Can Yunnan Coffee Beans Be Considered Specialty Coffee?

Yunnan coffee is largely known by the name small bean, and that name traces back to Typica, the first variety planted in the region. Typica belongs to the Arabica small-bean species. When Nestlé entered Yunnan, Typica was replaced by S288 and later by higher-yielding Catimor, so most Yunnan coffee today is Catimor, with Typica now positioned as specialty coffee.

Catimor carries Robusta lineage, which brings leaf rust resistance and yields roughly three times those of Typica. That trade-off explains the flavor gap between the two. Yunnan coffee cultivation has since evolved, with producing regions and grading standards developing alongside estate practices and brewing methods for sun-dried Typica lots from the province.

Yunnan coffee is already widely known within China, yet plenty of questions still surround it: Why is it called "Yunnan small bean"? Does it really count as specialty coffee? And what exactly is the relationship between Typica and Catimor? This article starts from the evolution of varieties, sorts through the shift in Yunnan coffee cultivation from Typica to Catimor, introduces Yunnan's main producing regions and grading standards, and combines Front Street Coffee's cultivation practices in Yunnan with brewing suggestions for its sun-dried Typica, helping readers gain a more systematic understanding of Yunnan beans' flavor positioning and quality potential.

Yunnan coffee is growing more and more famous, but with so many producing regions and a jumble of brands, which one's Yunnan beans are actually worth drinking? In Front Street's product line, Yunnan coffee mainly comes in two branches: one is the washed Yunnan small bean coffee and sun-dried Catimor coffee of the Catimor variety, and the other is Front Street's sun-dried Typica coffee.

Coffee Varieties

In Front Street Coffee's classification, Yunnan Typica is placed under Yunnan specialty coffee, while Yunnan Catimor follows market convention and is labeled as Yunnan small bean coffee. Of the Yunnan beans currently available on the market, the vast majority belong to the Catimor variety. But tracing back to the roots, the first coffee planted in Yunnan was not Catimor, but Typica—the oldest and most primitive member of the Arabica lineage.

The name "Yunnan small bean" actually originated with Typica—Typica itself belongs to the Arabica small-bean species. Yunnan's most traditional coffee variety is precisely Typica. Later, when Nestlé entered Yunnan, because Typica has poor disease resistance and because yields needed to be raised, coffee farmers were encouraged to cut down the excellent-flavored but delicate Typica and switch to other varieties with slightly inferior flavor but better disease resistance and higher yields. The first introduced was S288, which resists leaf rust, and later it was replaced by the higher-yielding Catimor. In other words, the main coffee tree in Yunnan today is Catimor. Because Catimor has Robusta blood mixed in, besides being more resistant to leaf rust, its yield can reach about three times that of Typica.

Compared with Typica, Catimor indeed falls short in flavor. However, with the spread of the specialty coffee concept, the cultivation and growing methods for Yunnan Catimor have become increasingly scientific, and both flavor and quality have improved markedly. Robusta coffee beans usually carry a bitter, astringent note, and because Catimor carries part of the Robusta gene, it is also described as having a "devilish aftertaste."

Western and southern Yunnan lie between 15°N and the Tropic of Cancer, with most areas at elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 meters. The terrain is mainly mountainous and sloped, with pronounced undulation, fertile soil, abundant sunshine, plentiful rainfall, and large temperature differences between day and night. It is precisely these natural conditions that create the unique style of Yunnan small-bean coffee—strong but not bitter, fragrant but not harsh, with a touch of fruitiness.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Grading

At present, Yunnan coffee is usually graded by bean size plus defect rate. Bean size refers to the international screen mesh standard, while factors such as the international defect-bean point standard, bean shape and color, cleanliness, odor, and moisture content are also taken into account.

