Yunnan coffee beans: Reinventing the taste of Asia

With the popularity of boutique coffee, the taste of Yunnan coffee has attracted the attention of the world's coffee industry. It will eventually break free from the fate of being a tool for others and develop a flavor that is unique to its place of origin, allowing Yunnan coffee to be self-consistent in the world's coffee flavor map.

Text/Liu Shuying Photography/Lao Yan

Yunnan coffee beans being sun-dried

Old flavor

If you ask: What does Yunnan coffee taste like? Most people will be at a loss. But if you mention Nestle or Starbucks, I believe many people are no longer unfamiliar with them. Before Yunnan coffee was introduced to new flavors, it has been quietly occupying an indispensable position in China's coffee industry.

A hundred years ago, with the opening of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, missionaries and coffee came to Yunnan. In 1904, French Catholic missionary Tian Deneng and his companion Lu Hongru went to Binchuan near Dali to preach. In their luggage, in addition to the Bible, which was essential for missionary work, they also brought coffee seedlings purchased when passing through Vietnam. The prelude to the interpretation of coffee flavor in Yunnan was thus slowly opened.

At the beginning of its spread, Yunnan coffee was only planted and consumed privately by missionaries, and there was no demand for industrialization. Many local villagers were influenced by missionaries and began to plant and drink coffee. However, the initial planting, processing and baking techniques were very crude. The coffee beans were fried in the farmer's iron pot and then ground with a traditional Chinese stone mill. The taste of coffee at that time can be imagined, and it cannot be included in the range of deliciousness by modern people's taste buds. To this day, in remote villages in Yunnan, China, some villages still use this method to make coffee to entertain guests. As time went by, the war broke out, and universities in Peking and the mainland moved south one after another. Southwest Associated University was established in Kunming, so many scholars gathered in Yunnan, and coffee shops became an indispensable place for them to communicate at that time. At that time, many famous scholars, influenced by new ideas, had the experience of studying abroad, and naturally they were not unfamiliar with the coffee on the land of Yunnan, which made some coffee shops in Yunnan a more legendary social place. Shen Congwen used Yunnan's local Arabica coffee beans to entertain Hu Shi, and Zhou Enlai was also a frequent visitor to Yunnan coffee shops at that time.

The second opportunity for the Yunnan flavor to advance was in the spring of 1952. Due to the demand of the Soviet market, the technicians of the Mangshi branch of the Yunnan Agricultural Experiment Station at that time brought more than 70 kilograms of fresh coffee fruits to Lujiangba, Baoshan City for experimental planting. Unexpectedly, the coffee had good adaptability and the quality exceeded expectations. This batch of Typica coffee was rated as first-class at the 1958 London International Coffee Tasting Conference in the UK because of the excellent taste cupping of the producing area. Therefore, it was named "Lujiang No. 1". The potential of Yunnan coffee also emerged on the international coffee stage for the first time. But at that time, the global coffee wave was still focused on instant coffee. In 1987, a technical president of the Swiss Nestlé Coffee Company promoted the spread of Nestlé and the taste of Yunnan coffee after drinking Yunnan coffee in Lujiang.

Coffee farmers at harvest time

The origin is like a powerful womb, responsible for nurturing the popular coffee of the moment. The popular style of each period determines its flavor trend. When instant coffee gradually faded out of the Chinese beverage market, people began to pay attention to the origin and roasting degree of coffee. Drinking coffee is no longer as simple as refreshing and quenching thirst. It gradually began to include simple origin stories and the comprehensive experience of the relationship between people and coffee. In 1999, Starbucks, a freshly brewed coffee produced by industrialized assembly lines, came into being in China. In the busy city life, how many people who hold Starbucks coffee cups and shuttle through office buildings know that the cup contains the taste of Yunnan?

