在上海浦东生活了23年的德国人，凭什么要做云南咖啡代言人？Why should a German who has lived in Pudong, Shanghai for 23 years become a spokesperson for Yunnan coffee?
上周，德国总理默茨访华时，德国人Eric Baden（中文名：林德恩）正在云南的咖啡种植园里。
“此时加强中德关系可谓恰逢其时。”虽然默茨此次访华时间不长，但林德恩依旧嗅到了机会，“我希望这能带来切实可行的措施，从而有助于我们在加大向德国出口优质云南咖啡的力度之际，提升德国市场对于云南高品质咖啡的认知度。”
虽然是德国人，但三句不离云南咖啡，这是林德恩的一大标志。
今年是林德恩在中国生活的第28个年头，也是他在上海浦东生活的第23年，他用中文交流毫无障碍，自称是个“老浦东人”。他还有个网络昵称——“咖啡老林”。
最近是咖啡豆采摘期。上周，林德恩一直待在云南的咖啡种植园。林德恩是咖啡公社创始人兼董事长，他的种植园位于云南普洱思茅区的南岛河村，距离普洱市区约40分钟车程。
林德恩在察看咖啡豆情况
20余年间，林德恩工作、生活在上海，见证着中国咖啡消费从速溶咖啡一路到精品咖啡的变迁过程，现在上海已是中国咖啡消费的风向标，坐拥着全球数量最多的咖啡店，作为“世界咖啡之都”早已声名在外；10年来，林德恩深耕的普洱，咖啡种植面积占云南全省的53.59%，云南则占全国的98%以上，由此普洱得名“中国咖啡之都”。
作为一个日常奔波于中国咖啡产地与市场的外国人，林德恩毛遂自荐：“我可以做云南咖啡代言人。”
“云南风味”曾是贬义词
在浦东龙阳路地铁站附近的咖啡公社咖啡店内，云南咖啡是绝对的主角。
这里是林德恩专门展示云南咖啡的窗口，云南咖啡在门店菜单中频频出现。走进店内，墙上颇有云南民族特色的漫画尤为吸睛，店内醒目位置摆放着公司生产的十余款云南咖啡产品。
摆放在咖啡公社店内的云南咖啡产品
“越来越多的顾客会点上一杯云南咖啡。”令林德恩得意的是，在咖啡从业者共同推动下，这些年云南咖啡知名度逐渐打开，不仅成为各大咖啡品牌的标配产品，甚至还成了新卖点。
以前，“云南风味”是个贬义词。很长一段时间内，“云南风味”是咖啡味道不好、口感“不干净”的代名词。云南咖啡的低端形象在市场上反映明显：其采购价相比国际均价要低上10%—20%。
2016年，咖啡公社创立，林德恩意识到，云南咖啡要有出路，“这种说法一定要改”。
这一想法来自林德恩曾经受的一个教训。在创立咖啡公社前，他曾一腔热血地在上海中山公园附近开出自己的第一家咖啡店，门面很小，叫“平咖啡”，主推的就是云南咖啡。“但不成功，没人要喝。”如今讲起当时的失败，林德恩坦然地剖析其中原因：当时速溶咖啡还是市场主流，真正走进咖啡店，品尝精品咖啡的还是少数；更重要的是，云南咖啡，消费者不认。
那次推广云南咖啡的尝试，很快以失败告终，但林德恩推广云南咖啡的行动并未止步。2018年，林德恩受邀担任在澳大利亚举办的世界顶级咖啡烘焙赛事金豆杯烘焙大赛的评委。这一年，咖啡公社探索建立“云南P86+精品咖啡生产系统”。临行时，林德恩带上了采用该工艺生产的“云南P86+”咖啡豆样品。比赛间隙设有“coffee break”（即咖啡时间或茶歇），评委们会品尝由贸易公司等带来的咖啡豆。一天午饭后，林德恩将带去的云南咖啡豆交给负责冲泡咖啡的工作人员，特意叮嘱：“不要说是我带来的，也不要提是云南咖啡。”
咖啡端上来后，一位哥伦比亚评委得意地招呼林德恩，“你尝尝这个，这是我们哥伦比亚的厌氧发酵咖啡，发酵非常干净”。林德恩淡淡一笑，“是厌氧发酵，但不是哥伦比亚的”。随后他便“不响”。一时间，大家的好奇心被吊了起来，纷纷猜测这杯咖啡产自哪里？林德恩揭晓答案，“是云南来的”。评委们直呼“不可能”，大家越是不相信，林德恩越是开心。
有了这次“试水”，林德恩意识到，参加比赛，让专业评委评判云南咖啡的好坏，或许才是其能被外界认可的破题之举。
