The hierarchical status of Yunnan Coffee in the Coffee Industry introduction to the cultivation and production of Yunnan Coffee

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In recent years, with the increasing demand for coffee at home and abroad, China's coffee industry has also made a new improvement. Perhaps in the eyes of most Chinese, Yunnan has always been the rural land of China or the capital of tea. It also has one of the few regional advantages of coffee cultivation in China: the Tropic of Cancer runs through the province, so that a considerable part of its area is located in the "coffee growing golden belt". The geographical characteristics of altitude and latitude are proportional to the subtropical monsoon climate, which not only makes the soil rich in precipitation and sunshine, but also ensures larger daily temperature difference and smaller annual temperature difference. Combined with all these geographical advantages, Yunnan coffee has become the leader of Chinese coffee, and Yunnan has also become the main coffee producing area in China, accounting for 99% of the national output. But it was not until the wave of boutique coffee came to China that Yunnan coffee began to be recognized by the world.

In 1984, Nestl é used Pu'er as an important coffee raw material production base; in 2012, Starbucks opened a grower support center in Pu'er, Yunnan Province, and opened its first coffee origin store in Pu'er in 2018, followed by Yunnan Zhenxuan coffee beans in stores across the country; and boutique coffee brand Seesaw Coffee sends professionals to Yunnan every October to help local coffee farmers cultivate coffee seedlings and regulate picking and handling. More and more eyes begin to focus on the rural land of Yunnan. So, during this trip, we talk to a number of senior people in different fields of the industry-not only the staff of Yunnan Coffee Trading Center, but also representatives of Yunnan farmers, as well as baristas and bakers. In these diversified perspectives, we will show you the great changes of Yunnan coffee in recent years.

Conversational tycoon

Wang Wei (Ethan)

Marketing manager of Yunnan International Coffee Trading Center; engaged in the coffee industry for 2 years, began to like the coffee industry because of a cup of delicious Yunnan coffee, and is committed to giving people a correct and objective understanding of Yunnan coffee

Huarunmei (plum)

Representative of the second generation of farmers; engaged in the coffee industry for 3 years and currently operates his own coffee farm (Pu'er Lin run Coffee) in Dakai River, Pu'er, Yunnan Province.

Simon He

Coffee roaster; now works in Starbucks Zhenxuan Shanghai Bakery

Yang Jiajia (Simon)

Mingqian coffee roaster; engaged in coffee roasting for 6 years and won the 2016 Fuji Royal Baking Competition

Big Shen Zi

Barista; now works for the boutique coffee brand for three and a half meals and has been engaged in coffee roasting for nearly 3 years

Do you know anything about Yunnan coffee?

1. For what reason and opportunity began to contact (use) Yunnan coffee?

Ethan: coffee has been planted in Yunnan for a hundred years. In the early stage, it was mainly to meet the drinking needs of foreigners, mainly to assist the use of raw materials for other coffee drinks and coffee products. Large-scale cultivation has only begun for nearly 30 years, and the quality of coffee is only ordinary commercial beans. The real understanding of Yunnan coffee starts from joining Yunnan International Coffee Trading Center. I used to drink some coffee with sugar or milk or instant. Until my first day in the company, I drank my first cup of Yunnan coffee without sugar and milk at the bar on the first floor, which made me realize for the first time that the coffee could taste so good-not bitter, slightly sour, and with some indescribable aroma.

Meizi: before 2015, as a farmer, I didn't know so much about the coffee in my hometown, nor did I know what my coffee tasted like. My impression of it was limited to commercial goods. Nowadays, coffee demanders begin to emphasize the quality of coffee, while the older generation of coffee growers encounter many difficulties in growing under the third wave of coffee. As a young man born as a farmer, I feel obliged to promote the development of coffee in Yunnan through study.

Simon (Starbucks): after joining Starbucks, I began to get in touch with Yunnan coffee. Since 2009 (the 10th anniversary of Starbucks China), Starbucks stores in China have routinely served a comprehensive coffee called Fengwu Xiangyun, which combines Asian coffee beans, the highlight of which is the Yunnan coffee beans it contains. Yunnan coffee makes me taste a lot of flavor elements with Chinese characteristics, such as southern apricot and herbs, which gives me the feeling of "Chinese coffee".

two。 What do you think is the difference between Yunnan coffee today and 5 years ago? Can you share your observation of the recent situation of coffee in Yunnan?