Common international coffee grading standards:

Grading is done by coffee bean size using round-hole grading screens. The internationally customary small-bean coffee sizes range from 10 to 20, with the number representing a screen aperture expressed as a fraction with that number as the numerator and 64 as the denominator, in inches. For example, 14 indicates green coffee beans that can pass through a screen with an aperture of 14/64 inch or above, while 19 indicates green beans that can pass through a screen with an aperture of 19/64 inch or above. (1 inch ≈ 2.54 cm)

Common domestic coffee grading standards:

Divided into five grades by screen aperture of 6.5, 6.0, 5.5, and 5.0 mm.

Grade 1: above 6.5 mm, plump and intact beans.

Grade 2: 6.0-6.4 mm, plump and fairly uniform.

Grade 3: 5.3-5.9 mm, fairly plump, slightly less uniform.

Grade 4: 5.0-5.4 mm, with some broken beans, intact beans making up more than 75%.

Grade 5: below 5.0 mm, with some broken beans, intact beans making up more than 30%.

Detailed international standards for defect inspection of small-bean coffee (Arabica coffee):

Grading is based on the number of defects present, usually determined by how many defects are found in a given quantity of coffee beans. According to the impurity and defective bean identification methods set by the International Organization for Standardization, a 300-gram sample of coffee beans is randomly drawn, the number of impurities and defective beans is counted, and grading is then carried out.

Coffee Producing Regions

Yunnan's coffee producing regions are not limited to the familiar Pu'er and Baoshan; there are also Dehong, Lincang, and other places. Yunnan coffee from different producing regions also shows subtle differences in taste.

【Pu'er】

Pu'er City has nine counties and districts growing Yunnan small-bean coffee: Simao, Ning'er, Mojiang, Jinggu, Jingdong, Zhenyuan, Jiangcheng, Lancang, Menglian, and Ximeng. The average annual temperature is 17 to 20 degrees Celsius, and the growing elevation is between 700 and 1,600 meters.

【Baoshan】

Baoshan City has five counties and districts growing products with the Baoshan small-bean coffee geographical indication: Longyang, Longling, Shidian, Changning, and Tengchong. The growing elevation is between 1,000 and 1,500 meters, with an average annual temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. Lujiang coffee from Baoshan was rated first-class on the London market in the late 1950s.

【Dehong】

The Dehong producing region is one of the earliest areas in China to introduce coffee; small-bean coffee was introduced from Myanmar in 1914, though large-scale commercial planting did not begin until 1953. Lincang's average annual temperature is between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius, with no severe cold in winter and no extreme heat in summer, a large day-night temperature difference, fertile soil, and abundant rain. During the coffee fruit ripening stage, such conditions favor the formation of proteins, sugars, caffeine, and other substances, giving Dehong coffee plenty of flavor.

【Lincang】

Lincang City has Gengma, Zhenkang, Yunxian, Cangyuan, Yongde, and other towns carrying out coffee cultivation. Lincang has a unique geographical location, bordering Myanmar to the west; its superior climatic conditions—marked day-night temperature differences, abundant rainfall, and a mild average annual temperature—have made it a focus of attention for many coffee companies.

Front Street Coffee saw Lincang's potential and established its own coffee plantation estate in this producing region.

Front Street Coffee Estate

Front Street has been roasting coffee for 10 years now, but its involvement in coffee cultivation came half a year earlier than coffee bean roasting. "Dazhen Coffee," Front Street's predecessor, originally intended to grow coffee in a place in Guangdong called Dazhen. At the time, it was only after Catimor seedlings had grown to 20 centimeters that we finally understood the relationship and sequence among variety, elevation, and processing method in specialty coffee. So Front Street abandoned the plan to grow in Guangdong, went to Yunnan to study coffee cultivation in depth, and by a stroke of luck found land suitable for planting.

Back then, Front Street chose the hardest path: selecting high ground, cultivating Arabica varieties, and planting sensibly.

Yunnan is not a place with four distinct seasons; here there is only a dry season and a rainy season. In terms of cultivation, Front Street adopted extremely high standards, providing the coffee trees with a natural, comfortable living environment. Because Typica is more difficult to manage in the field than Catimor and is sensitive to prolonged direct sunlight, Front Street maintained the diversity of plant species and ecological environment within the estate.

