Editor's Note

The "Flowers Bridge the World, Coffee Links the Silk Road" South & Southeast Asia International Communication Program is currently underway. As one of the program's four core components, the "Kunming Coffee, Global Vibe": International Coffee Carnival in the Spring City draws on Kunming's strategic location and Yunnan's well-established coffee industry to foster connections across borders through coffee, creating an international platform for industrial cooperation and cultural exchange.

From coffee plantations in remote border regions to the global stage of professional coffee competitions, and from neighborhood cafés to standardized roasting facilities, international coffee entrepreneurs have played an active role in Yunnan's transition to specialty coffee. Having traveled from around the world to establish themselves in Kunming, the Spring City, they connect different segments of the coffee value chain with markets and resources both in China and overseas. They have witnessed and helped drive the transformation of Yunnan coffee from a bulk commodity into a recognized player in the specialty coffee industry. In doing so, they have become both advocates for Yunnan coffee on the international stage and bridges for people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

Starting today, we are launching a series of interviews with international coffee entrepreneurs and industry professionals who have built their careers in Kunming. Through their entrepreneurial experiences and industry insights, the series will trace the evolution and upgrading of Yunnan's coffee industry, while highlighting Kunming's openness, inclusiveness, and growing vitality as a hub for international communication.

Inside Manlao River Coffee shop nestled in the lush greenery of Jinbi Park, Mark Respinger, CEO of the brand, is brewing a pour-over. As the slender spout of the kettle tilts gently, hot water spreads evenly over the grounds, a delicate bloom forms, and a clean, mellow nutty aroma drifts through the air.

Gazing down at the smooth coffee bed, Mark speaks with quiet conviction: "Kunming is the heart of Yunnan coffee and Yunnan is the heart of Chinese coffee — 97% or more of China's coffee is produced in Yunnan province. For me, this is the ideal place to be."

Mark brewing pour-over coffee. Photo by Li Tao.

Mark Respinger, an Australian who has lived in Kunming for many years, runs a roasting factory at the city’s 871 Cultural and Creative Park. Through Manlao River Coffee, he works with the company to develop Yunnan specialty coffee and has brought local beans to markets across China and overseas.

"Living Where Others Come for Vacation"

When asked why he chose Kunming, Mark gives a straightforward answer: it is a place where he can build both a life and a career.

"Kunming is great in every way. The weather is great, the food is also great, the people are great, and the local business environment is really good." He calls Kunming a "holiday town," and his reasoning is simple: "When you live where other people are spending their holidays to go, you've really found somewhere special."

His everyday life unfolds amid beautiful scenery. His home sits beside Waterfall Park, where opening the window in the morning reveals greenery and water views. The coffee shop is in Jinbi Park, a quiet retreat in the heart of the city. The roasting factory is in the 871 Cultural and Creative Park — a park converted from old factory buildings with open terraces where guests can sit and savor their coffee at a leisurely pace.

A pleasant quality of life drew him in, but what truly kept him here is the strength of Kunming’s coffee industry. "In specialty coffee, being close to the producing region is the biggest advantage," Mark says. This is the main reason he has built his career in Kunming.

Mark at work. Photo by Li Tao.

"Let the World See Yunnan Coffee"

Many people don't realize that Manlao River is not a foreign brand but a homegrown Yunnan coffee brand. In the Dai language, "Manlao River" means "the river with sweet-tasting water." The river valley has a mild climate and fertile soil, yielding excellent coffee and sustaining the local community.

In the 1990s, a wave of resettled farmers made their homes here, and coffee gradually became a pillar of the local economy. Drawing on the region’s exceptional natural advantages as a coffee-growing area, Manlao River Coffee began in the fields, steadily deepened its work, and step by step built a mature, fully integrated coffee value chain.

Manlao River Coffee. Photo by Li Tao.

"Manlao River is one of the first local Yunnan coffee brands," Mark says. He joined the company much later. "This is a company that's been built from the farm all the way through to the roastery and to the coffee shop that we have today — it has built a complete industrial chain."

With a complete industrial chain in place, Yunnan coffee has gained the confidence to go global. American food writer Florence Fabricant once wrote in The New York Times that Manlao River Coffee boasts "with a full-bodied result that had pleasing bitter chocolate notes." In 2012, Manlao River Coffee beans were selected for the World Barista Championship bean catalog, making them among the earliest Yunnan coffees to appear on the international professional stage.

Screenshot of The New York Times report.

"Our idea in doing this is simple — take Yunnan coffee to the world," Mark says. In the past, the outside world knew little about Yunnan coffee. To change that, he and his team have long been deeply involved in global professional coffee competitions and industry exchanges, using tangible quality to prove that Yunnan coffee has what it takes to compete in the specialty-coffee market and can establish a firm foothold and earn its place in the international specialty coffee arena.

"I Can Clearly Feel the Growth of the Coffee Farming Community"

Having spent so many years in the coffee industry, Mark has watched Yunnan coffee transform before his eyes.

