Coffee Beans from Yunnan

I have decided that, as long as there is no Starbucks in this city, having coffee beans shipped or brought here by friends/family (though it certainly will be a pleasant blessing from time to time) is not a sustainable solution. I'm so grateful for the many people who have offered to send me coffee beans. If I called in all of these gracious offers, I could perhaps end up with 60+ lbs of coffee here by next month!

But no... to do this in the long-term is not sustainable.

So, at the suggestion of @rmchinn, I am now on the quest for local coffee beans. (Although sure, until I find them, I might be asking some folks to send some espresso roast or some sumatra).

My quest began at the Starbucks China website, where I found a video commemorating Starbucks being in China now for 10 years. In honor of this auspicious year, Starbucks issued a new coffee blend, called "South of the Clouds" - this is the literal translation for Yunnan (云南) Province. Yunnan is in south central China, a mountainous region with a mild climate - perhaps one of the best places in all of China to grow coffee beans. Starbucks' "South of the Clouds" blends beans from the Baoshan region of Yunnan, along with beans from Latin America and the Asia Pacific.

Armed with this knowledge - that there are coffee beans grown in China - I am now on a quest to find people "in the know" to figure out how I might get beans from Yunnan. This began yesterday by asking some import foods retailers if they know where I can get coffee beans. They pointed me to the Goji berry salespeople... perhaps they might know. But they didn't. So, next is to ask people at the tea stores (I hope they don't get offended).

Somewhere in this city, or (if necessary) province, I will find coffee beans. I will keep you updated on my quest...