The western and southern parts of Yunnan are located between 15 degrees north latitude and the Tropic of Cancer. Most of the coffee produced is at an altitude of 1,000 to 2,000 meters, with a large temperature difference between day and night. Most of the coffee grown in the native forest has a diverse ecology, which provides good natural conditions for preventing pests and diseases. Such a unique terroir provides 5,000 tons of coffee beans for Starbucks every year, and Nestle purchased more than 12,000 tons of Yunnan coffee beans every year before 2015. With the popularity of boutique coffee, the taste of Yunnan coffee has attracted the attention of the world coffee industry. After all, it must get rid of the fate of being a wedding dress for others and derive a flavor that belongs to the individuality of the place of origin, so that Yunnan coffee can be self-consistent in the world coffee flavor map. Originated from the exploration of taste by boutique coffee, such a special Asian taste will inevitably usher in a Bole who can interpret its essence.

Flavorful Bole

Born in 1938, Mamoru Taguchi witnessed the development of Japanese specialty coffee. As the former president of the Japan Specialty Coffee Association, he has been paying attention to and promoting Yunnan specialty coffee in recent years.

Mamoru Taguchi first tasted Yunnan coffee more than 20 years ago. At that time, Yunnan was still planting Typica, which was famous for its good acidity and elegant taste. However, due to the relatively low altitude of the planting area at that time, the flavor was not good enough, and the taste did not make people feel anything special. But considering the unique terroir conditions of Yunnan, he had a hunch that a unique coffee flavor should be able to be produced here. He gradually discovered that if the planting altitude was raised, Yunnan could harvest high-quality coffee beans.

More than 20 years ago, Mamoru Taguchi not only drank Yunnan coffee himself, but also recommended it to his guests at the Bach Coffee House in Tokyo to popularize the flavor of the producing area. The smooth and elegant taste of the Typica variety at that time was welcomed by drinkers. At the same time, Japan was also importing a large number of Yunnan coffee beans, but they could not be subdivided into single origins and estates. They were mainly imported in a unified manner and used to blend Italian coffee. Because of his sensitivity to taste, Mamoru Taguchi's coffee house has begun to refine the coffee origin information such as the producing area, estate, producer, and production year since 40 or 50 years ago, and to do flavor evaluation and description. It was precisely because of this attention, summary and classification of subtle flavors that he began to drink the flavors in the initial Yunnan beans that could not be clearly described at the time, but felt that they had potential. In addition to blending, they would select a small number of single products from the Yunnan coffee beans whose quality was not stable at the time, so that customers could experience the subtle flavor differences.

Talking about the varieties of Yunnan coffee, Mamoru Taguchi said that when he first went to Yunnan many years ago, he was surprised to find that Typica coffee was being planted there. Because at that time, Japanese people preferred to drink Blue Mountain coffee, and Yunnan coffee was very similar to Blue Mountain in terms of variety, ecology and biodiversity of the origin, so there were some commonalities in taste. But a few years later, when he visited the Yunnan coffee farm he had visited for the first time, he found from a distance that the Typica species that originally grew upwards seemed to have been replaced by the Catimum species with drooping leaves and round leaves. At that time, he had a misunderstanding about the behavior of changing varieties in the origin, thinking that this was done simply to pursue production. At first, he was very disappointed when he saw the Typica species being pulled out. He believed that China was about to enter a period of gradual rise of boutique coffee. At this time, only by producing superior bean varieties and good planting products in the country could it reap better prices and occupy a better position in the field of boutique coffee. Why not plant Typica species, but change to Catimum species? After several visits, he discovered that the Catim variety actually has strong disease resistance and high yield, and is more suitable for planting in Yunnan to adapt to the local terroir and climate and ensure stable yields.

When it comes to the flavor of Catimum coffee, he gave an interesting example. In Japan, he has many customers who grew up with Bach Coffee House, and one of them knows all the varieties and flavors of coffee beans in the store. Of course, he is also a geek in pursuit of coffee taste, so every time he buys coffee home, he will hand-brew it for his family to drink. But his family did not show any interest in the coffee he brought back, so he has been enjoying the unique flavors derived from various coffees alone. Once he bought the newly roasted Catimum coffee beans from Bach Coffee House and took them home. After hand-brewed, he shared it with his family as usual, and his wife and elderly mother liked it immediately. He asked them why they liked the flavor of Catimum Yunnan coffee? His wife's answer was "peaceful". The example shared by Mr. Taguchi Mamoru also happened to explain the advantages of Catimum in flavor.

