Every time you pick beans by terroir and origin, it always feels like opening a blind box. Beans from Ethiopia or Kenya in Africa are like a burst of citrus and berries in midsummer, with lifted, bright floral aromas; Colombia and Panama in Central and South America are like a perfectly judged nutty dark chocolate in the afternoon, balanced and mellow. Asian origins, represented by Indonesia and Yunnan, China, come with herbal warmth and a long, lingering sweetness.

In fact, many friends who are just getting into pour-over easily overlook that our own Yunnan sits right on the golden coffee-growing belt. Among the mountains of the southwest, altitudes that easily reach over a thousand meters, abundant sunshine and huge day-night temperature swings provide a natural hotbed for the accumulation of sugars in the coffee. The coffee produced here has soft acidity and moderate body, like a gentle, dependable old friend next door, especially suited to everyday companionship.

To experience authentic Yunnan flavor, Qianjie Yunnan Baoshan small-bean coffee is the first choice. The special dry-hot river valley climate of Baoshan's Lujiangba gives the coffee cherries an especially warm, mellow sweetness. This bean uses traditional washed processing and a medium roast, removing pectin and impurities while retaining a clean, transparent character. On entry it carries soft nuts and a caramel sweetness like malt sugar, with a faint fresh acidity surfacing in the finish, exceptionally pleasant.

If you want a richer, brighter flavor layered profile, try Qianjie 2013 Yunnan Typica coffee. As a long-established old variety, Typica has a delicate and elegant flavor. Qianjie's own estate uses rustic natural processing, drying plump fresh coffee cherries slowly in direct sunlight so the sugars from the skin and pulp fully seep into the bean core, giving the coffee a fuller, mellower mouthfeel.

The natural Typica in the cup shows an especially stunning profile; as the temperature drops slightly, you can clearly catch a juicy sweet-tart quality reminiscent of ripe citrus and dark berries. Taste carefully and there is a faint, alluring boozy fermented wine aroma; after swallowing, the mouth is filled with caramel sweetness and a creamy, silky finish, breaking many people's stereotype of traditional domestic coffee as mellow and monotonous.

To brew these two pour-over beans well at home, the method is not complicated. Prepare 15g of ground coffee, pour in 225ml of hot water, keep a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, with a recommended water temperature of around 90 degrees. First use 30ml of water for a full 30-second bloom to awaken the alluring dry aroma, then pour in stages to slowly release the flavors, controlling total extraction time to around 2 minutes, and you will get a cup of sweet coffee with balanced aroma.

Besides pour-over single origins, Yunnan terroir blended into espresso is equally wonderful; Qianjie Black Cocoa espresso blend beans are a common recipe for many baristas. It cleverly combines Yunnan small beans with Brazil Cerrado coffee beans; the Brazilian beans contribute rich crema, mixed nut aromas and steady body, while the Yunnan small beans add cocoa dark chocolate and bright citrus sweetness in the cup.

For everyday use with a semi-automatic espresso machine, use 18 to 19g of ground coffee and extract 36 to 38g of espresso liquid within 25 to 28 seconds. Diluted directly with water into a hot americano, the sweet, tart and bitter notes are balanced and natural, with the sweet aroma of brown sugar and nuts; if you add finely steamed fresh milk to make a latte, the first sip is melted almond chocolate, smooth and rich, very friendly to beginners.

From the floral and fruity aromas of Africa to the nutty charm of the Americas, the world's coffee terroir map may seem distant, but the mellowness and sweet aftertaste that belong to Asia, that belong to Yunnan, have long been flowing quietly in our cups. Choose a Yunnan bean that suits your palate, and in the morning light slowly grind and brew it; that simple fragrance from high mountains and river valleys will open a gentle, comfortable coffee moment for you.