Ethan: the first is the quality. The quality of Yunnan coffee has been greatly improved in the past five years. Farmers and enterprises are also trying to innovate and develop technology, looking for the unique logo of Yunnan coffee producing areas, and the stability is also constantly improving. The second is people. In the past five years, great changes have taken place in the structure of coffee growers and processing practitioners in Yunnan. The second and third generations of coffee farm owners began to devote themselves to the family coffee business, and these young people often received a good education outside. Has active thinking and more advanced market awareness. They actively learn the mature technology at home and abroad, only to change the originally backward coffee primary industry, and gradually do a good job of Yunnan coffee secondary and tertiary production. The third is consciousness, Yunnan coffee growers began to try to drink their own coffee, began to consciously learn and improve the processing. And the domestic consumer market has also begun to consciously try China's own coffee; the fourth is the dilemma, although there is a bright side, but in the face of declining coffee prices in the international market year by year, the bulk sales price of Yunnan coffee has been lower than or equal to the production cost of coffee enterprises, resulting in coffee growers and enterprises suffering. For us as service providers and participants, the development of Yunnan coffee has a long way to go.

Plum: it has changed a lot. The whole production consciousness is improving. Yunnan Ka Nong also starts to drink its own coffee. In recent years, however, with the downturn in futures prices, many farmers have begun to lose confidence in coffee cultivation.

Da Shenzi: you can feel the rise of Yunnan coffee from the Shanghai Coffee Show. In 2015, the most impressive booth about Yunnan beans was "Manlaojiang", but in 2017, the exhibition area about Yunnan coffee beans will become larger, and many landowners will be able to display coffee beans with various treatments in the exhibition area. As a barista and baker, I feel that there are more and more Yunnan beans to choose from over the past few years, and the quality is getting better and better, but the price is also getting more and more expensive.

Simon (Starbucks): I just started five years ago, and I didn't even taste Yunnan coffee from a single producing area at that time, but now Yunnan coffee can take care of it on its own! According to my incomplete understanding, the output and quality of coffee in Yunnan are rising steadily, but due to some market factors, the income of growers has not risen as steadily as the output. At the same time, whether at home or abroad, the popularity of Yunnan coffee is not very high. However, what Starbucks has been doing is to use its influence to help Yunnan coffee reach the world. To this end, in early 2017, we launched the first Yunnan single-origin coffee beans, to the later yellow honey-treated Yunnan coffee, to the newly launched Yunnan elegant Manor coffee beans, Starbucks has been hoping to let more customers know about Yunnan coffee in China.

3. Compared with coffee from other places, what are the advantages of Yunnan coffee? What are the disadvantages?

Ethan: Yunnan producing area is located in the area suitable for growing coffee, the overall quality is good.

Advantages: fresh, short delivery cycle. The balance is good and it is easy to match. Some fine washed coffee has berries and other flavors, and some special treatment methods and new processing methods have brought some high-quality tonality and flavor to Yunnan boutique coffee, so that Yunnan good boutique coffee can also be used as a single product. Commercial grade Yunnan coffee beans are also cheaper than imported coffee.

Disadvantages: because of the problem of coffee varieties, the flavor is relatively simple, and the production cost of high-quality coffee is high, so it is difficult to compete with imported high-quality coffee in terms of price. The proportion of domestic roasters is less, the lack of market share, the brand influence of producing areas is not enough; coupled with the inherent prejudice of Yunnan coffee, as well as less awareness of Yunnan coffee and other reasons, the actual consumption of Yunnan coffee in China is still very limited.

Plum: advantages: first, Yunnan coffee has greatly improved the quality of coffee through standardized processing standards, and many roasters who use Yunnan beans have reported that whether they are making a single product or blending, the sweetness of Yunnan beans is very good; second, for the Chinese market, beans are fresh. Disadvantages: the coffee variety commonly grown in Yunnan is "Catimor", in which the gene of 1gam4 is medium seed. If it is not handled and roasted properly, the herbal flavor will appear.

Simon (Starbucks): in my impression, the advantage of Yunnan coffee is its high resolution. As long as it has been tasted and memorized, it is easy to recognize Yunnan coffee, which is very important for regional coffee, which means that the coffee in this region has remarkable characteristics. But at the same time, because the characteristics are too fixed, it will make many people in the industry and consumers who look forward to surprise have a certain degree of aesthetic fatigue.

Simon (Mingqian): Yunnan Province accounts for more than 90% of Arabica coffee beans in China. Yunnan coffee is almost Chinese coffee. The advantage of this producing area is that it has an altitude of 800-1850 mountains, a large temperature difference between day and night, and Rain Water is also abundant, laying a good foundation for high-quality raw coffee beans. However, the quality of Yunnan coffee is not stable, and the standardization and rationalization of planting and processing still need to be improved.

What do you think of the future of Yunnan coffee?

1. What do you think is the problem that Yunnan Coffee is facing and what aspects can be improved?

Ethan:

Problems: the production cost of ① is too high, it is difficult to match the price of mature consumer market; ② has no independent pricing power, international large enterprises monopolize long-term low-price non-benign acquisitions, and farmers' enthusiasm for planting is not high; ③ industry service support is missing, and there is great economic pressure for enterprises to upgrade; the awareness of ④ Yunnan coffee market still needs to be improved, and the consumer market still needs to be cultivated.

