Ranking of Yunnan small-grain coffee origin brands and markets – Introduction to the planting history of Yunnan Catimor coffee beans

Yunnan is the main coffee-growing region in China. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture in 2018, Yunnan accounts for 99.22% of the country's coffee planting area, far exceeding other provinces such as Hainan and Guangdong.

The Catimor variety is a hybrid of Timor and Caturra, while Timor itself is a hybrid of Robusta and Arabica.

,,,,,.Since 2000, with the rise of the third wave of coffee globally, annual per capita coffee consumption has risen proportionally.

China is no exception. For example, in 2018, China's per capita coffee consumption was 13 cups, compared to 200 cups in the United States and thousands in Western Europe.Compared with developed countries, coffee consumption in China is still in its early stages.Yunnan has favorable conditions for developing its coffee industry.

Geographical Advantage

Yunnan Province is located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, a region widely recognized as a golden growing zone. With a predominantly mountainous terrain, Yunnan has the geographical and climatic conditions suitable for coffee cultivation.Currently, Baoshan, Pu'er, Dehong, and Lincang are among the main regions where coffee is grown.

Lincang Production Area

Lincang, where the Tropic of Cancer passes through, has distinct layered climates, abundant sunshine, plentiful rainfall, and fertile soil. Its climate type is similar to those of world-renowned high-quality coffee regions like Jamaica and Colombia. The fertile virgin land has nurtured the unique Wa culture and also given rise to Lincang coffee’s uniquely rich regional flavors of acidity, aroma, sweetness, and body.Lincang has thus been honored as the “China Premium Coffee Bean Demonstration Area” and the “Core Production Region of China Premium Coffee.”Amidst the buzz, I also noticed that many friends are curious about Yunnan coffee beans. It turns out that besides flower cakes and snow mountains, Yunnan also grows coffee beans.In 2015, the coffee planting area reached 36,000 hectares, making it the second-largest coffee-producing region in the country. By 2020, it expanded to 41,700 hectares.

They are mainly distributed in counties (cities) such as Linxiang, Gengma, Cangyuan, Fengqing, Yongde, Yunxian, Zhenkang, and Shuangjiang.

Dehong Production Area

Dehong is known as the "Hometown of Coffee in China." It has a typical South Asian tropical rainforest climate, with no severe cold in winter and no intense heat in summer. The coffee is planted at elevations above 1,000 meters. In 2015, the planting area reached 18,000 hectares, with 9,300 hectares under production, yielding 28,000 tons. The agricultural output value was 616 million yuan, and the industrial output value was 800 million yuan. It is home to the only national-level agricultural industrialization leading enterprise in the coffee industry—Dehong Hougu Coffee Co., Ltd.—and has successfully registered the "Dehong Coffee" geographical indication.By 2020, it was planned to expand to 20,000 hectares, mainly distributed in counties (cities) such as Ruili, Mangshi, Lianghe, Yingjiang, and Longchuan.

Baoshan Production Area

Baoshan's Ludian Dam is located at the eastern foothills of the Gaoligong Mountains, within a dry-hot river valley zone. The climate is a subtropical highland monsoon type, characterized by dry winters and wet summers, with abundant sunshine, rich heat, relatively low rainfall, warm winters with little fog, and no frost all year round. It is known as a “natural greenhouse” and a “treasure land of the hot zone.”In December 2010, after review by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, it was decided to implement national geographical indication product protection for “Baoshan Small-Bean Coffee.”In 2015, the coffee planting area was 13,000 hectares, and it is expected to grow to 20,000 hectares by 2020.It is mainly distributed in counties (cities) such as Longyang, Longling, Changning, and Shidian.Sun-dried Catimor coffee beans are processed using fully ripe cherries with sun drying.In 2015, the coffee planting area had already reached 50,000 hectares, with 26,800 hectares in production, yielding 48,900 tons and a total output value of 1.2 billion yuan.

By 2020, it will expand to 54,000 hectares.It is mainly distributed in counties (cities) such as Ning'er, Simao, Jiangcheng, Menglian, Lancang, Jinggu, Mojiang, Jingdong, Zhenyuan, and Ximeng.Pu'er is now the largest coffee-growing region in China by area and yield, as well as a key hub for coffee trading. The coffee industry has become one of the important sectors of Pu'er’s plateau-characteristic agriculture and a major supporting industry for building a national green economy pilot zone.