The first coffee tree in mainland China was planted outside a church in the village of Zhukula, Yunnan, by French missionaries in 1904. Villagers then grew it for their own use.
Baoshan became China's first arabica base between 1952 and 1978. Nestlé arrived in Pu'er in 1988, and coffee planting revived.
Yunnan now grows more than 99 percent of China's coffee. Planted area rose from 17,200 hectares in 2005 to 110,700 hectares in 2017, then fell back after world prices dropped.
What time is taking away
Zhukula's mission coffee
Villagers in Zhukula kept growing coffee from the missionary trees for their own use. Zhukula coffee is now a protected geographical indication.1
What the record says
- French missionaries planted the first coffee tree in mainland China outside a church in Zhukula, Yunnan, in 1904.1
- Baoshan became China's first small-grain coffee growing base between 1952 and 1978.1
- Nestlé has worked in Yunnan since 1988.1,2
- Nestlé announced a Nescafé Coffee Center in Pu'er in 2013 to train farmers.2
- Yunnan accounted for more than 99 percent of China's coffee area and production over 2008 to 2016.1
- Yunnan's coffee area grew from 17,200 hectares in 2005 to 110,700 hectares in 2017, and output from 21,600 to 164,700 tonnes.1
- After global prices fell, area dropped to 89,100 hectares and output to 135,100 tonnes by 2020.1
The main source is a UBC student case study, which is weaker than peer-reviewed work. Other accounts date the first planting to 1892 or 1902 and name different missionaries; these were not checked. Pu'er tea is not covered because it is not a coffee topic.
- History and development of coffee plantations in Yunnan Province, China: an assessment (FRST522 open case study) · University of British Columbia Wiki, 2022 in the bibliography
- Company Special: Nestle to expand investment nationwide · China Daily, 2013 in the bibliography