"When I first came to Yunnan and worked in coffee, it was nothing like it today," he recalls. In the early years, most Yunnan coffee was exported as low-priced commodity raw material. "Back then, most of the coffee in Yunnan was being sent overseas as bulk commercial coffee — no one would associate it with specialty coffee."

The change came quickly. In 2025, Yunnan ranked first nationwide in coffee planting area, green bean production, and agricultural output value, with products sold to 43 countries and regions. The share of high-quality green beans rose from 8 percent in 2021 to 41.7 percent and the deep-processing rate increased from 20 percent to 85 percent.

Mark being interviewed at the Manlao River Coffee. Photo by Li Tao.

Behind these numbers are real changes in the producing regions. "Today's Yunnan is no longer the old story of a single variety and traditional processing," Mark says. The region has independently bred 22 coffee varieties — Typica, Bourbon, and Geisha are all grown here — and new processing methods such as honey processing and anaerobic fermentation are becoming increasingly common, making the flavor profiles of the beans far richer than before.

What moves him most is the coffee farmers. "I can clearly feel the growth of the coffee farming community," Mark says. A new generation of young farmers has returned home, knowledgeable about both the land and technology. "Now, even in the most remote farms in Yunnan, you can drink exceptionally high-quality coffee. That was hard to imagine in the past."

International peers can taste this change too. Francisco Gonzales, co-founder of Nomad Coffee in Barcelona, discovered during a blind tasting that the best coffee on the table came from Yunnan, with flavors reminding him of "green apple, sugarcane, and dates." In Mark's view, with more varieties and newer processing methods, Yunnan is becoming a "new frontier" for roasters seeking distinctive flavors.

The growth of the domestic market has also given the industry more confidence. "There's so much good specialty coffee coming out of Yunnan, and there's also really strong domestic demand in China for specialty coffee," Mark says. "We have the opportunity now for Yunnan coffee to basically be in the hands of Chinese people. And I think that's where it should be. This is a local coffee and we're producing it for people in China, which is I think a great testament to the journey that coffee has been on."

"In China, If You Don't Innovate, You Can't Stand Firm"

Having long operated between Chinese and foreign coffee markets, Mark has a clear understanding of Chinese consumers.

"In Australia, we're very much still influenced by the Italian coffee culture, milk-based drinks and espresso, very traditional," he compares. "Here in China, people are much more willing to try new things and experiment with new blends, new drinks, new flavor combinations."

Mark reviewing Manlao River Coffee product. Photo by Li Tao.

Different markets call for different strategies. "In Australia, you can operate steadily with a traditional model, but not in China," Mark says plainly. "I think to survive in China, you really need to be always pushing."

Looking ahead, Mark remains enthusiastic about the future. "I definitely haven't gone through my whole idea list yet," he shares. Going forward, he will continue to root himself in Kunming and deepen his engagement with Yunnan, continuously tapping the potential of the local coffee industry, carrying forward the vision of "Kunminh Coffee Global Vive", and bringing more high-quality Yunnan specialty coffee into the public eye and to every corner of the globe.

编者按：

“花语通山海 咖香连丝路” 南亚东南亚国际传播活动正持续开展。作为活动四大核心板块之一，“咖香滇池 味连全球”中国春城·世界咖啡嘉年华国际传播活动立足昆明区位优势与云南咖啡产业根基，以咖为媒联通内外，搭建起产业协作与人文交流的国际平台。

从边陲产区的种植基地到全球专业赛事舞台，从城市街巷的咖啡馆到标准化烘焙工厂，云南咖啡的精品化升级进程中，始终活跃着国际咖啡主理人的身影。他们跨越山海扎根春城，串联起产业链上下游与海内外市场资源，亲历并推动云咖从大宗原料向精品标杆的蝶变，既是云咖出海的推动者，也是中外文化交融的民间纽带。

本网今起推出咖啡主理人访谈系列报道，聚焦深耕春城的国际咖啡从业者，以他们的创业实践与行业观察，具象呈现云南咖啡产业升级轨迹，折射昆明开放包容的城市气质与对外传播活力。

金碧公园绿意环绕，园内曼老江咖啡店内，曼老江咖啡首席执行官马克·雷斯平（Mark Respinger）正在冲泡手冲咖啡。手冲壶细嘴缓缓倾斜，热水均匀漫过咖啡粉，细密泡沫慢慢隆起，清润的坚果香在空气中慢慢弥散开来。低头注视平整的粉层，马克语气笃定：“昆明是云南咖啡的中心，云南是中国咖啡的中心——中国97%以上的咖啡产自云南。对我们来说，这里就是理想之地。”

澳大利亚人马克·雷斯平在昆明生活多年。他的烘焙工厂设在昆明871文化创意工场，打造了云南精品咖啡品牌—曼老江咖啡。这些年，他把一颗颗云南咖啡豆卖到了全国，也卖到了海外。

“住在别人度假的地方”