一年后，机会来了。一位新西兰华人凭借“云南P86+”咖啡豆在2019年澳大利亚金豆杯烘焙大赛中脱颖而出，它成为首个获得银牌的中国咖啡豆，云南咖啡在国际上初露锋芒。由此按下了“云南P86+”咖啡豆不断在世界大赛中拿奖的“按钮”。自此，随着越来越多的云南咖啡豆在国际上崭露头角，全球业界改变了对“云南风味”的刻板印象。
“没想到能这么成功，但还不够”
说话间，林德恩摘下了手腕上的深红色手环，放在记者面前。为什么会有一个这种颜色的手环？因为真正完全成熟的咖啡鲜果，就是这个颜色。不只林德恩，运用“P86+精品咖啡生产系统”的咖农们，人手一个手环。
小小一个手环，有什么用？每年11月至次年3月咖啡豆成熟期，树上会同时出现绿色、黄色、浅红、深红或是红过头坏掉的鲜果，要做精品咖啡就要有所区分，一颗颗采摘。林德恩定制了一批手环，并反复叮嘱：“采摘的时候，一定要到这个颜色，如果它还不到这个颜色，不要摘。”
手戴手环的咖农正在采摘咖啡豆鲜果
说来简单，做起来并不容易。林德恩一边说，一边来了段无实物表演，只见他双手合拢，一把就将枝蔓上的咖啡豆捋了下来，“好果坏果一起摘”。这是多年前某个国际速溶咖啡巨头教给当地咖农的采摘方法，“速溶咖啡没有什么特别的风味，对咖啡豆的要求低。”林德恩解释，这也是云南咖啡以往口碑不佳的重要原因之一。
还有更麻烦的。20世纪80年代末，那个咖啡巨头在如今的普洱引种了卡蒂姆咖啡，这种咖啡“有阿拉比卡的名字，广告效果好”，同时抗病高产，但其品质难以跻身顶级，由此云南只能做速溶咖啡的原料基地，处在价值链底端。随着精品咖啡浪潮到来，这种落差愈演愈烈，但咖农们尚未意识到，“市场变了”。
近年来，云南正大力推广瑰夏等优良品种，但林德恩直言，目前云南80%以上还是卡蒂姆咖啡。这正是林德恩等人在数年前开创“云南P86+”系统时面临的窘境。专业咖啡比赛的杯测中，分为10项指标，包括香气、酸感、甜感、醇厚度等，每项10分。“杯测80分以上是精品咖啡，87分及以上的咖啡可被称为COE（即卓越杯）咖啡。”林德恩指出，为冲刺更高分数，不仅需要品质稳定的咖啡鲜果，“还需要一个非常稳定的系统处理方案”，这便是“云南P86+”系统的由来。
如今，“云南P86+”已是咖啡公社拥有专利权的加工系统，其中“厌氧发酵”是“点豆成金”的重要环节之一。但咖啡公社精品咖啡年烘焙量不过100吨，为更快带动市场发展，林德恩选择了开放技术方案，“欢迎大家都来学习”。其间，林德恩会定期到云南，手把手教咖农如何种植、采摘、加工处理咖啡豆，帮助小微种植园，生产高质量精品咖啡豆。目前，每年会新增100到150名咖农运用“云南P86+”系统，其已惠及普洱与周边约1000名咖农。
林德恩与采摘咖啡鲜果的当地咖农
回望2016年的起点，“我没想到10年之内能够这么成功。”林德恩感慨，正因带动了越来越多的咖农，才让越来越多的人知道“云南有好的咖啡”。
不过林德恩依旧觉得不够。他向记者吐露了自己的“小目标”——“还需要10倍左右”，他早早下定决心，要联动1万名云南咖农。
从“老外”到“老内”
在国内，要说最了解中国不同地区咖啡偏好的“老外”，林德恩算得上一个。
“从酸度来看，酸度高的咖啡在广东更受欢迎，而上海及周边城市更喜欢酸度低的咖啡。”林德恩深谙其中门道，“这与饮食高度相关”，广东人日常会喝凉茶，所以对酸度的接纳度更高，而上海饮食偏甜。
这个很多中国人都未必知道的“冷知识”源于一次合作。2024年3月，在上海国际酒店及餐饮业博览会上，林德恩与长三角一家植物奶领域全国领军企业达成合作，即林德恩参与该公司在全国多城举办的线下活动，向咖啡从业者展示其产品与咖啡的不同搭配。
为什么非要找林德恩合作？“他们需要一位咖啡大师，最好是一个外国人，就找到了我。”林德恩懂得品牌方其中的考虑：咖啡文化是一种西方文化，由一个外国人出面更有说服力，同时他本就在中国深耕咖啡多年，同行们或多或少听过“咖啡老林”这个名字。
林德恩和自己咖啡老师祝何文的合作同样源于祝何文的一句话，“我需要一个‘老外’”。合作之前，祝何文已在帮助普洱咖农培训咖啡种植、管理等工作，但一直苦恼于开拓市场困难，销路难找。
