Maybe because I spent time in Hainan early on, coffee there was never a surprise to me! I've always appreciated how ubiquitous coffee was in China, being redefined every day. Starbucks is still the best "3rd place", while others get the delivery convenience model, or add coffee to what is essentially, other desserts. It's all good.
Just came back from a two-week Yunnan trip and spent two days touring 6 coffee farms in Baoshan （宝山）Gaoligong (高黎贡) area. I didn't know what to expect, so needless to say, the bar started low.
I was impressed.
The best-tasting cup was a Panama Geisha, ground and poured at an independent cafe inside a Dali vegan market. :)
Hi Yi Xue, sounds like a great experience. can't agree more — it really can’t compare to a Panama Geisha. Yunnan still has a long way to go: great green beans are relatively rare and need careful roasting to taste good in the cup, so they’re not easy to come across yet.
I had lived in Beijing about ten years ago, and I still remeber the amazement I felt, witnessing both the rapid expansion if Starbucks and emergence of Luckin. Sometimes I wondered how the coffee scene in China has changed since I left, and your article on supply side is very interesting. As a consumer outside of China, ensuring process transparency might be the key in buying quality beans.
Excellent observation and data! The 香精豆 controversy is especially on point, I've been witnessing it for quite some while (as well as how it impacts certain Colombian producers). It does feel like "cheating" sometimes and I don't particularly like the co-fermented taste either. But again, there are still a lot of producer doing honest work in improving fermentation techniques in coffee processing, both in China and Colombia. And I think it has to do with Chinese people's awful experience with food safety/food transparency. Please keep writing about Chinese coffee!
Thanks — I really appreciate your thoughtful read. I totally agree — excessive food‑safety fears have blown the 香精豆 controversy out of proportion, which is hurting honest producers. Trust needs rebuilding; fortunately, Chinese consumers generally don’t dislike natural or organic fermentation — they’re mainly sensitive to artificial additives. Glad you’re following this — I’ll definitely write more on coffee topics😊
Maybe because I spent time in Hainan early on, coffee there was never a surprise to me! I've always appreciated how ubiquitous coffee was in China, being redefined every day. Starbucks is still the best "3rd place", while others get the delivery convenience model, or add coffee to what is essentially, other desserts. It's all good.
Just came back from a two-week Yunnan trip and spent two days touring 6 coffee farms in Baoshan （宝山）Gaoligong (高黎贡) area. I didn't know what to expect, so needless to say, the bar started low.
I was impressed.
The best-tasting cup was a Panama Geisha, ground and poured at an independent cafe inside a Dali vegan market. :)
Hi Yi Xue, sounds like a great experience. can't agree more — it really can’t compare to a Panama Geisha. Yunnan still has a long way to go: great green beans are relatively rare and need careful roasting to taste good in the cup, so they’re not easy to come across yet.
I had lived in Beijing about ten years ago, and I still remeber the amazement I felt, witnessing both the rapid expansion if Starbucks and emergence of Luckin. Sometimes I wondered how the coffee scene in China has changed since I left, and your article on supply side is very interesting. As a consumer outside of China, ensuring process transparency might be the key in buying quality beans.
Excellent observation and data! The 香精豆 controversy is especially on point, I've been witnessing it for quite some while (as well as how it impacts certain Colombian producers). It does feel like "cheating" sometimes and I don't particularly like the co-fermented taste either. But again, there are still a lot of producer doing honest work in improving fermentation techniques in coffee processing, both in China and Colombia. And I think it has to do with Chinese people's awful experience with food safety/food transparency. Please keep writing about Chinese coffee!
Thanks — I really appreciate your thoughtful read. I totally agree — excessive food‑safety fears have blown the 香精豆 controversy out of proportion, which is hurting honest producers. Trust needs rebuilding; fortunately, Chinese consumers generally don’t dislike natural or organic fermentation — they’re mainly sensitive to artificial additives. Glad you’re following this — I’ll definitely write more on coffee topics😊