Introduction:Baoshan’s Luxi Town is hailed as China’s Number One Coffee Village, with its smallholder coffee once winning a world gold award. This article delves into the varietal advantages, growing environment, and historical accolades of Baoshan smallholder coffee, explores the challenges in harvesting and processing, and recommends several worthwhile brand products to help coffee enthusiasts better understand the unique charm of Yunnan specialty coffee and where to start.
Located in Luxi Town, Baoshan City, Yunnan Province, it has long been known as “China’s Number One Coffee Village.” The smallholder coffee produced here is not only renowned domestically but also won a gold award in international competitions. Through the exciting activities of the Third Baoshan Coffee Culture Festival, we were able to gain an in-depth understanding of the cultivation background, varietal characteristics, as well as the potential and challenges of Baoshan smallholder coffee in the international market.
This year’s Baoshan Coffee Culture Festival was grandly held from November 23 to 25 in Xinzhai Village, Luxi Town, Gaoligong Mountain Tourism Resort, which is known as China’s Number One Coffee Village. The event site featured segments such as coffee bean picking, pour over brewing, and cupping evaluations, all fully adopting the professional evaluation standards of international coffee competitions. Participants included not only local farmers but also overseas coffee experts, the Evergreen International Team, and the Shenzhen Women’s Team, showcasing a vibrant atmosphere of diverse exchanges.
Dong Zuliang, Senior Advisor at the China Coffee Engineering Research Center, said in an interview at the picking competition that Luxi Town has successfully cultivated top-tier domestic coffee bean varieties and hopes that the Chinese people can also enjoy the purest and highest-quality locally grown coffee. However, he also pointed out that the production area has yet to establish a complete set of standardized processes for picking, pulping, and drying, making it difficult for high-end processing enterprises to obtain raw materials of consistent quality. Farmers can only sell various types of coffee beans as mixed lots, resulting in persistently low prices and thus affecting the overall pace of industrial upgrading.
Dong Zuliang further explained that although coffee beans are sweet fruits before harvest, only through proper processing and selection can a good cup of coffee be achieved. One of the goals of this competition is to help the public understand what truly high-quality coffee beans are, thereby enhancing quality awareness from the source.
At the “Drinking Chinese Coffee” international expert forum, Dong Zuliang emphasized that the coffee varieties and potential quality of Luxi Town are actually on par with international standards, but the real bottleneck lies in the inadequacies of planting techniques, processing procedures, and modern management models. He suggested that local governments should actively introduce advanced technologies and business concepts, assist farmers in changing their mindset, improve production methods, and strive to build China’s own specialty coffee brands, which is the key to increasing farmers’ incomes and promoting sustainable industrial development.
Wang Dayong, a senior coffee expert and competition judge from Shenzhen, also shared his views on-site. He pointed out: “Luxi Town has China’s best smallholder coffee varieties, coupled with its unique climate and soil conditions, which should allow it to grow world-class coffee. But remember, a good cup of coffee is not just grown—it is also picked. Even if the coffee trees grow well, improper harvesting, such as mixing overripe, rotten, or unripe beans, can severely affect the final flavor.”
Speaking of the international recognition journey of Baoshan smallholder coffee, it can be traced back to 2016, when then Premier Li Keqiang, during a nighttime visit to Kuanzhai Alley in Chengdu, specially tasted “Baoshan Smallholder Coffee” and gave it high praise, further instructing that active efforts should be made to promote Chinese coffee onto the international stage.
The main growing areas of Baoshan smallholder coffee are concentrated on the western bank of the Nujiang Grand Canyon and the eastern slope of the Gaoligong Mountains, at altitudes of approximately 800 to 1300 meters, with a small portion planted at higher elevations above 1300 meters. The currently main variety planted is Catimor, along with small amounts of traditional and premium varieties such as Typica, Bourbon, and Caturra. As early as the late 1950s, Baoshan smallholder coffee successfully entered the London market in the UK and was rated as a first-grade product, receiving the honorary title of “Luxi No. 1” at that time.
In 1980, the Central Four Ministries and One Society held a national coffee work conference in Baoshan, bringing renewed attention to this variety that had been cultivated since the early days of the People’s Republic of China and recognizing it as the “Crown of National Coffee.” Subsequently, at the 1992 China Agricultural Expo, Baoshan smallholder coffee won a silver medal; the following year, it won the “Eureka” gold award at the World Coffee Tasting Competition held in Brussels, Belgium, solidifying its international status. In 2010, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine officially included “Baoshan Smallholder Coffee” within the scope of national geographical indication product protection.
For consumers wanting to try authentic Baoshan smallholder coffee, many brands on the market have already launched curated products. These coffee beans all come from premium producing areas in Luxi Town and have undergone strict harvesting and refined processing. Generally speaking, these coffees exhibit an excellent balance of nutty, caramel, and mild fruity acidity, with rich flavor layers, suitable not only for pour over but also for various brewing methods such as espresso, making them an excellent choice for both beginners and those looking to explore the flavors of Yunnan coffee more deeply.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
