ManLao River Coffee in Yunnan

ManLao River Coffee(普洱曼老江咖啡庄园) is a local professional coffee roaster in Kunming, providing roasted coffee for cafes and home-delivered coffee for family consumption. The company started its poverty alleviation project in Yunnan’s Pu ‘er region and has grown stronger. It has cooperated with many coffee producers to improve the quality of coffee, develop the market and gain international recognition. Through a partnership with Yunnan Agricultural University, ManLao River has invested in research and development from farms to cups to improve the science of coffee production in China.

ManLao River ranked second in CoffeeReview.com’s annual International Top 30 Coffee (2015), providing the first ever Chinese coffee to be used in the final of the World Coffee Championship (2012) and sponsoring the first Chinese coffee to be used in the final of the World Coffee Roasting Championship (2017). The goal of ManLao River Coffee is to expand China’s amazing consumption of coffee and increase global recognition of Yunnan as a specialty coffee producing area. The company is a sponsor of amateur beer cups and Chinese beer cups, and is also the first member of the Chinese branch of the International Women’s Coffee Federation.

Relevant information

Manlao River Coffee was born in the sustainable coffee planting project at the foot of hymalyas Mountain. The project aims to improve the lives of rural communities with poor land and poor market access.

With the development of the farm, Manlaohe began to devote itself to improving the quality of its coffee production to show the world Yunnan’s ability as a coffee producing area.

As the grant to the former farmland has now expired, Manlaohe Coffee Company, in cooperation with Yunnan Agricultural University, continues to cooperate with Yunnan coffee farms and producers to improve the quality of coffee produced in the region and establish a reputation in China and internationally.

Besides producing, selling and exporting green coffee, Manlaohe has also established a professional coffee baking company in Kunming. Our goal is to show our favorite Yunnan coffee and introduce the world’s best coffee to Chinese coffee consumers.

History

1997
  • Coffee plantation founded as a poverty alleviation project 30km from China’s border with Laos
2008
  • Began Chinese organic certification process
  • ManLao River Coffee brand estalished after the name of the river the flows through the coffee plantations
  • Begins to export coffee to the United States
  • First Chinese coffee producer to become a member of SCAA
2009
  • 1st coffee plantation in China to become organically certified
2010
  • Began USDA & EU organic certification process
2011
  • Achieved Swiss SCS certification and became first Chinese coffee supplier to Starbucks
2012
  • 1st Chinese coffee to be used in World Barrista Championship (WBC) finals
2013
  • 1st coffee plantation in China to become organically certified to UDSA & EU standards
  • Supplied speciality coffee to Sweet Maria’s and Groundwork Coffee
2014
  • Guest speaker at Yunnan Coffee Expo
  • Ted Lingle, Former Chairman of SCAA, began visits and support for ManLao River Coffee
2015
  • Top Teir Green Coffee Sponsor of World Coffee Roasting Championship & World Cup Tasters Championship
  • 2nd place in CoffeeReview.com’s annual ranking of roasted coffees from around the world with a 96 point coffee
2016
  • Top Teir Green Coffee Sponsor of World Coffee Roasting Championship & World Cup Tasters Championship
  • Acheived CoffeeReview.com’s highest scoring review for a Yunnan coffee with 93 points
2017
  • Founding member of International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) China Chapter
  • Top Teir Green Coffee Sponsor World Coffee Roasting Championship with beans designated for the final round of competition
2018
  • Host of the Kunming Round of the Yunnan Coffee Cup 2018 China Brewers Championship
  • Supporter and Sponsor of Amateur Brewers Cup (ABrC)
  • Grant on original farmland expired leaving farmers with a significantly improved livelihood compared to when the project began
  • Established research partnership with Yunnan Agricultural University to improve farming and processing methods in Yunnan and develop new coffee products
  • ManLao River green coffee featured in New York Times roasted by Thanks Giving Coffee in the United States

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Edited by Hellen He/何琴