Simao Arabica Coffee

Simao Arabica Coffee

　　  Simao coffee is a specialty of Pu'er City in Yunnan Province. The industrialization of coffee in Pu'er began in 1988. Since large-scale coffee cultivation started, the name "Simao" has been retained, so Pu'er coffee continues to use the raw material brand "Simao Arabica Coffee." Due to its geographical location and unique climate, the quality of Pu'er coffee has long been recognized as among the best in the world, favored by renowned international coffee companies.

　　  Pu'er City is located between 22°02′N and 24°50′N latitude, and 99°09′E and 102°19′E longitude, with the Tropic of Cancer crossing through it. It features a highland climate primarily characterized by low-latitude, subtropical mountainous monsoon conditions, sharing the same latitude zone as Colombia — one of the world’s most famous coffee-growing regions — making it part of the coffee cultivation "golden belt."

　　  Coffee cultivation in Pu'er has a history of approximately 150 years, introduced by missionaries and initially grown sporadically in areas such as Lancang, Jiangcheng, Jingdong, Jinggu, and Menglian counties. The industrialization of coffee in Pu'er began in 1988. Since large-scale coffee cultivation started, the name "Simao" has been retained, and the local Yunnan standard DB53/T154.1-10-2006 “Comprehensive Standard for Simao Arabica Coffee” also uses the name "Simao." Therefore, Pu'er coffee continues to use the raw material brand "Simao Arabica Coffee." For over 20 years, the Pu'er Municipal Party Committee and government have consistently prioritized coffee development as a key industry for adjusting the industrial structure and increasing farmers’ incomes. They adopted an agricultural industrialization model of “company + base + farmer + standard,” and established strong trade partnerships with Nestlé Coffee. As a result, the coffee industry has achieved significant growth.

　　  Due to its geographical location and unique climate, the quality of Pu'er coffee has long been recognized as among the best in the world, favored by renowned international coffee companies. Starting in 2004, the Pu'er Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau collected samples (mixed samples from over 30 coffee companies across the city) from the Coffee Industry Association and sent them to the National Ministry of Agriculture Food Quality Supervision and Testing Center (Chengdu) for testing. All tests for BHC (hexachlorocyclohexane) and DDT returned negative, and all hygiene indicators were better than green food standards. Starting in 2006, Nestlé sampled coffee purchased from Pu'er and sent it to the Yunnan Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau for testing. No agricultural chemicals prohibited or restricted under Japan’s “Positive List System” were detected. The outstanding intrinsic quality of Simao Arabica Coffee has been recognized by the International Coffee Organization (ICO) as a first-class product. Nestlé's newly launched Nestlé Limited Edition coffee uses high-quality Simao Arabica Coffee beans from Pu'er. Additionally, Japan's Daianaam Integrated Investment Co., Ltd. (Beijing Ji Yi Ou Coffee Co., Ltd.) has registered Simao Arabica Coffee in Japan. In January 2006, the Specialty Coffee Association of America compared Simao Arabica Coffee with Colombian coffee, giving an overall score of 85.88% for Colombian coffee and 88.75% for Simao Arabica Coffee. Pu'er coffee has gained a certain level of international recognition.

　　  Currently, the coffee industry in Pu'er City has largely entered an era of standardized management and production: unified production techniques, consistent product quality, and further enhancement of the regional brand "Simao Arabica Coffee." The city has 153 fresh coffee fruit peeling processing plants, 42 hulling plants, and 3 deep-processing plants. There are 9 coffee bean brands: Nestlé, Sanglait, Beigui, Lancang River, Arabica, Laifushan, Man 1 (H&D), Sena, and Qianrun (Kunming Heavy Industry), along with 3 deep-processing product brands (Manya, Beigui, and Shoupin). There are 31 coffee shops (cafés), 9 export enterprises, and over 100,000 people employed in the coffee industry, involving more than 20,000 farming households. Among these, the Sanglait Coffee Hulling and Selecting Processing Plant owns China’s largest primary coffee processing equipment, capable of processing 12,000 tons of coffee husk beans annually (10 tons per hour), and can simultaneously produce coffee beans in 8 grades. Its standardized coffee hulling production line completes hulling, particle grading, gravity grading, polishing, color sorting, automatic weighing, and packaging in one continuous process, achieving a first-grade coffee bean rate of over 80%. This marks the first time that China’s coffee primary processing has aligned with global standards.

　　  In 2009, Pu'er City had 218,000 mu (approximately 14,533 hectares) of coffee plantations, accounting for 50% of the province's total coffee planting area (435,380 mu). The planted area in production was 139,000 mu, with a coffee bean yield of 17,400 tons, representing 50% of the province’s total output of 37,850 tons. The average yield was 125 kg per mu, with a production value of 270 million yuan. During the 2009–2010 harvest season, Pu'er coffee achieved a price advantage of 5 cents per pound above the midpoint of the New York futures price for the first time. Both the coffee yield and output value have continued to grow, making the coffee industry a key specialty sector that enriches farmers, increases corporate profits, and boosts foreign exchange earnings through exports.