks and Maxwell also successively built factories in Yunnan to purchase green beans. These moves further expanded Yunnan's coffee planting area and also motivated coffee farmers' enthusiasm.

The Current State of Yunnan Coffee

Influenced by Nestlé's commercial strategy, the vast majority of coffee varieties planted in Yunnan are Catimor. Catimor is the hybrid offspring of Caturra and Timor, carrying one-quarter Robusta genes, which strengthens disease resistance and ensures yield, but its flavor performance falls short of pure Arabica. In addition, coffee farmers often adopt relatively rough green bean processing methods, so the resulting coffee quality is not considered high, with most flowing to the bulk commodity market as raw material for instant coffee or low-priced blends. Therefore, comparing Yunnan coffee beans with already very mature origins such as Ethiopia and Panama, the gap objectively exists.

Of course, Yunnan also produces specialty coffee beans of decent quality, but this portion accounts for only a small part of Yunnan's total coffee output. So returning to the question Front Street raised earlier: Yunnan certainly has specialty coffee, but not all Yunnan coffee can reach specialty level. Overall, to catch up with the standard of international specialty coffee, coffee professionals still need to keep working hard.

The Grading of Yunnan Coffee

Compared with those mature coffee origins, Yunnan's coffee grading system is still not sound enough. Common bases for classification include screen size, color, cleanliness, aroma, moisture content, and other indicators.

It is divided into five levels according to screen openings of 6.5, 6.0, 5.5, and 5.0 millimeters:

Grade One: above 6.5 mm, plump and intact beans

Grade Two: 6.0-6.4 mm, plump, relatively uniform

Grade Three: 5.3-5.9 mm, relatively plump, slightly less uniform

Grade Four: 5.0-5.4 mm, contains broken beans, intact beans account for more than 75%

Grade Five: below 5.0 mm, contains broken beans, intact beans account for more than 30%

In terms of color, those with luster, light blue, light green, or light white are preferred, while black-brown and dull orange are inferior:

Grade One: light blue, light green, light white, light yellow, uniform color

Grade Two: light blue, light green, light white, light yellow, slightly inferior color

Grade Three: light blue, light green, light white, light yellow, even more inferior color

Grade Four: slightly yellow, a small amount of brown

Grade Five: mottled and mixed color

In terms of cleanliness, containing no impurities or only a small amount of impurities is better:

Grade One: more than 70% silver skin removed, no impurities

Grade Two: more than 65% silver skin removed, no impurities

Grade Three: more than 60% silver skin removed, no impurities

In terms of aroma, fermentation spoilage, and pale red or brown indicating sourness, while sour odor or other off-flavors are undesirable.

In terms of moisture, the moisture content does not exceed 12%.

In order to maximize the interests of coffee farmers and coffee enterprises, while also enhancing Yunnan coffee's voice and competitiveness in the international market, Pu'er City established the Yunnan International Coffee Exchange (YCE). In 2019, YCE, referring to the systems of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), planned a new grading system for traditionally washed Yunnan small-bean coffee, and coffee farmers all grade and quote prices according to this standard.

Recommended Yunnan Small-Bean Specialty Coffee

For Yunnan coffee to continue progressing and developing, coffee people first need to understand Yunnan coffee's basic flavor so they can improve quality in a targeted way. Therefore, Front Street specifically selected washed Yunnan small-bean coffee as Yunnan's representative showcase. Front Street believes that in the washed processing method, the green coffee beans have already had the pulp layer removed before drying, so the cup profile can better highlight the coffee's own aroma, which is what we often call "the taste of Yunnan."

In the Yunnan coffee section of Front Street's bean list, there is also a sun-dried coffee bean named after us, "Front Street 2013." Front Street went deep into the Yunnan production area as early as many years ago, began growing coffee in Lincang, Yunnan in 2013, and chose the ancient, pure Arabica variety—Typica. Typica has a weak constitution and poor disease resistance, requiring a great deal of effort to manage, and it was not until 2020 that the first harvest arrived, using sun-dried processing.

Front Street believes that Yunnan coffee's flavor profile should be classified as neutral, meaning it has both acidity and a rich bitterness, so for the roast level Front Street chose a medium roast. After cupping, this Front Street 2013 showed aromas of plum, dried fruit, chocolate, and nuts, with the various flavors blending just right.

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-Over Suggestions

Dripper: hario v60

Dose: 15g

Water temperature: 90 degrees Celsius

Grind size: 75% passing a No. 20 sieve

Water-to-coffee ratio: 1:15

Three-stage pouring: first wet the coffee bed with twice the coffee's weight in water to form a dome and bloom for 30 seconds, then pour in a thin stream in circles from the inside out, pausing at 125 grams, wait until the coffee bed drops to half the height of the dripper, then continue pouring the third stage with the same thin stream until 225 grams, until all the coffee liquid has finished filtering, then remove the dripper. Total time is about 2 minutes.

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