Mamoru Taguchi thinks that there are many people in China who are sensitive to taste because there are so many delicious foods. Chinese people prefer to drink tea plain and rarely add other spices. Therefore, it is normal for Chinese coffee to have some tea taste. For example, when brewing coffee, the barista in Xiamen will appropriately reduce the concentration of coffee according to the customer's preference for tea.

Taguchi Mamoru, who is directing the production in the Yunnan region

Asian flavor

China is the starting point of Asian flavors, and even a place with great potential to interpret Asian flavors. After continuous contact with Chinese coffee farmers, Mamoru Taguchi visited various parts of China to experience the shaping of flavors in different regions. He felt that the balanced taste of Yunnan coffee at this stage might be the most suitable for China's current consumption situation. Therefore, he also promoted Yunnan coffee in Bach Coffee House, introducing it to more people and gradually presenting the Yunnan flavor in a delicate way.

Asian beans are often described as having the flavor of herbs and soil, so when cupping coffee, Asian coffees always lack a lot of active floral, fruity, and spice flavors. However, there are still too many unknown explorations and interpretations of the current consumption of Asian flavors in the mainstream coffee market, and there is still a big blind spot in the world's specialty coffee field's understanding of the flavor of Yunnan coffee.

When it comes to coffee growing areas in Asia, in addition to China, neighboring Vietnam is also a major coffee growing country, with production ranking second in the world. Vietnam also grows the Catim variety, which shows from another perspective that the Catim variety has long been accepted and recognized by the world in terms of popularity.

With the development of specialty coffee, Yunnan is now paying more and more attention to the coffee industry, and has put a lot of effort into coffee planting and later refining. Yunnan's ability to produce high-quality coffee beans is exciting for the world's coffee industry. In addition, more and more people in Asia drink coffee, and as a producer and consumer of coffee, it is very important for Chinese people to re-recognize Yunnan.

Mamoru Taguchi believes that the taste of Yunnan coffee changes every year, and the flavor is becoming more and more subtle. He drinks Yunnan coffee every year. Although the main variety is Catim, it is difficult to achieve a more diverse flavor like Blue Mountain coffee all at once. However, the coffee estate near Pu'er City has undergone a very big change in the past two years. A vacant lot was opened up on the hillside to make a drying plant and a drying plant with a cement floor, and an "African shed" was built to dry coffee beans. In recent years, Yunnan coffee has been more perfect in planting methods, refining treatment, and subsequent refining treatment site construction and processing methods every year than the previous year. Mamoru Taguchi feels that Yunnan coffee is not about how strong its personality is or how good its flavor is, but the taste is being improved year by year, and it is just around the corner to become the representative of Asian coffee.

The coffee farm has made great efforts to improve the quality from the source. Within three years, the quality of coffee beans tasted in the same farm in Yunnan is very different, and the flavor is improved so much that Mamoru Taguchi often feels that he is not tasting the same kind of beans. When Mamoru Taguchi went to the Yunnan farm a year ago, he saw that the drying site of the coffee farm was not clean enough and there were many stones mixed in. In the evaluation of boutique coffee, if stones are mixed in, the score will be affected and the price will drop. In terms of picking, he found that many times, the fresh coffee fruits were not graded according to maturity, so he gave his suggestions when leaving the farm. The last time he went there, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the factory had built a drying plant with a cement floor and an "African shed", and the harvested fruits were graded and dried according to the grades of fully mature fruits, less mature fruits, and green fruits. The Yanleng Farm in Yunnan has also newly introduced a coffee fruit color sorter specifically for the selection of fresh coffee fruits. This allows the coffee beans to be graded while they are still in the fruit stage. Quality control from the source improves the overall quality, so the cleanliness and flavor of the coffee taste have also changed greatly. There is a lot to do in Yunnan coffee, from gradually improving the varieties to improving and experimenting with processing methods.

