U.S. scholar carries out research on Yunnan coffee

With passion and curiosity for coffee and China’s Yunnan, MJ Engel, a 2017-2018 American Fulbright Scholar, has done a one-year research in the province since last year.

During her stay in Yunnan, Engel mainly focused on the coffee industry in southwest Yunnan’s Menglian County. “I have visited Menglian by night coaches for five times. I’m excited each time because it is such a beautiful place,” she said.

Engel also recalled her first coffee bean picking experience. Soon after her first arrival in Menglian, she was led to the mountains by some local villagers. It's not easy to walk on the mountains, but she didn’t take it as a chore. “When I picked coffee beans, I could hear birds singing, children chattering, running around, and adults talking and joking with each other. I really enjoy it.”

Besides Menglian, she also visited other major coffee growing areas in Yunnan such as Dehong and Baoshan. In August 2018, Engel came to Xizhou in Dali and visited her friend Linden. She held a sharing session in the Linden Center about her research tour.

According to Engel, the yield of Yunnan coffee beans ranks among the highest in the world, but the province is still unknown to most people in other parts of the globe. She believes that more comprehensive measures are needed in a bid to enhance Yunnan coffee industry. Introducing new coffee varieties, leveraging the role of industry associations, and bringing more products into the market are good options. 

(Daguan Weekly/Zi Danyao; photos provided by the Linden Center)