China has traditionally been famous for its fragrant teas, but the country is emerging as a key Asian producer of a different beverage: quality arabica coffee.
在传统上，中国以出产芳香的茶叶而闻名。如今，中国却日渐成为阿拉比卡咖啡豆（arabica，亦称小粒咖啡）这种截然不同的饮品在亚洲的重要生产国。Known for its light body and fruity aroma, the coffee from the southwestern province of Yunnan has become a staple of European arabica blends, say international commodity traders and roasters.
这种咖啡豆以轻巧的形体和芬芳的果香闻名于世。国际大宗商品交易商和烘焙商表示，产自中国西南省份云南省的阿拉比卡咖啡豆，已成为欧洲阿拉比卡咖啡的主要混合原料。
“The mild taste and aroma is similar to the beans from Honduras or Guatemala,” said Wouter DeSmet, head of Nestlé’s coffee agricultural services team in China.
雀巢(Nestlé)在华咖啡农业服务团队主管沃特•德梅(Wouter DeSmet)表示：“那种清淡的口感和芳香与产自洪都拉斯和危地马拉的咖啡豆十分类似。”
An increasing number of Yunnan farmers are turning to coffee, which offers higher returns compared with other crops. In 2012, farmers’ income from coffee was double that for tea grown on the same acreage, according to Mr DeSmet.
与其他作物相比，咖啡更高的回报正促使越来越多的云南农民转种咖啡。按照德梅的说法，2012年农民从咖啡中获得的收入是同等种植面积下茶叶的两倍。Nestlé started operations in Yunnan in the late 1980s, offering training and purchasing coffee from growers. Since 2005, the number of its suppliers has grown from 147 to 2,000.
上世纪80年代末，雀巢在云南开展业务，向咖啡种植者提供培训服务，并收购他们的咖啡。自2005年以来，该公司供应商的数目已从147家增加到2000家。For the whole Yunnan region, known for its lush hills, 80,000 farmers grow the crop, with many now growing both tea and coffee. The bulk of coffee produced in Asia – mainly in Vietnam and Indonesia – is robusta, the lower quality bean used in instant coffee.
整个云南地区以草木繁盛的山丘而闻名，该地区种植咖啡的农民有8万人，许多人如今同时种植着茶叶和咖啡。目前，亚洲生产的咖啡主要产自越南和印尼，以罗布斯塔(robusta)咖啡豆为主，这是一种用来生产速溶咖啡的较低品质咖啡豆。Arabica, mainly used in cappuccinos and espressos, was introduced into Yunnan by a French missionary in the late 1880s. But coffee production only took off 100 years later with the investment of the Chinese government and the UN Development Programme.
相比之下，阿拉比卡咖啡豆则主要用于制作卡布奇诺和浓缩咖啡(espresso)。这种咖啡豆是在19世纪80年代末，由一位法国传教士引入云南的。然而，直到一百年后，咖啡产量才在中国政府和联合国开发计划署(UN Development Programme)的投资下迅速提高起来。Chinese coffee exports have grown steadily over the past decade, with volumes rising from 137,000 60kg bags in 1998 to 1.1m 60kg bags in 2012 – on a par with Costa Rica and just under 1 per cent of the world total.
过去十年里，中国咖啡出口量一直在稳步增长，从1998年的13.7万袋（每袋60公斤）增长至2012年的110万袋。这与哥斯达黎加的出口量相等，占全球总出口量的比例略低于1%。In order to source their coffee, international coffee groups and commodity traders are starting to set up operations in Yunnan, which borders Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
为采购咖啡，国际咖啡集团和大宗商品交易商正着手在毗邻越南、老挝和缅甸的云南省设立业务。Volcafe, the Swiss coffee trading arm of commodity house ED&F Man, is the latest company to enter a procurement and processing joint venture agreement with Simao Arabicasm Coffee Company, a local group. They follow Starbucks, which formed a venture with Yunnan based agribusiness Ai Ni Group in 2012.
最新一家与云南当地企业达成咖啡采购和加工合资协议的企业是瑞士的Volcafe公司。该公司是大宗商品交易商ED&F Man旗下的咖啡交易公司。和它达成合资协议的云南当地企业名为思茅阿拉比卡星咖啡公司(Simao Arabicasm Coffee Company)。在它们之前，星巴克(Starbucks)在2012年与云南爱伲农牧集团(Ai Ni Group)组建了合资公司。The boom in production comes as coffee drinking in China is growing at about 15 per cent a year, compared with about 2 per cent for the world.
就在咖啡产量迅猛增长的同时，中国的咖啡饮用量也在以每年约15%的幅度快速增长。相比之下，全球咖啡饮用量的增速只有大约2%。