China Gui Ben Natural
This coffee originates from a remote part of Yunnan, in an area traditionally famous for its exceptional tea. East of Pu’er City and close to the Laos border, the region is home to many ethnic minorities including Hani, Miao, Dai and others.
The production of this coffee is spearheaded by Mr Tian Cai, who is the Farm Operations Manager for our origin partners, Yunnan Coffee Traders (YCT), with family member Mr Tang managing the farm on a day-to-day basis. They belong to a small group of farmer families in the Guiben region of Yunnan province.Cherries are grown by these farms as well as purchased directly from nearby smallholder farmers.
Mr Tian Cai and Mr Tang’s principal motivations with the production of specialty coffee are two-fold- bringing sustainable livelihoods to their families and those of the local smallholder farmers in the surrounding area as well as returning the land back to being more biodiverse - many farms focus on one cash crop such as bananas. As a result, they are planting macadamia trees, mangoes, oranges among the tea and coffee fields. Only organic fertiliser used, supplied by YCT.
Having spent time with Mr Tian Cai through our regular trips to Yunnan, he is an inspirational and talented coffee producer who is personally invested in both the people and the land. He’s the reason why these coffees are some of the best Chinese specialty coffees we’ve cupped since we started the business. Weare really proud to be working with him and the rest of the YCT team to bring these wonderful coffees to a wider audience – the potential here is huge.
Microlot • Specialty
Cupping
Cupping score certified by Q-Graders and obtained through the SCA protocol.
Cupper's notes
A triumph of flavors and aromas. Sweet, with mild malic acidity and good body. A fruity aroma of peach and pineapple, accompanied by sweet notes reminiscent of honey. The finish has notes reminiscent of mint.
Green Coffee Analysis
Grain analysis
Storage environment analysis
More Info
The People’s Republic of China, simply known as China (Chinese:中国 , pinyin: zhōng guó) is located in East Asia. It is the world’s most populous country, with a population of around 14. billion. China is one of the four earliest civilizations nations in the world with Yellow River and Yangtze River as its base and cradles.
Coffee was first cultivated in China in the late 1800s on a small scale, introduced by French missionaries in Yunnan. Production at scale didn’t take off for nearly 100years, despite government initiatives back in the 1960s. It was in 1988, as part of another government-led project assisted by the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank, that coffee began to be commercially produced for export through companies such as Nestle.
The focus on specialty is relatively recent,with the past decade seeing smaller coffee farms and producers improving their knowledge and skills e.g. processing techniques to produce better quality coffee .Yunnan province - a mountainous and fertile land in the south west of China, is responsible for over 97% of China’s coffee production. Over half of this production is concentrated around Pu’er – a region famous for centuries old tradition of tea.
The people of Yunnan are a hugely diverse mix of different cultures and languages, with most of China’s officially recognised 56 different ethnic groups residing here. It’s not just diverse in terms of the variety of its people either, the region also boasts a vast array of flora and fauna (including elephants and tigers), snow-capped mountains, deep valleys, vast plateaus, subtropical jungles, beautiful lakes and majestic rivers (including the mighty Mekong).