De las montañas profundas al mundo, el ascenso de una taza de café de Yunnan

China Internet Finance March 18th News (Reporter Chen Qiong) This January, a dedicated railway train loaded with coffee beans departed from Puer, Yunnan, sounding its horn. With 22 carriages and 682 tons of seasonal coffee beans, crossing 2834 kilometers directly to Xiamen, Fujian—this is the country’s first large-scale, branded coffee bean railway train, the “Luckin Express.” What races along the tracks are not only coffee beans but also the “accelerated” journey of Yunnan coffee from production area to nationwide, transforming from raw material into a brand.

Two months later, during the open day of the Yunnan delegation at the National Two Sessions, Secretary Wang Ning introduced this cup of coffee to domestic and international media in three sentences: “Yunnan coffee is planted early and well, with a historical charm,” “It has quality and branding, with a unique flavor,” “It is an industry that increases income and a sweet enterprise, with a taste of happiness.” These three sentences outline the overall picture of Yunnan coffee’s continuous rise, from history and quality to people’s livelihood.

A year ago, the important statement that “Yunnan coffee still represents China” injected strong confidence into the entire industry’s development. This expectation is transforming into concrete industry practices—from provincial strategies to national plans for agricultural strength—making Yunnan coffee’s development path increasingly clear. Meanwhile, market momentum is accelerating: domestic brands like Luckin Coffee, with over 30,000 stores nationwide and more than 450 million cumulative transaction users, are delivering Yunnan coffee from production areas into the cups of hundreds of millions of consumers, becoming an unstoppable force in this leap.

A Century of Accumulation and Industry Leap

The history of coffee cultivation in China begins in Yunnan. Over 130 years ago, the first coffee seedling took root in Zhu Kula Village, Binchuan County, Dali. Today, more than 30 ancient trees still bloom and bear fruit. Through continuous domestication, cultivation, and promotion, Yunnan’s coffee planting areas have expanded from Dali to Baoshan, Puer, Dehong, Lincang, Xishuangbanna, Nujiang, and other regions.

From the “fighting for blue sky, clear water, and pure land” to “Yunnan coffee still representing China,” a series of important statements have set the direction for Yunnan coffee’s development into high-quality, green, and branded products. These concerns and expectations resonate deeply with the strategic deployment in the “14th Five-Year Plan” to “accelerate the construction of an agricultural powerhouse” and to “coordinate the development of science and technology agriculture, green agriculture, quality agriculture, and branded agriculture.” The leap of Yunnan coffee is a vivid practice of the agricultural power strategy in border areas.

Under the guidance of the “3815” strategic development goal, Yunnan is promoting the transformation of the coffee industry from “raw material export” to “brand export” with a focus on quality, standardization, and internationalization.

Data attest to this leap: the province’s coffee planting area is about 1.5 million acres, an increase of about 400,000 acres in the past three years, with an annual coffee bean production of about 170,000 tons, accounting for over 95% of the national total. More importantly, the quality has improved significantly: the proportion of high-quality coffee has risen from 8% in 2021 to 41.7%; the rate of deep processing has increased from 20% five years ago to 85%.

Chinese-style modernization prioritizes people’s livelihood. At a press conference, Secretary Wang Ning calculated: five years ago, farmers planting coffee in the province earned only over 10,000 yuan per household. Now, that figure has multiplied several times, with average annual household income exceeding 30,000 yuan, and some reaching dozens of thousands. “Yunnan coffee not only tastes good but also makes people’s lives sweeter and happier.” The simple words of coffee farmers hide the secret of industry revitalization.

Market-Driven Industry Chain Reshaping

Behind the awakening of the production area is the continuous deepening of market forces. Over the past year, more and more market entities have extended from the consumer end to upstream of the industry chain, actively participating in supply chain construction, scientific research cooperation, and other aspects, thereby reshaping Yunnan coffee’s industrial ecology.