合作之后，两人分工明确：祝何文长期驻扎普洱，主要负责咖啡技术的创新攻关与咖农培训，林德恩则化身当地咖啡的代言人，在上海、在国外开拓市场。林德恩的“老外”身份实现了价值最优化。在林德恩的积极奔走下，这里的咖啡豆连接上了国内最大的咖啡消费市场上海，不仅进入上海各大咖啡节、进博会，还进入了上海等各大城市的咖啡店，让消费者可以品尝到新鲜的云南咖啡，同时他还开出网店，让更多消费者可以网购云南咖啡产品。
林德恩参与云南咖啡活动
但国际咖啡行业接纳新产品的速度较慢。为了让世界慢慢了解云南咖啡，林德恩除经常给国外客户寄送样品外，还带着云南咖啡闯荡各种比赛，这才有了后来的“云南P86+”咖啡屡屡获奖。
如今，林德恩还从参赛烘焙商变成了国际赛事的组织者。2024年11月，金豆杯大赛东亚区比赛在上海虹桥国际咖啡港举行，参赛范围涵盖中国、日本、韩国等国。去年11月前后，第二届比赛在无锡国际咖啡节期间拉开帷幕。
在无锡咖啡节上，一个巴西咖啡豆贸易公司负责人找到林德恩，希望与他合作推广巴西咖啡豆，开拓中国市场。“我觉得蛮合适的。我的很多客户需要做拼配，巴西豆在其中非常重要。”这个巴西人找到林德恩，正是看中了他熟悉中国市场。这次，林德恩这个“老外”又变成了“老内”。
林德恩正在整理巴西咖啡豆贸易商提供的样品
当年命名“云南P86+”时，同行们无不质疑。“我觉得可以，等我们一下就好。”当时林德恩笑着回应。如今，他的底气更足了。从身边的变化看，不少合作的咖啡庄园已能做出好的精品咖啡，“甚至能够拿到86分以上”。截至2025年，云南咖啡精品率达31.6%，精深加工率达80%。
谈及今年的新期待时，林德恩表示，希望争取在云南建成一座大型综合咖啡厂，其设计产能超过1万吨，同时他还计划将产量迅速转化为出口量，今年将出口至德国的云南P86+咖啡有望超过200吨。
原标题：《在上海浦东生活了23年的德国人，凭什么要做云南咖啡代言人？》
栏目主编：陈抒怡
来源：作者：解放日报 任俊锰
Last week, when German Chancellor Mertz visited China, German Eric Baden (Chinese name: Linden) was in a coffee plantation in Yunnan.
Strengthening Sino German relations at this time is indeed timely. Although Mertz's visit to China is not long, Linden still sensed an opportunity. "I hope this can bring practical measures that will help us increase our efforts to export high-quality Yunnan coffee to Germany and enhance the German market's awareness of Yunnan's high-quality coffee
Although he is German, he never leaves Yunnan coffee, which is a major symbol of Linden.
This year marks Lin De'en's 28th year living in China and his 23rd year living in Pudong, Shanghai. He communicates fluently in Chinese and claims to be an "old Pudong native". He also has an online nickname - 'Coffee Old Forest'.
