China's Treasure: Specialty Coffee from the Country of Tea

This time we have the pleasure of presenting you a coffee that breaks the mold, not only because it is of an origin little related to specialty coffee, but because its flavor and great quality never cease to surprise when knowing its origin: China. Its cultivation takes place in the province of Yunnan, in the southwest of the country, near the border with Laos and Myanmar. It is a fairly remote area, especially known for Pu erh tea, possibly the most famous red tea in the world.

It is characterized by its very humid climate and high altitudes. Its cool temperature, together with its high and persistent humidity, make the plants grow slowly, thus developing a greater complexity of flavors. This coffee also stands out for its high level of antioxidants and lower caffeine content.

Seeing the dedication and resources dedicated to producing this great coffee, it is clear to us that Yunnan coffee comes here to stay among the exclusive group of the best specialty Arabica coffees in the world.

The Meticulous Dedication Behind China's Specialty Coffee

We often talk about the farms and the group of people who work and care for the coffee. This case is no exception. Chinese rigor and dedication are evident throughout the process. And here we must highlight the Lì Sù women, a Chinese ethnic minority from Yunnan and linked to the coffee industry. Their work is decisive in promoting the growth of this industry, contributing their good work in plant care, selection, harvesting and screening of grains, providing a touch of quality and excellence that makes the difference.

And in order to break the mold, I would also like to focus on the coffee export process. Farms often do not have the infrastructure, contacts or knowledge to reach international markets. Large brokers are used, who buy, transport and market the coffee, reaching local roasters, who roast and offer the coffee to the end customer. In this case, being able to have access to this exotic coffee is not due to any multinational coffee company, but to a person, Cristina Hu, based in Barcelona, who had the vision and conviction that a coffee with the highest Chinese quality standards could operate in our country. As you can imagine, getting coffee here has not been an easy task, but the real challenge, the job of the Chinese (as she says with a laugh), is to make their coffee known in our market, with the great competition that exists. currently, and the total ignorance (and some prejudice, why deny it), of a coffee that comes from China.

Her surprising dedication, professionalism and passion for her product has made us at Cafés Caracas want to lend our modest bit of “coffee” to help make this wonderful coffee a little more known, and also highlight the important work of Cristina, for which we are very grateful.

The coffee we present to you is its catimor variety with a washed process, but there are also other interesting processes such as honey or anaerobic fermentation that are worth trying. We invite you to visit their website www.cafelisu.com to access them.

You can find this Yunnan coffee, for a limited time, in our Caracas stores and on our website www.cafescaracas.com, in 250 gr ZIP format. We recommend that you do not miss the opportunity to be among the first to try it and appreciate its characteristic flavor. Campei!