From seedling to harvest takes at least three to four years. Now, Front Street Coffee Estate has welcomed its second coffee harvest season. Everything done is for the sake of getting one line from the mouths of veteran coffee lovers: This is the taste of Yunnan specialty coffee.

Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Front Street's latest batch of coffee beans uses the most traditional and primitive post-harvest green coffee processing method, namely the sun-dried process. Whole ripe and intact coffee cherries are evenly spread on drying beds for sun drying. Because the complete skin and pulp layer is retained, the drying process is more complex and takes longer. To avoid excessive fermentation, workers need to turn each coffee cherry frequently and on schedule.

Because this Front Street sun-dried Typica uses a Japanese-style processing method, its aroma is very full and its sweetness is very prominent, with preserved-fruit-like sweetness, gentle plum acidity, rich nutty notes, and an aftertaste with brown sugar sweetness and black tea character. Many friends who buy this Front Street coffee bean ask Front Street's baristas how to brew it to best bring out its flavor. Front Street's sun-dried Typica is fragrant but not harsh, strong but not bitter, possessing the traditional taste of Yunnan small-bean coffee.

Front Street believes that the flavor of Yunnan small bean belongs to a neutral, balanced tonality—that is, it has acidity, sweetness, and bitterness all at once. Therefore, Front Street's Yunnan coffees are all medium-roasted, highlighting the roasted aromas of chocolate and nuts while retaining part of the acidity. In cupping, Front Street tastes Yunnan small bean as an everyday coffee showing nutty, herbal, and brown sugar aromas, melon-and-fruit sweetness, and plum acidity, with a balanced mouthfeel. The sun-dried Typica shows chocolate, baked bread, tropical fruit ferment notes, and a black tea finish.

Front Street's brewing parameters for Front Street sun-dried Typica coffee:

In order to retain the acidity, sweetness, and tea-like character of Yunnan coffee, Front Street Coffee gives it a medium roast. When brewing, you can use a V60 dripper, a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, medium grind (about the size of coarse granulated sugar / 80% passing through the Chinese No. 20 standard sieve), and a water temperature of 91 degrees.

Use staged extraction, blooming with twice the amount of water as coffee grounds, that is, 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom. The reason a blooming stage is needed is to allow the coffee grounds to release their internal carbon dioxide gas, thereby making the later stages of extraction more stable. Pour in a small stream in circles until 125 grams, then pause, continue pouring until 225 grams and stop. After the water in the dripper has finished dripping, remove the dripper. Start timing from the beginning of pouring; the extraction time is 2'00". Next, pick up the whole cup of coffee and swirl it to mix evenly, then pour it into a cup for tasting.

【Front Street 2013 Sun-Dried Typica Coffee Flavor】 Heavy mouthfeel, prominent acidity and sweetness, with citrus and berry notes, a hint of fermented wine aroma, caramel-like sweetness, creamy finish, and black tea character.

Front Street's coffee brewing suggestions:

Regarding coffee brewing, Front Street has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans has a great deal to do with coffee flavor, so the coffee beans shipped by Front Street Coffee are all within 5 days of roasting. Front Street's roasting motto is "Freshly roasted good coffee," so that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when they get it. The bean resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it is exactly at its best flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, Front Street offers a warm reminder: once coffee beans are ground in advance, they no longer need resting, because during transport the pressure produced by carbon dioxide inside the packaging can also make the coffee flavor rounder, so as soon as you receive the coffee grounds you can immediately brew a cup and drink it. But coffee grounds need to be brewed promptly, because after contact with air they oxidize relatively quickly; in other words, the coffee flavor disperses relatively quickly, and the coffee will not taste as good. Therefore, Front Street recommends buying whole beans and grinding fresh for each brew, so you can better taste the coffee's flavor.

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