Starbucks teams up with Chinese university to boost coffee industry
Source: Xinhua | 2026-05-22 | Editor:Jennifer
A university in Yunnan Province, a renowned coffee production base in southwest China, has partnered with Starbucks to nurture homegrown talent for the booming industry.
Yunnan Agricultural University signed a cooperation agreement with Starbucks China on Wednesday to integrate academic research and industrial resources. Under the deal, the university will leverage its expertise in technological innovation and industrial services, while Starbucks China will offer internship opportunities and career guidance for relevant majors.
The two sides will focus on talent training and research collaboration and help elevate the international competitiveness of the Yunnan coffee industry.
Rolling out China's first undergraduate program in coffee science and engineering in 2024, the university boasted solid research capabilities in coffee variety breeding and cultivation technology.
Wang Weibin, Party chief of the university, said the partnership is expected to set a fine example for college-enterprise cooperation and shore up the sound development of China's coffee industry.
Starbucks China stated that the partnership marks a key step in deepening its presence in Yunnan and empowering the local coffee industry.
As China's core coffee production base, Yunnan has witnessed robust growth of the coffee industry. Official data shows that the province had coffee plantations covering around 97,500 hectares with a green bean output of 138,900 tonnes in 2025, leading the country in planting scale, output and industrial value.
Customs statistics indicate that Yunnan exported 19,000 tonnes of coffee beans and finished coffee products worth 860 million yuan (around 126 million U.S. dollars) last year, which were sold to 43 countries and regions, such as the Netherlands, Vietnam and Germany.
You May Like
-
Yunnan's premium beans draw in coffee brands
Coffee brands, both local and global, are increasingly favoring premium coffee beans from Southwest China's Yunnan province, which has grabbed the unique opport...
InKunming 2024-01-02 -
Yunnan's iconic tea city seeks new opportunities in coffee b...
At a coffee shop in Pu'er City in southwest China's Yunnan Province, barista Zi Mengjun makes a point of enthusiastically introducing the cafe's signature drink...
InKunming 2023-08-04 -
Across China: Meet the "Coffee doctor" from Yunnan's rising ...
During mid-June, Pu'er City in southwest China's Yunnan Province is immersed in the captivating aroma of coffee blossoms, and this period holds immense signific...
InKunming 2023-06-16 -
GLOBALink | China's booming coffee industry pursues high-qua...
Famous for Pu'er tea, a deep-brewed tea with a sweet aroma, Pu'er City in southwest China's Yunnan Province is making a name for itself as China's coffee capi...
InKunming 2022-10-27 -
Yunnan expands coffee production, processing
As Chinese consumers become increasingly sophisticated coffee drinkers, Yunnan province in Southwest China aims to grow more premium beans and build itself into...
InKunming 2022-09-08 -
Yunnan coffee basically forms complete industry chain
In 2021, the scale of China's coffee market has exceeded 387 billion yuan, and China’s coffee consumption ranked 8th in the world.
InKunming 2022-07-29 -
Bean bonanza as Pu'er coffee gains specialty status
One hundred and thirty years after the first coffee bean arrived in Pu'er city in Southwest China's Yunnan province, the quality of the beans grown there and lo...
InKunming 2022-04-28 -
China's coffee region upgrades bean quality, livelihoods
One hundred and thirty years after the first coffee seed arrived in Pu'er City in southwest China's Yunnan Province, the city is seeing upgrades in the beans' q...
InKunming 2022-04-07 -
Starbucks, poverty foundation launch coffee farming initiati...
Leading global coffee house chain Starbucks partnered with the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation on Thursday to launch a social impact investment to crea...
InKunming 2020-04-20 -
Nestle, Yunnan university strive to improve coffee quality, ...
InKunming 2018-12-19
