"Coffee only grows between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. It cannot tolerate frost and it also suffers if temperatures are high. Arabica coffee is grown at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,000 meters. It needs decent rainfall throughout the year and fertile soil," he adds. "Yunnan has all these criteria."
Yunnan, the largest coffee cultivation region in China, has leveraged its high altitude and favorable climate to grow high-quality coffee beans.
Today, Baden is the founder of Coffee Commune, which sells 12 different single origin coffees and blends. All blends contain Catimor while single origin coffees are Yunnan, Ethiopia and Colombia.
According to Baden, Catimor beans are usually fruity and strong, and not as bitter as other types of beans.
Although coffee has always been an integral part of his daily life, Baden never thought of running a related business until he traveled to Yunnan in 2015 to obtain a coffee roaster's certificate from a school in Pu'er city.