Take Luckin Coffee as an example. In January, the “Luckin Express” coffee bean train was launched, connecting Yunnan’s production area with processing bases along the southeastern coast, creating a “new artery” for the industry. Luckin also plans to regularize the train service, efficiently transporting high-quality Yunnan coffee beans to Luckin’s roasting factories in Qingdao, Kunshan, and other places for deep processing, ensuring maximum flavor retention and enhancement of each bean. Through Luckin’s over 30,000 stores, the coffee is radiated nationwide, achieving seamless connection from source to consumer. In February, Luckin signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences to jointly build an industry-university-research platform, focusing on coffee variety breeding and green cultivation technology R&D. This is a two-way effort between scientific research and market, solving the industry pain point of “heavy raw material, light branding” in Yunnan coffee from the source, and laying the groundwork for green processing systems.

In fact, Luckin’s connection with Yunnan coffee has a long history. In March 2024, Luckin’s coffee fresh fruit processing plant in Baoshan, Yunnan, officially began operation, with an annual fresh fruit processing capacity of 5,000 tons, directly benefiting over 20,000 local coffee farmers.

For coffee farmers, the continuous increase in procurement volume is more direct and tangible for income growth. Stable market demand and expanding orders have truly boosted farmers’ “purses.” In recent years, Luckin’s coffee bean procurement in Yunnan has grown significantly; it is reported that by 2026, the total procurement volume in Yunnan will exceed 30,000 tons per season. This not only means that farmers can earn sustainable and considerable income from cultivating high-quality coffee but also achieves the goal of “rich farmers” in the industry. It is also a vivid practice of Luckin fulfilling its social responsibilities and actively responding to the national rural revitalization strategy.

Relying on its global store network, Luckin is pushing Yunnan’s high-quality coffee beans into the global market, doing its best to let consumers worldwide taste the unique flavor of Yunnan coffee. Notably, the “Yunnan Treasure Champion Bean Hand Brew,” which sparked a buying frenzy earlier this year, is a result of Luckin’s deep participation and support for the 2025 first Yunnan Treasure Coffee Bean Competition (CoE).

As Yunnan coffee transitions from bulk raw material to branded product, from “agricultural product” to “consumer product,” this leap is no longer just a saying.

Global Expansion in an Open Pattern

In recent years, with quality upgrades and industry maturity, Yunnan coffee’s international influence has been rising year by year. As a new engine for global coffee industry growth, China’s coffee industry is also poised for large-scale internationalization. In this process, Yunnan coffee, aided by brands like Luckin, will further realize direct delivery from production areas to global consumers’ cups, allowing the world to experience the unique charm of “Chinese flavor” through premium coffee.

Meanwhile, deep cooperation between production areas and brands will further amplify the advantages of “industry chain internationalization,” jointly promoting China’s coffee from simple trade to capacity cooperation, technology export, and standard alignment, truly achieving “sharing opportunities and joint development with countries around the world.”

It is worth noting that as an important measure to implement the “14th Five-Year Plan” to “strengthen rural characteristic industries,” Yunnan is actively promoting the “Baoshan World Coffee Valley Development Plan,” aiming to achieve a comprehensive coffee output value of over 60 billion yuan by 2035, and clarifying the development path from “scale expansion” to “global layout” in the next five years.

Looking back to 2025, the story of Yunnan coffee has a new chapter. Secretary Wang Ning summarized: “Looking at the journey of Yunnan coffee, we feel that developing industry and undertaking enterprise is sometimes like drinking coffee—initially it may taste slightly bitter, but after savoring, it reveals a rich aroma and a sweet aftertaste. That is the flavor of struggle.”

From the train on the tracks to the aroma in the cup, from the deep mountains of Yunnan to daily life around the world—why does Yunnan coffee represent China? The answer lies in every arrival from the origin to the cup: the deep cultivation of local brands, the accumulation of world-class quality, and recognition in global markets—all writing a new chapter of Chinese coffee.