Solution: starting from the planting processing end, ① establishes scientific and systematic planting processing standards to stabilize quality and reduce costs; ② sets up an independent price system for Yunnan coffee based on price formation, efficiently docking the market, and allowing the industry to develop healthily. Starting from the platform service, ③ improves the service function of the industrial chain, increases the intensity and scope of financial services, strengthens the platform service capacity of Yunnan International Coffee Trading Center, helps farmers solve financing problems, and gives full play to the core service support value for Yunnan coffee industry. Starting from the market end, ④ will increase the promotion of Yunnan coffee at home and abroad, let consumers have an objective and correct understanding of Yunnan coffee, and gradually form a mature, rational and diversified coffee consumption environment.

Plum: there are too many problems, and there are many areas that need to be improved, such as the most basic picking. In the aspect of planting, the quality of coffee is extremely unstable because of the aging and singleness of coffee varieties, intensive planting area and non-standard management, backward technology and so on. In addition, the use of fertilizer, sewage discharge, high-quality processing and other aspects should be improved. For us farmers, the input is not proportional to the output now. Many farmers rely on large commercial acquirers such as Nestl é and Starbucks, but beans are often rejected because of irregular initial processing processes. On the other hand, some small acquirers buy at a low price, which leads to the passive bidding of farmers. At the same time, Yunnan coffee is mainly grown in mountainous areas, machinery can not replace labor, and the labor cost is on the high side (about 100 yuan / day). Many farmers rely on loans to maintain their cultivation, and there is little left after paying the picking and processing fees.

Simon (Mingqian): the whole production chain of coffee is very long. I think from agronomists to managers of raw bean production, coffee roasters and baristas, how to standardize this production chain, improve the quality and output of coffee beans and replicate them, can effectively improve the level of coffee in Yunnan.

two。 From your point of view, how to promote Yunnan coffee to the world?

Ethan: this should be done in several ways:

First of all, we should actively participate in domestic and international exhibitions and activities, not only participate in, but also take products with stable supply to share with international buyers and roasters, communicate with international common coffee languages such as cup testing, and trade with common trade patterns, so as to let international buyers know that Yunnan products are also capable of international trade in raw coffee beans.

Secondly, we should establish a unified standard product classification system internally, solve the inconsistency of specifications and classification in Yunnan producing areas and the situation of small and scattered enterprises, have a unified brand and positive image of producing areas externally, and establish business cards and brand value of producing areas.

Finally, it is necessary to return to product quality. Although Yunnan belongs to the mountainous area, it is difficult to achieve full mechanized picking, but technological reform can be carried out in the processing stage, the introduction of advanced equipment to reduce labor utilization, improve efficiency and reduce costs. Some mature producing areas have great advantages in varieties, so we can try to introduce more varieties of coffee in a small area, find better varieties suitable for planting in Yunnan, and finally increase the premium capacity of Yunnan coffee. For example, Colombia and other producing countries have got rid of the influence of international coffee price fluctuations because of their complete functional service centers, unified import and export control and independent pricing of their own coffee products.

Da Shenzi: first improve the overall quality before you can get more recognition. Just like Colombian coffee, Dazong beans are of stable quality and inexpensive, so people are willing to use them in blending. If one day, all Yunnan has a good mellow thickness and sweetness, less miscellaneous flavor and the right price, people will be willing to use it for matching. If you blindly walk a few but refined high-end products, Yunnan coffee is very difficult to jump out. After all, there is only one Panama in the world.

Simon (Starbucks): from what I've seen so far, more consumers just "don't know" about Yunnan coffee, not "don't accept" Yunnan coffee. Although my view is not necessarily correct, it is necessary to let more people know Yunnan coffee, just like Pu'er tea, because it has its own characteristics and production technology, it will be liked by consumers. This is also an important way for consumers and brands to "accept" Yunnan coffee. Yunnan coffee has its own characteristics and is becoming more and more diversified. as roasters and baristas, on the one hand, they show the unique flavor of Yunnan coffee through their own professional knowledge, on the other hand, I think what we should do is to speak for these Yunnan coffees. to show the lovely side of Yunnan coffee to more consumers and professionals.

From the views of all the big names, we can see that the coffee in Yunnan is not what it used to be, and the coffee in its producing areas is no longer the same-the usage of domestic and international markets has been greatly improved, and the influence of the brand is gradually established.

Obviously, its opportunities and challenges coexist. At present, Yunnan coffee already has its own origin logo and more and more audiences, but compared with coffee in other mature producing areas, it is still groping to establish its own brand influence and voice.

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