It's currently the coffee bean picking season. Last week, Lin De'en stayed at a coffee plantation in Yunnan. Lin De'en is the founder and chairman of the Coffee Commune. His plantation is located in Nandaohe Village, Simao District, Pu'er, Yunnan, about a 40 minute drive from the city center of Pu'er.
Linden is checking the condition of the coffee beans
For over 20 years, Lin De'en has been working and living in Shanghai, witnessing the transformation of Chinese coffee consumption from instant coffee to premium coffee. Now, Shanghai has become a benchmark for Chinese coffee consumption, with the largest number of coffee shops in the world, and has long been renowned as the "World Coffee Capital"; Over the past 10 years, Lin De'en has been deeply cultivating Pu'er, which accounts for 53.59% of the coffee planting area in Yunnan Province and over 98% of the national total. Therefore, Pu'er is named the "Coffee Capital of China".
As a foreigner who travels around the coffee producing areas and markets in China on a daily basis, Lin De'en volunteered, "I can be the spokesperson for Yunnan coffee
'Yunnan flavor' was once a derogatory term
In the coffee shop of the Coffee Commune near the Longyang Road subway station in Pudong, Yunnan coffee is the absolute protagonist.
This is Lin De'en's window dedicated to showcasing Yunnan coffee, which frequently appears on the store menu. Entering the store, the comics with Yunnan ethnic characteristics on the wall are particularly eye-catching, and more than ten Yunnan coffee products produced by the company are prominently displayed in the store.
Yunnan coffee products placed in the coffee commune store
More and more customers are ordering a cup of Yunnan coffee. "Lin De'en is proud that, with the joint efforts of coffee practitioners, Yunnan coffee has gradually gained popularity in recent years, becoming not only a standard product for major coffee brands, but also a new selling point.
Previously, 'Yunnan flavor' was a derogatory term. For a long time, 'Yunnan flavor' was synonymous with poor coffee taste and unclean texture. The low-end image of Yunnan coffee is clearly reflected in the market: its purchase price is 10% -20% lower than the international average price.
In 2016, when the Coffee Commune was established, Lin De'en realized that Yunnan coffee needed a way out, and "this statement must be changed.
This idea comes from a lesson that Lindgren once learned. Before establishing the coffee commune, he passionately opened his first coffee shop near Zhongshan Park in Shanghai, with a small storefront called "Ping Coffee", mainly promoting Yunnan coffee. But if it's not successful, no one wants to drink it. "Speaking of the failure at that time, Lin De'en calmly analyzed the reasons: instant coffee was still the mainstream in the market at that time, and only a few people really walked into coffee shops to taste specialty coffee; More importantly, Yunnan coffee is not recognized by consumers.
The attempt to promote Yunnan coffee quickly ended in failure, but Lin De'en's promotion of Yunnan coffee did not stop. In 2018, Linden was invited to serve as a judge for the world's top coffee roasting event, the Golden Bean Cup Baking Competition, held in Australia. This year, the Coffee Commune explored the establishment of the "Yunnan P86+Premium Coffee Production System". Before leaving, Lin De'en brought along a sample of "Yunnan P86+" coffee beans produced using this process. There is a "coffee break" (i.e. coffee time or tea break) during the competition break, and the judges will taste coffee beans brought by trading companies and others. After lunch one day, Lin De'en handed over the Yunnan coffee beans he brought to the staff responsible for brewing coffee, specifically reminding them, "Don't say I brought them, and don't mention Yunnan coffee
After the coffee was served, a Colombian judge proudly greeted Lindgren, 'Try this, it's our anaerobic fermented coffee from Colombia, and the fermentation is very clean.'. Linden smiled faintly and said, 'It's anaerobic fermentation, but not from Colombia.'. Then he remained silent. For a moment, everyone's curiosity was aroused, and they all guessed where this cup of coffee was produced? Lin De'en revealed the answer, 'It's from Yunnan.'. The judges exclaimed 'impossible', and the more they didn't believe it, the happier Lindgren became.
With this "test of the water", Lin De'en realized that participating in a competition and having professional judges judge the quality of Yunnan coffee may be the breakthrough that can be recognized by the outside world.
