AstheSpringFestivalapproaches,YangMeng,theownerofvillagecoffee,setsupalaid-back"sunbathing"atmosphereforguestsonthewintersunlitridgesoftheten-thousand-muterracedfieldsintheLongchuanRiverGorgeatthefootofGaoligongMountain.Echoingthevillagecafe,twokilometersawayonahighcliff,LuZhenqing's"cliffsidecoffee"iscrowdedwithtouristswhocomefromafarjusttotakepicturesoftheseaofcloudsintheterracedfieldsbytheLongchuanRiverbeneaththeirfeet.InthevillageofNongling,aten-thousand-muteagarden,PuXiuju,themanagerofYunbianJiamuHomestay,alongwithheremployeeFuZhiqin,preparestheingredientsforthelunch"coffeesapie",fermentedbeefsaladwithbitterherbbroth,whilemakingaspecialblendofdendrobiumjuiceandcoffeefortheguestsreturningfromtheseaofclouds.

The"coffeemap"ofLonglingisexpanding,ortouchinghistory,ortakingphotosatscenicspots,orbeingaccompaniedbyhotsprings,suchasSongshan,BanglazhangandLaolishuhotspring,LongshanLake.From1939,ProfessorZengZhaolunofSouthwestAssociatedUniversitywrotein"DiaryofBurmaBorder"about"...ThelargestrestaurantinLonglingiscalledtheChineseRestaurant,whichalsorunsacafe...Jixiangzhairestaurantalsosellscoffee..."Therecordhasaccumulatedover80yearsofhistory.Fromthesporadicbusinessofthepasttothecurrentproliferationofdistinctivecoffeeshops,thestoryofLonglingCoffeecontinuesovertime.

Thecoffeeconsumptionmarketisacomprehensivecompetitionintermsofsupplychaincontrol,productinnovationspeed,scenepenetrationdepthandemotionalvaluecreation.Asthecoffeemarketinthecitiesshiftsfrom"incrementalexpansion"to"stockgame",Longling'scoffeeshopsarealsoshowingtheirmettleandseekingmoreprofitpoints.Fromunique"localflavors"likespecialtycoffeeandcoffeedelicaciestopleasantpleasuressuchas"baskinginthesunandenjoyingcoffee","drinkingcoffeeinhotsprings","drinkingcoffeewhilelisteningtostories","drinkingcoffeeabovetheclouds",and"drinkingcoffeeinthecoffeefield",Longling'scoffeeshopsareallstrivingtomarknewexperiencepointsonthetourismmap.

AttheNandiCoffeeEstateinGanlanping,HupaVillage,Zhen'anTown,whichcreated"drinkingcoffeeinthecoffeefield",whiletouristsaretastingfreshcoffeeofdifferentprocessingmethodsinthenewseasononthethirdflooroftheestate,thestandardizedSCproductionlineisrunningdownstairs,andintheprofessionalcolorsorter,freshlypickedfullredfruitsenterthegreenbeanscreeningprocess.ChuMingxiao,theownerofthebusiness,combinedthecharacteristicsofthegreencoffeebeansandthedemandsofthecustomersanddecidedtosun-dry,washedorhoney-basedthecoffeebeans.Chuisobsessedwithvariousexplorationsofcoffeebeanprocessingprocedures,exploringmorepossibilitiesofcoffeeflavorinconventionalprocessessuchasdehulling,fermentation,washingandsun-drying.Theprocessofcrushingtheskinandfleshforfermentation,probioticfermentationtreatment,andothertechniquessignificantlyenhancedthesmoothness,floralandfruityaroma,andaftertasteofthecoffee,oncerefreshingtheperceptionofmanyconnoisseursaboutCatim.ChuMingxiaogrowsmultiplevarietiesincludingCatim,Geisha,andBatten,"raisingtheupperlimitwithhigh-qualityvarietiesandexploringnewprocessingtechniquestoraisethelowerlimit",andhisattemptshavebeenwidelyrecognizedbycoffeeloversandhavewonnumerousawardsinprofessionalcompetitionssuchastheAsiaCoffeeAnnualConferenceGreenBeanCompetition,YunnanCoffeeGreenBeanCompetition,andBaoshanSmallGrainCoffeeEstateGreenBeanCompetition.

