Lincang

Lincang is China’s second coffee region, a prefecture of steep mountains along the Lancang (the upper Mekong) in western Yunnan. Coffee here took off only in the 2010s, but it now covers more than 230,000 mu, and in 2026 a Lincang Geisha set a new auction record for Chinese green coffee.

The short version

• Yunnan’s second coffee prefecture: about 18.8% of the province’s coffee land.
• 56,000 households in 8 counties, mostly Zhenkang, Yunxian, Shuangjiang, Linxiang and Yongde.
• Honey, dark chocolate, caramel and nuts, by a 2021 sensory study.
• A record ¥14,000 a kilo for a washed Geisha in 2026.
• Large-scale planting since 2012.

What does Lincang coffee taste like?

Sweet, chocolatey and nutty, with fruit at the top. A 2021 study in the journal Food Science analysed the dry aroma of coffee samples from across Lincang and had them cupped by professional tasters. It found 27 key aroma compounds responsible for honey, dark chocolate, creamy, caramel and roasted nut notes, which also contributed maple syrup, sour-cheese, tropical fruit, jam and floral flavours. Lincang coffee scored high overall, the authors found, and its cup quality depended strongly on where in the prefecture it was grown.

The top lots go further. At the 2026 Yunnan Treasure green coffee competition, a pilot for the Cup of Excellence run with the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, a traditional washed Geisha from Gengxia Estate in Zhenkang won with 91.78 points, described as intensely floral with fresh citrus acidity, and Luckin Coffee bought it for ¥14,000 a kilo, a record price for Chinese green coffee, Phoenix News reported. A Geisha from a farmers’ co-operative in Linxiang district also scored above 90.

Where and how is it grown?

On high, steep ground by the Lancang. Lincang is described by its promoters as an ideal area for strictly hard beans and high-acidity coffee, Yunnan.cn reports, and the county governments now push improved varieties: Zhenkang grows mainly Catimor 7963, P4 and Sarchimor lines, on about 34,000 mu. The prefecture grows 21 coffee varieties, including Catimor, Typica and Geisha, a Yunnan government site says, and Shuangjiang has a 700-mu Geisha demonstration base.

Measure	Figure	Source
Altitude, 2026 winning Geisha	1,600–1,900 m (Zhenkang)	Phoenix News
Specialty-grade share	18.15% (2024)	Yunnan agriculture department
Organic certified	17,500 mu	Yunnan agriculture department
Green-food certified	14,200 mu	Yunnan agriculture department

Large-scale planting began in 2012, just as world prices fell: cherry briefly fetched only ¥1.6 a kilo, badly hurting farmers’ enthusiasm, Yunnan.cn reports. In Lishu township in Yunxian, by the Lancang, coffee has been planted widely since 2011.

How much coffee does Lincang grow?

The figures differ by source and year:

Measure	Figure	Source
Coffee area, 2019	28,167 ha (27.0% of Yunnan)	Chinese Academy of Sciences dataset
Coffee area, 2024	233,700 mu (about 15,600 ha) in 8 counties and 50 townships	Yunnan agriculture department
Coffee area	239,600 mu, 18.8% of Yunnan, second in the province	ynxc.gov.cn
Households	56,000	Yunnan agriculture department
Yongde county, 2024	16,200 mu; about 5,000 t of cherry and 1,200 t of beans expected	Dehong Daily

One mu is a fifteenth of a hectare; the hectare figures for 2024 are our conversion. The 2019 figure is much higher than the 2024 ones, which may reflect a fall in planted area after the price slump or a different way of counting.

Lincang and other Chinese origins

• Coffee in China: the whole country, Yunnan and its history.
• Pu’er: China’s biggest coffee prefecture.
• Dehong: one of Yunnan’s oldest coffee areas.