Yongde Coffee Wins Two Gold Awards at the CIIE International Coffee Showcase

At a Glance (China Coffee Network): At the “Global New Quality Good Coffee” awards of the 2026 ninth China International Import Expo International Coffee Showcase on November 7, two entries from Yongde County in Lincang — “Ganahe Riverside” and “Ganahe Catimor Honey Processed” — both won gold, marking the arrival of specialty coffee from the mountains of western Yunnan on a national stage of opening up.

On November 7, the awards ceremony of the “Global New Quality Good Coffee” selection at the 2026 ninth China International Import Expo (CIIE) International Coffee Showcase was held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. Two products submitted by Yongde County in Lincang — “Ganahe Riverside” and “Ganahe Catimor Honey Processed (Specialty Green Beans)” — both won gold medals for their outstanding flavour. Specialty coffee from Yongde, tucked deep in the mountains of western Yunnan, has stepped onto a national stage of opening up.

The selection was guided by the Yangtze River Delta Coffee Industry Association and hosted by the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Coffee Trading Center. A strict blind-tasting mechanism ran throughout: samples were uniformly numbered and randomly ordered, with origin, company and brand information withheld from the judges, who scored each entry on seven dimensions against professional standards. Yongde coffee came out on top among a field of specialty coffees.

How did Yongde coffee take two gold awards at the CIIE? The answer lies in its 65,000 mu of coffee forest and in the industry chain behind it.

Yongde sits at the foot of Daxueshan, the highest peak in Lincang in southwestern Yunnan, close to the Tropic of Cancer. Its high altitude, low latitude and wide day–night temperature swings produce high-quality beans with balanced sweetness and acidity and a rich fruity aroma. After more than four decades of cultivation, the county has over 65,000 mu under coffee and an annual output of about 3,500 tonnes of green beans, making coffee a distinctive pillar industry that raises local incomes.

In 2026 Yongde planted a further 24,000 mu of coffee, all intercropped beneath macadamia trees in Lincang; this vertical farming model lets one mu of land yield two streams of income. Some 25,000 mu of coffee bases in the county have obtained organic conversion certification, and a standardised, ecological planting pattern has largely taken shape.

Behind the awards stands the support of a complete industry chain. Yongde has refined its mechanisms for linking companies with growers: in the first three quarters of this year bean output reached 702.3 tonnes, up 80.83 percent year on year. By building fresh-cherry processing centres and deep-processing lines, the county has steadily raised its fresh-cherry handling capacity, and its range of processed goods — roasted beans, drip-bag coffee, instant coffee and more — keeps expanding.

From scattered, extensive planting to standardised, large-scale, specialty production, and from selling fresh cherries to selling green beans, processed products and brands, the two gold awards reflect the upgrading of Yongde’s coffee industry. The county is now integrating coffee with cultural and tourism resources to build immersive seed-to-cup experiences and bring Yongde coffee to the world. (Fan Yongzheng)

Source: Yongde County Media Center

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