Pu'er: Extracting riches from a tiny coffee bean
Long associated with tea production, city and surrounding area in Yunnan province brewing a different kind of success
In the 1990s, Yang Qiong took a bold step in Ning'er county in Pu'er, southwestern Yunnan province, by leasing nearly 200 hectares of land from local villagers to establish a coffee plantation.
Coffee consumption had not yet become a part of the daily lives of average Chinese people at that time. Despite facing skepticism, Yang, with her visionary outlook, recognized the untapped market potential for coffee in China.
Although immersed in the world of coffee from an early age, Zhang Rui, Yang's daughter, took a different path. She pursued her studies in Chinese language and literature, and specialized in a related field during her postgraduate studies aboard.
"But the plummet in international coffee prices in 2017 made me aware of the challenges facing my family's business," Zhang said. Determined to help them navigate the difficult times, she returned to her hometown in Ning'er.
Zhang's choice made her part of the new generation of coffee entrepreneurs in Pu'er, commonly referred to as the "coffee second generation" by local people. These young-bloods, armed with higher levels of education and a liking for innovation, have played their role in elevating the coffee industry in Pu'er from cultivation and basic processing to value-added processing and integrated development with the tourism sector.
