The export value of Pu’er coffee beans produced in Pu’er City, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, reached 462 million yuan in 2022, surging 296.4 percent year on year, according to a recent report by Pu’er Daily.

Export destinations included Europe, ASEAN, America, the Middle East and other regions.

Located at 24 degrees north latitude and with most areas at an altitude from 1,000 meters to 2,000 meters, Pu’er has a warm, humid subtropical climate. Rich soil, sufficient sunshine, abundant rainfall and a good ecological environment all contribute to premium conditions for growing coffee beans here, making the city known as China’s coffee capital.

Pu’er coffee beans produce well-balanced and mellow coffee with a silky body and fruity aroma, which is favoured by global consumers as mirrored by the increasing exports.

The coffee plantation area of Pu’er was 679,000 mu (around 45,267 hectares) in 2022, with an output of 55,700 tonnes, the highest yield in China.

In recent years, Pu’er City has been scaling up efforts to boost coffee planting, research and development, processing, sales, and storage. It launched a pilot insurance program in 2019 for the pricing of green coffee beans in the city to reduce the burden on coffee producers, operators and growers and promote sustained and healthy industry development.

The endeavour is paid off. Many kinds of Pu’er coffee products, such as instant coffee, baked beans, hanging ear coffee bags, and capsule coffee, have gained popularity as one of the best-sellers on the internet.

World-renowned coffee brands, such as Nestle and Starbucks, have launched a number of products using Pu’er coffee beans.

Coffee-related tourism is also promoted in Pu’er. During the harvest season from November to March of next year, coffee enthusiasts and entrepreneurs from home and abroad come to the city to take training lessons and engage in exchanges about coffee industry development.