LingganVillage,whichisonly11kilometersawayfromNandiCoffeeEstate,isalabeled"coffeevillage"inLonglingCounty.YangJiaxiang,thevillagepartybranchsecretaryknownasthe"coffeeclassmonitor",hasledeveryonetoturnthevillagecommitteecourtyardintoa"miniature"coffeeworkshop,androastingcoffeebeansisa"compulsorycourse"foreveryone.Inadditiontoimprovingthequalityofroastedbeansandbuildingbrands,ChuMingxiaoandYangJiaxiang,amongothers,areexploringthemarketwiththe"bestbalancebetweenconvenienceandflavor"ofdripcoffee.ChuMingxiao's"Nandi","Ganlu"and"RoyalNo.2"havebeensoldtoseveralfirst-andsecond-tiercities,andordersforLingganVillage'sdripcoffeehavebeenpouringin.

Attheplantingend,LonglingCoffeeisundergoingatransformationfrom"expanding"to"improvingquality"andfrom"single"to"diverse".InSongshanVillage,LamengTown,YangJinzeng,askilledcoffeegrowerwhoknowshowtogrow,manageandoperate,hasplantedover70muofcoffeeonhighlandsabove1,400meters,withthehighestplantingpointreaching1,887meters.Heisnotonlyaleadingfigureinthelocalcoffeeindustry,butalsoacontributortoit.Atfirst,heonlyplantedthreeacresofCatiminXintianba,whichisataloweraltitude.Withtheaccumulationofexperienceandtheimprovementofskills,hebegantoboldlyintroducehigh-qualitycoffeevarietiessuchasTypica,Bourbon,andSakim,notonlyimprovingthequalityofhisowncoffee,butalsoencouragingthesurroundingfarmerstogrowthemtogether,jointlypromotingtheupgradingofthelocalcoffeeindustry.Nowadays,thecontinuousriseinthepriceofgreencoffeebeanshasgivenlocalcoffeefarmersmuchmoreconfidence.ThecoffeeplantationsinLonglingCountyhavereachedover32,000mu,withafreshfruitoutputof14,000tonsandanagriculturaloutputvalueof140millionyuaninthe2024to2025coffeeharvestseason.

Morethan100kilometersfromYangJinzeng'scoffeebase,inthevillageofYutangyakouinMuchengYiandLisuEthnicTownshipatthelowerreachesoftheNujiangRiver,KuangDayuanandZhouShuangjiao,ayoungcouplewhohavereturnedtotheirhometowntostartabusiness,areleadingtheirchildrenonvacationtoharvestthefirstbatchofGeishacoffee.TheirRuiyuCoffeeestatehasanareaof800mu.LikeHeYongwen,theyalsoplantedmorethan300acresofCatimtoguardagainstharvestrisks,butinordertoadapttotherapidgrowthofthespecialtycoffeemarket,theyplantedmorethan60percentofthelandatanaltitudeof1,700to1,800meterswithGeisha,and11percentwiththetraditionaltinicaandSakim.SuchchoiceshavebecomeacommonconsensusthroughouttheNujiangGorgecoffee-growingarea,withLonglingCountybeingrepresentedbyMuchengRuiyuCoffeeEstate,Zhen'anGanlanpingSpecialtyCoffeeEstate,BaihushanSpecialtyCoffeeEstate,LamengSongshan1887SpecialtyCoffeeEstate,etc.FromgrowingCartimtotryingvarietiesthatarehighlysoughtafterinthemarketandhavehightradingprices,suchasGeisha,Bourbon,Yirgacheffe,andCardura.TakeGeishaasanexample.In2024-2025,rawGeishabeansfromYunnanwillgenerallycostmorethan800yuanperkilogram,whichismorethantentimesthepriceofrawCatimbeans.ThecultivationofLonglingcoffeehasshiftedfromexpandingtheareatoimprovingthequality,andfrombeingsingletodiverse.

InLongling,thisdeepcultivationfrom"beans"to"cups"notonlytellsarichstoryateverystage,butalsospreadsthearomaofcoffeefromthissmallbordertowntoawiderworld.