When you think of Yunnan, you will think of Kunming, which has four seasons of spring, or an ancient city with a long history, or an old tea tree that is called the grandfather of the tea industry, but in any case, you will not associate Yunnan with coffee, and you will not know that the oldest coffee tree in China is in the Yunnan region, which has a history of more than 110 years... What kind of coffee is there in Yunnan? Below, let xiaobian reveal the secret to you from scratch.
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From ancient times to the present, tea is the traditional drink of our country, which is called the magical oriental leaf by Westerners. From the archaeological findings, it can be seen that as early as the primitive social period of five or six thousand, the ancients have begun to drink tea, such as Lu Yu in the Tang Dynasty recorded in the "Tea Classic": tea is to drink, originated from the Shennong clan, and in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties tea is still a tribute, such as "Huayang Guozhi Bazhi" recorded: Zhou Wu Wang cut down, Shide Bashu ... Tea honey... All are paid tribute. All in all, China has a long history of tea drinking, and it is still a mainstream drink until now.
In the Yunnan region, the most famous is Pu'er tea, which is unquestionable, but coffee is also essential, such as the famous Zhu Kula coffee. In Binchuan County, Dali, Yunnan, there is an extremely remote Yi village called Zhu Kula Village, although the entire village has only more than 300 people, but it has the praise of the birthplace of Chinese coffee, and there is the oldest coffee tree in China so far in the village.
Historical records record that the village of Jukula has been growing coffee for more than 120 years, and all this has to start with a missionary. In the eighteenth year of qing guangxu (1982 AD), the French missionary Tian Deneng trekked thousands of miles to Yunnan, he found a Yi village in the forest surrounded by mountains, which is now Zhu Kula Village, the hospitality of the villagers made Tian Deneng decide to stay and preach, he not only spent a few years to build a residence, but also planted a coffee tree outside, but also the first coffee tree in China.
Under the influence of Tian Deneng, local villagers also began to try to grow coffee, and also developed the habit of making coffee and drinking coffee, so coffee began to gradually change the style of life in Zhukula Village. According to the older generation of local villagers, in 1984 there was a once-in-a-century snowfall in the mountains, and many crops and livestock were frozen alive. However, the most unfortunate thing is that the coffee tree planted by Tian Deneng did not survive that cold winter at the age of 92. Although the first coffee tree froze to death, the coffee trees that survived by chance are still luxuriant.
After research by experts, the coffee tree planted by Tian Deneng is a small-grain Bobon tin pickup, which can survive in the barren land, and is hardy and drought-resistant, so the first coffee tree may not have been frozen to death, but the length of time was neglected to take care of the insects. Although the first coffee tree is gone, its seeds have already produced other coffee saplings, according to statistics, there are as many as 24, and they all grow very luxuriantly.
In the 1990s, the relevant local departments conducted statistics and surveys on the coffee trees in Zhukula Village, and determined that there were more than 1,200 coffee trees in the village, with an average age of more than 70 years, of which 26 trees were more than 100 years old, and the longest tree was 110 years old, which was simply a living fossil of Chinese coffee trees. The coffee in Zhukula Village has been passed down for a hundred years, and now it not only has economic value, but also has scientific research value and historical research value, which may be the result that the missionary Tian De can never dream of.
Nowadays, with the support of the policies of relevant local departments, Zhu Kula Coffee has become a famous brand and continues to sell well at home and abroad, which not only drives local economic growth, improves the living conditions of villagers, wins the battle against poverty, but also promotes the development of coffee culture in China. All this, we should thank Tian Deneng, otherwise there would be no good life today.
Although coffee is an imported product, our Chinese culture is inclusive, so that it takes root in this vast land, and constantly integrates into our Chinese culture, which is also a supplement and development of Chinese culture, after all, only openness and tolerance can continue to progress, and conservative and self-contained can only lag behind, or even be beaten. It can be seen that although coffee is small, it can change culture, change society, and change human beings.
Resources:
"Zhu Kula Coffee Journey" by Chen Dexin, Publisher: Yunnan People's Publishing House
Wenlan Hairun Studio Editor-in-Chief Wen Xiucai, this article is written by: Special History Writer: Liu Lijiang's