Three Decades of Shanghai-Yunnan Collaboration: A Coffee Bean 'Ferments' at the Import Expo

Editor’s note (coffeeyo.com): Editor’s note (coffeeyo.com): Over three decades of Shanghai–Yunnan collaboration, Shanghai and Zhenyuan County of Yunnan are leveraging bio-fermentation technology to upgrade coffee primary processing, and the coffee beans took the spotlight at the China International Import Expo (CIIE).

On November 7, at the Lesaffre booth of the 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE), the Shanghai Xizhong Charity Foundation, the Agriculture, Rural Affairs, Science and Technology Bureau of Zhenyuan County, and Lesaffre Fermentis (Fermentation Beverage Division) signed a tripartite strategic framework agreement to support the primary processing of Zhenyuan’s coffee cherries using bio-fermentation technology.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Shanghai–Yunnan collaboration, and the focal point of this agreement is a single coffee cherry.

From harvest, a fresh cherry must go through processing, fermentation, sun-drying or washing, and drying storage before it becomes the flavor in the cup—and every one of these steps shapes the coffee’s final aroma, stability, and market value. Zhenyuan has grown coffee for many years, and its industry is extending from cultivation toward processing and branding. The question this partnership must answer is concrete: how can a fermentation technique be turned into a local capability that farmers can learn, apply, and verify?

In October this year, with support from the Zhenyuan County Party Committee and government, the Shanghai Xizhong Charity Foundation and the Lesaffre Fermentis China team visited Zhenyuan, calling on large-scale coffee growers and primary-processing enterprises, and held discussions with government departments, farmers, and business representatives to gain a clear, step-by-step understanding of the practical challenges in harvesting, fermentation, sun-drying, washing, honey processing, and drying storage.

Beyond the discussions, the research team also went to processing sites for on-the-ground inspection. After the tour, the three parties gained a clearer picture of the needs: the solution Zhenyuan requires must suit local varieties and processing conditions, be easy for frontline workers to operate, and have its results verifiable through processing records and cupping feedback.

Under the agreement, Lesaffre Fermentis provides technical solutions, experts, and professional materials, and takes part in training, demonstration, data recording, and effect evaluation. The Zhenyuan Agriculture and Science Bureau coordinates townships, cooperatives, enterprises, and farmers, and is responsible for pilot selection, training organization, and on-site support. The foundation oversees the partnership, designs public-interest projects, links public-welfare resources, and tracks progress. Next, the three parties will use hands-on training, processing records, and cupping data to turn each technical step into actionable procedures for the fields and processing sites.

On the signing day, Zhenyuan Ruinan Coffee Co., Ltd. and Zhenyuan Xinheng Coffee Co., Ltd. were awarded the plaque of “SafCoffee™ Dedicated Active Yeast Technology Pilot.”

“This is my first time attending the Shanghai CIIE. I am deeply grateful for the east–west collaboration policy, which has given Zhenyuan’s coffee enterprises the chance to step out of the mountains and come to Shanghai,” said a representative of a Zhenyuan coffee enterprise at the signing ceremony.

During this year’s harvest season, the pilot farmers plan to officially apply this technology by the end of November. Their expectations are concrete too: more stable coffee flavor, stronger market recognition, and ultimately a better price.

Fermentation of fresh coffee cherries is a key step in flavor formation. The idea behind this technology is to conduct controlled fermentation with suitable strains under food-safety and process requirements, build a more stable microbial environment, reduce interference from unwanted bacteria, and promote the generation of aroma and flavor precursors—laying a more stable foundation for subsequent drying, storage, and cupping.

For the technology to truly work, it must be understood and mastered by frontline workers. Through training, on-site demonstrations, operation cards, processing records, and cupping feedback, the partnership will clarify each key link—environmental conditions, fermentation time, hygiene management, strain use, and drying—so that farmers know both how to do it and why.

Zhang Peng, member of the Standing Committee of the Zhenyuan County Party Committee and deputy county head, sees this partnership as a concrete step in Shanghai–Yunnan collaboration to support specialty agriculture, and hopes the pilots will drive quality improvement across Zhenyuan’s coffee sector. Thomas Lesaffre, Global Managing Director of Lesaffre Fermentis Fermentation Beverage Division, said the team will bring technical services to the fields, cooperatives, and processing sites, and turn the experience into a replicable model through project reviews.

Going forward, the three parties will start from the two pilot enterprises and continue with origin verification, farmer training, and data tracking, gradually forming an operating standard suited to Zhenyuan’s producing region. Whether the technology takes root in Zhenyuan will get its first answer in the harvest season that begins at the end of November.

Source: Xinmin Evening News Author: Cao Bowen

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Original article: 沪滇协作三十年，一粒咖啡豆在进博会上”发酵”
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