Coffee from China

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October 6, 2021
Coffee from China

China's relationship with coffee is quite complicated, and you will understand why we say that in just a second. First off, we should say that the Chinese people actually aren't huge fans of coffee, as they consume an average of just one cup a year. Even so, they are considered an emerging coffee market. Are you confused already? We know, we were too. But don't worry, everything has an explanation, and you will find each one here. So, if we caught your interest and you want to learn more about the culture of coffee in China, this is the place to be!

The production

In China, it began at a really small scale a while back, in the late 1800s. Up until the 1960s, it kept growing steadily, and a small boom happened in the 1980s. Around that time, China started receiving help from the outside world, as the UN and a multi-national roasting company put money together with the Chinese Government to make sure that the infrastructure of planting and processing could keep expanding. From there on, China kept making leaps in terms of quantity and quality, and it does not show any signs of slowing down any time soon. Around 2018, it was able to enter the top 20 of the producing countries by volume and it also started to save a seat at the global specialty coffee market. 

The areas in which these plantations grow are in western Yunnan, where the altitude variates between 900 and 1750 meters, and they are called Pu’er, Baoshan, Dehong, and Menglian. Here, the coffee type which is mostly grown is called Catimor, but the entities are constantly working to bring forward original varieties.

Catimor is a small plant, highly resistant to any disease, and extremely productive. For the first time, it was produced in Brazil in the 1970s, but it quickly found its way all around the world. It produces Robusta beans, which have a questionable quality among coffee experts. What is extremely important to consider though, is the fact that this plant depends a lot on the altitude. Therefore, if it is grown in lowlands, the quality will be, indeed, not so great. But if it is grown at high altitudes, which is the case of western Yunnan, it results in a crisply acidic, sweet aftertaste coffee, with flavors of brown sugar, vanilla, strawberry, spice, and nectarine. Sounds great!

The market

From an economic point of view, the Chinese coffee market has great potential. This is because even though people don't consume too much coffee at the moment, the number rises every year by 30%, which is huge, in comparison to the annual number of just 2%. We think that tends to promise a lot. 

Originally, China is a tea-consuming country, and this is obvious when you look at the statistics: China represents approximately 40% of the world’s tea consumption. How crazy is that? In this context, it isn't exactly surprising that, up until the 1980s, coffee was considered just an expensive gift. The turning point was in 1999 when the first Starbucks opened in Beijing, but it was still considered too expensive and therefore, not too much attention was given to it. The first shy coffee consumers that appeared in China mostly drank instant coffee, and this happened until 2012. That was when people finally decided to explore the world of grounded coffee and coffee shops. Consequently, Starbucks also began to be successful, currently opening a new location in China every 15 hours.

The question is, how did this almost instantaneous change happen? Well, most likely, the answer is the new, young generation, which travels more and also has bigger incomes, therefore affording the initially ”expensive” Starbucks or another high price, but the high-quality type of coffee. As young people travel mostly for educational purposes, they tend to get accustomed to Western lifestyle values, which include almost daily coffee consumption. 

In conclusion, even though it seems a little behind, China is willing to quickly enter the global coffee market, and in a competitive way. It offers a great opportunity for people or companies that want to establish a name for themselves, but they should keep in mind that it isn't as easy as it looks. This is because if you want to succeed in China, you have to get accustomed to their language and habits, as they are in a close connection with their culture, and they aren't willing to give it away for new business ideas. Therefore, if you are considering taking a leap of faith in the Chinese market, go for it! But remember to respect the Chinese side of it.