Origin
A record of where it came from
Most people know Yunnan for tea. Long before coffee arrived, the same misty, high-altitude slopes in the province's south and west were terraced for Pu'er and green tea — a crop that shaped the region's farming culture for centuries.
Coffee came later, planted by French missionaries near Dongchuan in 1892 and expanded through the 1980s and 90s as a government cash-crop program. Today Yunnan grows the vast majority of China's coffee, mostly Catimor and Typica varieties, on smallholder plots between 1,000 and 1,900 metres.
We buy from three of those regions — Baoshan, Pu'er, and Dehong — each with its own elevation, soil, and microclimate, and each producing a noticeably different cup.
Region 01
Baoshan · 宝山
Elevation: 1,500–1,900m
Volcanic red soil and cool nights along the Gaoligong mountains produce Yunnan's most floral, high-acidity lots — celebrated for jasmine notes and crisp citrus acidity.
Region 02
Pu'er · 普洱
Elevation: 1,000–1,600m
Famed for tea, Pu'er's humid microclimate and old-growth shade trees endow its natural-process coffee with a syrupy body, dried fruit sweetness, and toasted nut profile.
Region 03
Menglian · 孟连
Elevation: 1,400–1,850m
Nestled near Yunnan's southwestern border, Menglian's high elevation creates intense tropical fruit aromas, rich dark chocolate tones, and a velvety long finish.
Region 04
Dehong · 德宏
Elevation: 900–1,400m
On the Myanmar border, Dehong's warm climate and extended harvest window yield honey-processed cups with delicate orchid aromatics, lychee sweetness, and soft balance.
Trade
Paid by the lot, not the sack
Most Yunnan coffee is still sold into a commodity blend, priced against the C-market regardless of quality. We buy whole lots from individual cooperatives instead, at a fixed price well above that benchmark.
It means a good harvest is rewarded, farmers know what they'll earn before picking starts, and we can trace every bag back to the plot it came from.