From the mountains to the world: Yunnan Coffee's "Expo" Journey
Xinhua News Agency, Kunming, November 11 (Reporters Yan Yong, Zhang Wen) After breakfast, Fan Qizuo brewed himself a cup of coffee as usual, and then came to the coffee field to weed the weeds with a hoe.
Just a few days ago, his fine coffee beans were selected by Starbucks and appeared at the 3rd China International Import Expo.
"I was originally invited to the site, but the coffee beans are almost in the picking season. In order to ensure the quality, I dare not delay for a moment." said Pan Qizuo, a 44-year-old coffee farmer from Dongsong Village, Lujiang Town, Baoshan City, Yunnan Province.
This year, the fine coffee beans planted by Pan Qizuo were screened and finally identified as Starbucks Premium Coffee Beans and entered the Expo site on behalf of Yunnan Coffee.
Cai Dexun, President and Chief Operating Officer of Starbucks China's retail business, said: "I hope to share the quality and flavor of Yunnan coffee with the world through the global platform of CIIE."
At this year's CIIE, Starbucks set up 12 free coffee break spots and 2 in-store sales spots for the first time to provide coffee and beverages for the majority of participants.
Among them are fine coffee beans from coffee farmers such as Fan Qizuo.
Barista Zhang Xinyu introduced that this coffee brewed with coffee beans tastes good and is very popular.
At the modern CIIE, Yunnan Coffee brought "the taste of distant woods" to exhibitors from all over the world.
Fan Qizuo was very happy to hear this feedback.
As the third generation coffee farmer of the "coffee family", he has been dealing with coffee for nearly 30 years.
"In 1982, my grandfather first saw a coffee tree. He divided more than 100 seedlings. Since then, he has planted them. When his parents took over, they only planted the beans. Regardless of its quality, Don't drink the coffee you grow yourself." Fan Qizuo recalled.
For farmers who have been accustomed to drinking tea all their lives, coffee is a "rare thing."
"How can you understand coffee without drinking, and how can you grow good coffee beans if you don't understand coffee." With his love for coffee, Fan Qizuo has embarked on the road of specialty coffee since 2006 and has developed a must-drink every day Coffee habit.
"Is the coffee taste good? I have to be the first to check it out." Fan Qizuo said that now the coffee field has grown to more than 2,300 acres and can pick more than 200 tons of fine coffee beans every year.
Before making purchases for customers from all over the world, he must select samples to taste the taste in advance.
In recent years, Pan Qizuo has often taken his coffee beans to Shanghai, Nanjing and other big cities frequently to make on-site brewing for consumers to taste.
He said that this time, because of the CIIE, Yunnan coffee is closer to the world, and people who have tasted Yunnan coffee can remember its unique taste.
At this CIIE, there is also no shortage of high-quality coffee from Brazil, Malaysia and other countries.
And Yunnan Coffee, which was originally hidden deep in the mountains, once again aimed at this rare opportunity, competing in the same field, and striving to win more international consumers' recognition.
Fan Qizuo said that the attitude of buyers and customers towards Yunnan coffee has changed a lot.
In the early years, everyone was not very interested in Yunnan coffee.
In recent years, the quality of Yunnan coffee has improved, and many subscribers are willing to label it as "Yunnan Coffee".
In the future, I hope that more consumers will like our Yunnan coffee, so that farmers can have more income.
After nearly 70 years of development, Yunnan has become China's largest coffee plantation, trade distribution center and export center.
According to statistics from Kunming Customs, in 2019, raw coffee beans and deep-processed products in Yunnan province were exported to 55 countries and regions including the European Union, the United States, Japan, and South Korea, and exported 56,100 tons of coffee beans and related products.
Coffee has gradually become one of the modern agriculture with plateau characteristics with the most foreign exchange ability in Yunnan.
From deep in the mountains to the world, Yunnan Coffee has taken another crucial step through the international "stage" of the CIIE.
"During this time, the color of coffee beans is getting redder and red, and it will enter the picking season immediately. In order to live up to the trust of consumers, we have to continue to strictly control the quality." Fan Qizuo said.