Persistence from the origin

Guo Jun, who cooperates with Mamoru Taguchi, is the person in charge of Xi'an Yuanyan Coffee. Unlike many boutique coffee operators, he started to run coffee business entirely because of his previous job. Before he got involved in the field of boutique coffee, Guo Jun was engaged in the rare earth development industry. In 2007, he developed a mine. According to national regulations, the vegetation in the mining area must be restored, and the forest land on the mine must be transferred. When choosing crops for vegetation restoration, Guo Jun chose coffee. In the initial planting, Guo Jun did not choose the Catim species with high yield, but chose the Typica and Bourbon species with better flavor with the help of the Yunnan Tropical Crop Science Research Institute, and planted them on the mountainous land that needed vegetation restoration.

After three years, coffee beans began to be produced in small quantities. At this time, Guo Jun, who knew nothing about specialty coffee, taught himself some coffee brewing techniques, but was unable to grasp the flavor of each link of the coffee beans produced by his own estate. At that time, the rare earth industry he was engaged in often faced the Japanese market. Through the introduction of his partner, Japan Spark Industry Co., Ltd., he met Mr. Taguchi. Before meeting Mr. Taguchi, Guo Jun thought that the taste was mellow but lacked flavor, which was the whole taste of coffee. After meeting Mr. Taguchi, through his understanding of the subtle taste of specialty coffee, he realized that coffee is rich in flavor. The beans in the estate can present a delicate flavor through selection and personalized roasting.

Guo Jun cooperates with four estates, which are scattered in Dehong, Baoshan and Menglian. The main purpose is to ensure the normal output of coffee beans when the weather affects the harvest. Guo Jun also put a lot of effort into planting. In order to shade the coffee, he interplanted macadamia nuts in the coffee plantation. This can avoid the occurrence of single pests and better protect the crop diversity of coffee producing areas. In terms of planting management mode, the management mode of Jiangdong Estate is different from that of other estates. It implements the family-based planting advocated by Mamoru Taguchi. Each family has relatively few plants and is more delicate to manage. They run coffee as a sideline and will not use unhealthy planting methods in pursuit of output.

Improving the varieties and promoting quality improvement is also what Guo Jun is looking forward to the most. In recent years, Yunnan has made great efforts in the post-processing of coffee beans. The flavor of the beans is getting cleaner and the quality is getting better. After the existing varieties are stabilized, we began to explore various processing methods and improve the processing and production on this basis. After all these are complete, we can improve the varieties on a small scale. For example, planting Typica and Gesha in areas above 1,400 meters above sea level is what Guo Jun wants to try next.

When talking about the taste of Yunnan coffee in the city, Guo Jun particularly emphasized the maintenance and roasting of raw beans. Yunnan beans have two particularly good characteristics. The beans are not hard and easy to roast. When roasting, the core of the coffee beans is not difficult to roast thoroughly, and there is a good balance of taste. Now people emphasize more flavors on boutique coffee, resulting in the more coffee flavors in the competition, the higher the score. But for ordinary drinkers who do not impact the competition, the peaceful taste of Yunnan coffee is very important. In the 4th Yunnan Coffee Green Bean Competition in 2019, the Typica coffee produced by the coffee farm that Guo Jun cooperated with won the first place. Its flavor was described as: strawberry, plum, caramel, cocoa, breaking people’s previous perception that the flavor of Yunnan coffee was not active.

The barista is brewing high-altitude Yunnan Typica beans

The Choice of Specialty Baristas

Stephen has just returned to his daily life after the World Specialty Coffee Championship China competition in Shanghai. He won the seventh place this season, and he was the champion in the Guangzhou competition in December last year. In this China final, Stephen, a Chaoshan native, chose Yunnan beans as his competition beans. In the competition system of specialty coffee, everything about the contestants' pursuit of the season championship may be unknown. The birth of Geisha, a hot spot pursued by the specialty coffee industry, is an example. But when everyone was using Geisha coffee to compete, Stephen chose a Yunnan bean to achieve his ideal.

