When does Yunnan coffee get harvested?

Cherry picking in our partner regions — Pu'er, Baoshan and Lincang — usually starts in November and continues into March depending on altitude. Lower farms pick earlier; high-altitude micro-lots like our 1600m Geisha ripen later and are often the last lots released each season.

Why booking early helps

• Prime lots are allocated to repeat buyers and early bookings first.
• Processing capacity (washing stations, drying beds) is finite — early confirmation reserves your process slot.
• Freight planning: Q1 shipments avoid the Chinese New Year logistics squeeze in late January.

Practical timing for European roasters

For washed lots we typically ship from February to June. Honey and natural lots follow a little later. Micro-lots are often fully allocated by March. If you want a specific variety and process, a soft reservation two to three months before harvest is the sensible move.

What the EU requires

Green coffee imported into the EU must comply with MRLs set for coffee (in practice applied to roasted coffee and soluble coffee categories). Residue levels are assessed per substance, and a single non-compliant batch can block your entire consignment at border control.

What batch-specific testing means

A responsible supplier issues a test report per export batch, not a generic certificate. Our export lots are tested for the standard EU MRL residue panel, with results provided as a batch document you can hand to your customs broker or buyer.

Questions to ask your supplier

• Is the report batch-specific or a generic template?
• Which substances are covered in the panel?
• Is the testing laboratory ISO/IEC 17025 accredited?
• What happens if the destination market changes after the report is issued?

Compliance documentation is batch-specific, and market requirements can differ between EU member states and non-EU destinations. Confirm the panel with us before shipment so the report matches your import route.

Washed (fully washed)

Cherries are depulped, fermented and washed before drying. The result is a clean, transparent cup — the classic expression of Yunnan Catimor with milk chocolate and nutty notes. Ideal for espresso blends and filter coffee where you want terroir clarity.

Honey / pulped natural

Mucilage is retained during drying, adding body and sweetness with dried-fruit character. Our Honey Process Catimor is a crowd-pleaser for cafes looking for something beyond washed profiles.

Natural (dry-processed)

Whole cherries are dried before milling. In Yunnan, naturals are rarer and carry heavier fruit, wine-like complexity and full body — often polarising, but memorable on a single-origin menu.

We can supply all three processes depending on seasonal availability. Cupping samples let you compare before committing to a lot.

Before you roast the sample

• Check moisture: aim for 10–12% for green coffee stability.
• Inspect screen size and defect count — these drive consistency.
• Note the roast date and lot code on the sample bag.

During cupping

• Use a consistent roast profile (e.g. agtron 60–65).
• Grind size and water quality must be identical across samples.
• Cupping at 7–11 minutes after brew, in line with SCA protocol.

After cupping

Score aroma, acidity, body, sweetness and finish. Compare against the supplier's tasting notes — divergence is a red flag for lot integrity. We prepare every sample pack to support your internal evaluation, with the roast profile used for our own cupping recorded on request.

Catimor

The most widely planted Arabica in Yunnan: robust, high-yielding and consistent. Clean chocolate and nut character, low risk, excellent for espresso blends and house coffee.

Bourbon

Classic heirloom variety with bright citrus and honey sweetness at mid-high altitude. Well loved by European specialty roasters for filter single origins.

Typica

Traditional, lower-yielding old Arabica. Soft, sophisticated, tea-like — favoured by vintage-style roasters and less common in mainstream supply chains.

Geisha (Yunnan)

Limited micro-lot production at high elevation. Yunnan Geisha shows soft floral and stone-fruit character, different from Panama Geisha, and is targeted at high-end specialty cafes. Stock is limited each harvest.

Availability varies with harvest cycles. If you are planning a menu or blend change, request samples across varieties early.

Samples

Cupping samples (typically 300g) are vacuum-packed and air-freighted. From Yunnan to a European roastery, realistic door times are 5–10 working days depending on the city and courier.

Bulk lots

Options include air freight for urgent orders and sea freight (container) for volume. Packing is 5kg foil bags with one-way valves or 25–69kg jute/PP sacks per lot, marked with batch codes.

Documentation we hand over

• Proforma invoice and commercial invoice
• Packing list with batch codes
• Moisture and screen-size report
• EU MRL test report (on request)

We work with forwarders who handle Hong Kong and mainland export routes, so your customs clearance and delivery terms can be aligned before the lot ships.

What is working on the shelf

• Matte kraft and cream cartons with olive/terracotta accents — natural, premium, unpretentious.
• Drip bag boxes for the single-serve market (hotels, offices, gifting, e-commerce).
• Origin transparency: farm region, altitude and process printed directly on pack.

What buyers ask us for

Private label partners typically come with their own artwork direction, and we adapt packaging formats to it — from 250g retail pouches to multi-flavour drip gift boxes. We check EU food-contact and labelling basics before production, and we supply packaging mock-ups early so you can validate the design on a real unit.

If you are launching a coffee brand in Europe, start with a small branded run, validate on shelf, then scale volume with us.

Start small, validate, then scale

Our standard lots start at 5kg and micro-lots at 3kg — enough for cupping, roasting trials and a first small production run. Once you confirm quality and sell-through, move to larger allocations at better unit economics.

What flexible MOQ unlocks

• Test a variety before signing a long supply agreement.
• Adjust blends between harvests without heavy inventory.
• Enter private label with a pilot run instead of full production.

Flexibility does not mean lower standards: every lot, however small, goes through the same moisture checks, screen grading and pre-shipment cupping before release.