Yunnan coffee beans are not lacking in quality, but lacking in mentors and connoisseurs

After introducing a large number of high-quality foreign coffee beans, someone in the background always mentions when we can talk about our Yunnan coffee beans.

Yes, when it comes to Yunnan, in addition to tourist destinations such as Dali, Lijiang, Kunming, and Xishuangbanna; and famous snacks such as flower cakes, beef jerky, and Pu'er tea, Yunnan coffee beans are actually a very distinctive local specialty.

Many people may not know that Yunnan Arabica coffee accounts for more than 95% of China's coffee production and has a century-long planting history. What is the quality of Yunnan Arabica coffee? Is it delicious? Why has it not been popular?

The History of Yunnan Arabica Coffee

Yunnan Arabica coffee is a species from abroad. In 1892, French missionaries successfully planted the first coffee tree in a place called Jukula for their own coffee needs. Since then, coffee has flourished in this magical oriental land, and it has a planting history of more than a century.

Southern Yunnan is located in a low-latitude, high-altitude area with a large temperature difference between day and night. The unique natural conditions are particularly suitable for the growth of small-grain coffee, and it is the most suitable area in the country to produce high-quality coffee. Most Yunnan coffee is grown in dry and hot valleys at an altitude of 1,000 to 2,000 meters, so it has moderate acidity and a rich and mellow aroma.

The unintentional action of the French missionaries actually found the coffee trees a very comfortable and beautiful "home" suitable for their growth.

Is Yunnan small-grain coffee of good quality?

More than 99% of Yunnan's beans are Catimu, which has a small amount of Robusta genes, is highly resistant to insects and diseases, and has a slightly inferior flavor to Arabica beans.

Yunnan small-grain coffee has a smooth, rich and full taste, with soft acidity and sweetness, and a hint of tea, floral, fruity and chocolate.

At the National Coffee Conference in 1980, Yunnan’s Baoshan Small-Grain Coffee was hailed as the “National Coffee Crown”; in 1992, at the first China Agricultural Expo, Baoshan Small-Grain Coffee was awarded the highest silver medal; in 1993, it won the Eureka Gold Medal at the 42nd Brussels Eureka Expo in Belgium…

Last year, the coffee planting area in Pu'er City reached 650,000 mu, making it China's largest coffee producing area with the highest output and best quality, and a major distribution center for coffee trade.

This year, YCE (Yunnan International Coffee Exchange) held the Yunnan Green Bean Competition for the fourth time. The previous three competitions were hosted by the Pu'er Coffee Association. Judging from the quality of the participating beans, the premium rate has risen from 50% to 95.45%. The amount of Yunnan beans purchased by domestic boutique coffee shops has increased significantly in recent years.

2019 Starbucks China Yunnan Reserve Coffee Series This is the third work presented by Starbucks on Yunnan Reserve Coffee.

Because the Reserve brand is particularly important to Starbucks, it is the representative of Starbucks in the field of boutique coffee. This is enough to prove that the strength of Yunnan coffee beans cannot be underestimated.

Why is Yunnan coffee not becoming popular?

In October 2018, at the New York Coffee Festival, a coffee brand from China - Seesaw Coffee - became popular. Foreigners lined up just to have a cup of "Chinese flavor".

But in most coffee shops in China, even in Yunnan, it is hard to find pure Yunnan beans. Yunnan coffee is a bit like a Chinese art film, blooming inside the wall but fragrant outside the wall.

Why is Yunnan coffee not popular in the country?

In the cognition of many "coffee industry veterans", when it comes to Yunnan beans, they may not even have been to Yunnan and they all wave their hands, saying that the off-flavor at the end cannot be removed, there are too many defects, and the Catim tree species is not good...

Without investigation, there is no right to speak. This statement is certainly biased, but it also reflects some of the problems that exist in Yunnan beans.

▆ Single tree species, lack of diversity. Although many second-generation coffee brands are trying to introduce Gesha, Bourbon and other tree species, the process of iteration from small-scale trial planting to large-scale planting of foreign tree species takes at least 10 years.

For a long time in the future, Catimum will still be the main wine, which will lead to a single tree species and a lack of flavor diversity.

▆ There is no unified coffee bean grading standard. Yunnan beans are in urgent need of a unified grading standard, although YCE is divided into three levels: commercial beans, high-quality beans, and boutique beans. However, it is difficult to promote it, and many people do not recognize it, and everyone does it on their own.

This leads to price opacity, and buying high-quality and low-priced beans depends entirely on luck. The opacity of the purchasing system greatly increases the cost of decision-making, affecting coffee shops' choice of Yunnan beans.

▆ There are many small and medium-sized coffee producers, and the stability of coffee quality is difficult to guarantee. In the Yunnan production area, there are few large factories with mature processing experience and sales channels, and there are many small and medium-sized coffee producers. Many family workshops process coffee, which easily leads to unstable coffee quality, and there is no unified output channel, and there is a lack of awareness of processing cost control.

There is also a lack of investment in funds and equipment, and it is impossible to use technology to circumvent the instability of picking and processing. This may result in a batch of beans from a certain origin being very good this year, but not necessarily next year. For large brands and roasters, the unstable source of raw beans has become a factor that affects their choice of Yunnan beans.

The value and future of Yunnan beans

The value of Yunnan coffee, in a broad sense, is that it represents the taste of China; in an emotional sense, it can support coffee farmers and help Yunnan; in a narrow sense, the advantages of choosing Yunnan beans are also obvious.

▆ The price is relatively low.

In terms of price alone, Yunnan beans are not subject to tariffs, value-added tax, etc., which can save nearly 30% of the cost of raw beans.

▆ Freshness.

Most of the beans from abroad are shipped by sea, and the customs clearance time is at least one month and at most three months. It is not uncommon for beans to be contaminated during shipping, aging, and mismatch between small samples and large goods. Using domestic beans can avoid these risks.

▆ Customized green beans.

In some small estates, you can customize some beans in small batches. For example, instead of a 21-day fermentation, you can do a 25-day fermentation; for anaerobic fermentation, you can choose to do a single fermentation or a double fermentation.

However, for foreign estates, the communication costs are high, and it is difficult to customize small batches of beans for you.

Yunnan coffee is also growing and developing rapidly amid the changes.

The Yunnan Coffee Industry Development Plan (2010-2020), issued in 2011, has established a new direction for the development of Yunnan's coffee industry.

In the fierce changes, the fittest will survive and the weak will be eliminated. For agriculture, this time may be a bit long. However, standardized planting, picking, standard processing methods, and a unified grading system are gradually becoming popular in Yunnan.

In the future, Yunnan will definitely be one of the options for the Chinese coffee flavor.