When asked why he chose Yunnan beans, Stephen's answer was very casual: because when he was looking for beans from the new season for the store, he accidentally tried samples from the Elephant Manor in Pu'er, Yunnan. When roasting beans, the roaster pulled the color value very high, that is, the heating state of the bean surface and the bean core was very different. It was also this characteristic that made him think that he could try to make milk coffee with this, and he didn't expect that the flavor and sweetness were very good. The milk coffee with cream, strawberry, and jackfruit flavors produced in the first attempt deeply changed his perception of the flavor of Yunnan coffee.

Taste is the most attractive and convincing thing for a specialty barista. Stephen did not choose Yunnan beans on impulse. He had been to the Yunnan production area and saw that the entire region was actively improving processing methods and trying various possibilities under new processes. This gave him hope for Yunnan beans. He hoped that through the barista competition, everyone would have a new understanding of Asian taste.

Stephen's understanding of Yunnan coffee comes from the fact that Seesaw Coffee once had Yunnan beans processed with black honey, which were very sweet. This made him think that Yunnan coffee beans could also have such good flavor performance. In 2017, he came to Pu'er, Yunnan with his curiosity about flavor and found that many people like coffee, but they don't know how much effort is put in behind it. Seeing the hard work of local coffee farmers, but the return from planting is very small, he came up with the idea of ​​using his newly opened shop to promote Yunnan coffee beans. When visiting the production area, he also helped coffee farmers understand the relationship between coffee tree species and flavor.

At the competition site in April, Stephen was affected by the timeout, which affected the competition results. The water used in this competition was Uni-President Aikua mineral water, which contained more metasilicic acid and sodium ions, which increased the extraction rate of Yunnan competition beans and increased the sweetness. The extraction rate of the competition machine is relatively low, and the fine powder produced by the grinder is relatively small, so he chose a finer grind. Stephen used 18.5 grams of coffee powder to extract 37 grams of liquid, with a ratio of 1:2. The performance of Yunnan beans is that they have a high sense of balance, medium body, high sweetness, low acidity, and a more comfortable chocolate taste. In terms of touch, he described that the first touch is citrus and green tea, with the sweetness of nectar in the middle, and a fermented flavor, but not strong. The combination of Yunnan beans and Meiji milk makes the overall flavor balanced, sweet, and fruity. In the competition, he scored 4.5 points for the production of milk coffee with a total score of 6 points.

Original Rock Coffee in Xi'an Creative District

When I interviewed Wu Yalian in Gulangyu, she personally made a milk coffee with this bean. Under the premise that various parameters have changed, I tasted the fresh and dairy flavor of orange milk candy, which also overturned my perception that Yunnan coffee has no outstanding individual flavor. As the main judge, she also expressed regret for Stephen's timeout. But this Yunnan coffee bean has also refreshed the taste experience of many judges of the barista competition over the years. The judges have also changed their perception of the flavor of Yunnan beans, which is unpleasant sour and woody. Stephen said that he did not feel too much regret. The biggest gain from this competition is that the judges may be able to refresh their perception of the flavor of Yunnan beans because of his performance.

When asked how to improve the market's prejudice against the flavor of Yunnan coffee, Stephen believes that the most direct and effective way is to let drinkers try more. From the perspective of a professional barista, it is to do a good job of roasting and extraction to better interpret this potential Asian flavor. Spreading the concept from planting to roasting and brewing to coffee farmers is what he can do now.

After the game, Stephen will continue to try to promote Yunnan beans in the store. When talking about the perception of Yunnan beans among different taste groups, he said that many customers who are familiar with high-scoring international specialty coffee beans were surprised at the improvement in flavor when they drank Yunnan beans from him.

On April 17, I happened to come across a coffee farm in Pu'er, Yunnan, where more than 30 types of processed coffees were cupped. This was a new attempt this year. These specially processed coffee beans were produced at different altitudes for flavor comparison. In terms of flavor presentation, it also broke through our previous understanding of Yunnan coffee as a bland coffee. It seems that the story of Yunnan coffee, a rising Asian flavor, has only opened a prologue, and the Asian flavor waiting to be written is quietly undergoing tremendous changes in the vast land of Yunnan. Those devout "taste missionaries" are waiting for the rise of the unique Asian flavor in the new coffee era.