CHINA | GUI BEN | NATURAL

In a remote corner of Yunnan, east of Pu’er City and close to the Laos border, coffee is growing in a landscape more commonly associated with tea. The region’s mountains, valleys and subtropical forests provide the setting for Gui Ben, a natural coffee produced by a small group of farming families.

Production is led by Tian Cai, Farm Operations Manager for Yunnan Coffee Traders, alongside Tang Xiang, who manages the farm day to day. Their work is about more than producing coffee. By planting macadamia, mango and orange trees alongside tea and coffee, they are gradually returning greater diversity to land traditionally devoted to single cash crops.

The cherries are hand-picked, carefully sorted and dried for four to five weeks before milling. It is a patient approach to processing, and one that reflects the wider ambition of Yunnan’s specialty coffee producers: to demonstrate that Chinese coffee can offer quality, character and a distinct sense of origin.

Cherries are hand-harvested from nearby smallholder farms and floated in water to remove unsuitable fruit and foreign material. The whole cherries are then spread across raised beds and dried slowly for four to five weeks. Once dry, they are hulled to remove the outer fruit layers before sorting, grading and bagging.

Tang Xiang and Tian Cai work with a small group of farming families in the Guiben region, growing coffee and purchasing cherries directly from nearby smallholders. Their aims include building sustainable livelihoods and restoring biodiversity to land traditionally used for single cash crops.

Macadamia, mango and orange trees are planted alongside tea and coffee, with organic fertiliser supplied by Yunnan Coffee Traders. YCT also operates farming, milling, research and training facilities, supporting improved production practices and greater traceability. The supplier does not state that this coffee holds formal organic certification.