"Coffee revolution hits the home of China's finest tea" from South China Morning Post

"But times are changing and Kui Wenshu is among a pioneering group of farmers who have chopped down the orange trees in their orchards to plant coffee."


"Earlier this month, she and about a dozen other coffee farmers in the village were introduced to Howard Schultz, founding president and chief executive of the US-based coffee chain Starbucks, during his trip to the province. The company plans to build a farm in Pu'er and will hire and train local farmers to grow coffee.

"To be honest, we never heard of Starbucks before, but everyone feels this is a big opportunity," said 30-years-old Kui."


"Last year, Chinese peope drank nearly 50,000 tons of coffee, compared with 200,000 tons of tea.

Coffee was introduced into modern China by Swiss-based coffee maker Nestle in the 1980s. For many years, it was seen by most Chinese as a high-class gift for friends rather than a daily beverage of personal choice."