问起为什么选择昆明，马克的回答很直接：生活和事业，在这里都能安放。

“昆明的好是全方位的。天气舒服，东西好吃，人也友善，营商环境成熟。”他把昆明叫作“度假城市”，理由很简单：“当你住在一个别人专门花假期赶来的地方，你就知道自己找对了。”

这种度假般的松弛感，也融进了他的日常。家在瀑布公园旁边，晨起开窗便见绿意水景；咖啡店选在金碧公园，闹中取静；烘焙工厂放在昆明871文化创意工场，旧厂房改造的园区里，露台开阔，客人可以坐下来慢慢喝杯咖啡。

生活舒适是一方面，真正把他留住的，是昆明背后的产业分量。“做精品咖啡，离产区近就是最大的优势。”马克说，这是他把事业重心放在昆明的根本原因。

“让世界看见云南咖啡”

很多人并不知晓，曼老江并非外来品牌，而是云南本土咖啡品牌。傣语里，“曼老江”是“水味甜美之河”的意思。河谷温润，土地肥沃，长出了好咖啡，也养着一方百姓。

20世纪90年代，一批搬迁农户在这里落脚，咖啡慢慢成了当地的支柱产业。依托得天独厚的产区根基，曼老江咖啡从田间地头起步，稳步深耕，一点点搭建起成熟完善的咖啡产业体系。

“曼老江是最早一批云南本土咖啡品牌之一。”马克加入公司的时间要晚得多，“这家公司从农场做起，后来有了烘焙厂，再到今天的咖啡店，打通了完整产业链。”

产业链完整了，云南咖啡也有了走出去的底气。美国美食作家Florence Fabricant曾在《纽约时报》撰文，说曼老江咖啡有着“饱满的醇度与令人愉悦的黑巧克力风味”；2012年，曼老江咖啡豆入选世界咖啡师大赛用豆名录，是最早登上国际专业赛场的云南咖啡之一。

“我们做这件事的想法很简单，就是让世界看见云南咖啡。”马克说，过去外界对云南咖啡了解不多。为此，他和团队常年深耕全球专业咖啡赛事与行业交流，就是要用实打实的品质证明：云南咖啡完全具备精品实力，能够在国际精品咖啡领域站稳脚跟、拥有一席之地。

“我能明显感受到咖农群体的成长”

在咖啡行业待了这么多年，马克看着云南咖啡变了样子。

“我刚接触云南咖啡的时候，完全不是现在这样。”他回忆，早年云南咖啡大多作为大宗原料低价出口，“那时候外界只把云南咖啡当廉价原料，没人会把它和精品咖啡联系在一起。”

变化来得很快。2025年，云南咖啡种植面积、生豆产量、农业产值三项指标均居全国第一，产品远销43个国家和地区。生豆优质率从2021年的8%提升到41.7%，精深加工率从20%升至85%。

这些数字背后，是产区实实在在的变化。“现在的云南，早就不是单一品种、传统工艺的老样子了。”马克说，当地自主选育了22个咖啡品种，铁皮卡、波旁、瑰夏都在种，蜂蜜处理、厌氧发酵这些新工艺也越来越普遍，豆子的风味比以前丰富多了。

最让他感慨的是咖农。“我能明显感受到咖农群体的成长。”马克说，新一代年轻咖农回到家乡，懂土地，也懂技术，“现在哪怕去云南最偏远的农场，都能喝到品质非常出色的咖啡，这在以前是很难想象的。”

这种变化，国际同行也喝得出来。巴塞罗那Nomad Coffee联合创始人Francisco Gonzales在一次盲测中发现，桌上最好的咖啡来自云南，风味让他想起“青苹果、甘蔗和椰枣”。在马克看来，品种多了、工艺新了，云南正在成为烘焙师寻找独特风味的“新边疆”。

国内市场的成长也给了产业更多信心。“云南出了大量优质精品咖啡，中国国内对精品咖啡的需求也很强劲。”马克说，“我们有机会让云南咖啡基本掌握在中国人手中——我认为这是应该的。这是本土咖啡，我们生产它，给中国消费者喝。这本身就是对咖啡旅程最好的见证。”

“在中国，不创新就站不住脚”

常年在中外咖啡市场之间跑，马克对中国消费者的特点看得很清楚。

“澳大利亚咖啡受意大利文化影响深，大家习惯喝浓缩、喝奶咖，方式很传统、很固定。”他对比说，“中国市场不一样，消费者特别愿意尝试新东西，手冲、美式都接受，也愿意体验新拼配、新风味、新玩法。”

市场不同，打法就不同。“在澳大利亚，靠传统模式就能稳定经营，但在中国不行。”马克说得很直白，“想在这里扎根，必须一直创新、一直迭代。”

展望未来，马克依旧满怀热忱与期待。“我们还有很多创新计划、新品布局正在落地。”他坦言，未来将继续扎根昆明、深耕云南，持续挖掘本土咖啡产业潜力，延续咖香滇池、味连全球的发展路径，让更多优质云南精品咖啡走进大众视野、飘香世界各处。