One year later, the opportunity came. A Chinese New Zealander stood out in the 2019 Australian Golden Bean Cup Baking Competition with their "Yunnan P86+" coffee beans, becoming the first Chinese coffee bean to win a silver medal. Yunnan coffee has made its debut internationally. As a result, the "Yunnan P86+" coffee beans continuously won awards in world competitions. Since then, with more and more Yunnan coffee beans emerging internationally, the global industry has changed its stereotype of "Yunnan flavor".
I didn't expect it to be so successful, but it's not enough
During the conversation, Linden took off the deep red wristband from his wrist and placed it in front of the reporter. Why is there a wristband in this color? Because the truly fully ripe coffee fruit is this color. Not only Lin De'en, but also coffee farmers who use the "P86+Premium Coffee Production System" have a wristband for every hand.
What's the use of a small wristband? During the coffee bean ripening period from November to March of the following year, fresh fruits that are green, yellow, light red, deep red, or excessively red and spoiled will appear on the trees. To make high-quality coffee, it is necessary to distinguish and pick them one by one. Lin De'en customized a batch of wristbands and repeatedly reminded, "When picking, be sure to reach this color. If it still hasn't reached this color, don't pick it
A coffee farmer wearing a wristband is picking fresh coffee beans and fruits
It's simple to say, but it's not easy to do. As Lin De'en spoke, he performed a performance without any physical objects. He closed his hands and quickly pulled down the coffee beans from the branches, picking both good and bad fruits together. This is the picking method taught to local coffee farmers by an international instant coffee giant many years ago. "Instant coffee doesn't have any special flavor and has low requirements for coffee beans," Lin De'en explained. This is also one of the important reasons for the poor reputation of Yunnan coffee in the past.
There are even more troublesome things. In the late 1980s, that coffee giant introduced Katim coffee in Pu'er, which has the name Arabica and good advertising effects. It is also resistant to disease and high-yielding, but its quality is difficult to reach the top level. Therefore, Yunnan can only be used as a raw material base for instant coffee and is at the bottom of the value chain. With the arrival of the premium coffee wave, this gap has become increasingly severe, but coffee farmers have not yet realized that the market has changed.
In recent years, Yunnan has been vigorously promoting excellent varieties such as Guixia, but Lin De'en bluntly stated that currently more than 80% of Yunnan's coffee is still Katim coffee. This is exactly the dilemma faced by Lin De'en and others when they pioneered the "Yunnan P86+" system several years ago. In the cup test of professional coffee competitions, there are 10 indicators, including aroma, sourness, sweetness, richness, etc., with 10 points for each indicator. Coffee with a score of 80 or above on the cup test is considered premium coffee, while coffee with a score of 87 or above can be called COE (Excellence Cup) coffee. ”Lin De'en pointed out that in order to achieve higher scores, not only stable quality coffee fresh fruits are needed, but also a very stable system processing plan, which is the origin of the "Yunnan P86+" system.
Nowadays, "Yunnan P86+" is a patented processing system owned by the Coffee Commune, among which "anaerobic fermentation" is one of the important links in "turning beans into gold". But the annual roasting volume of premium coffee in the Coffee Commune is only 100 tons. In order to drive market development faster, Lin De'en chose an open technology solution and "welcomes everyone to learn". During this time, Lin De'en will regularly visit Yunnan to teach coffee farmers how to plant, pick, process and process coffee beans, helping small and micro plantations produce high-quality specialty coffee beans. At present, 100 to 150 new coffee farmers are added each year using the "Yunnan P86+" system, which has benefited about 1000 coffee farmers in Pu'er and surrounding areas.
Linden and local coffee farmers picking fresh coffee fruits
Looking back at the starting point of 2016, "I didn't expect to be so successful within 10 years," Lin De'en sighed. It is precisely because it has driven more and more coffee farmers that more and more people know that "Yunnan has good coffee.
However, Linden still feels that it is not enough. He revealed his "small goal" to the reporter - "about 10 times more needed", and he made up his mind early on to collaborate with 10000 Yunnan coffee farmers.
From 'foreigner' to 'old man'
In China, Lin De'en can be considered one of the "foreigners" who have the best understanding of coffee preferences in different regions of China.
From the perspective of acidity, coffee with high acidity is more popular in Guangdong, while Shanghai and surrounding cities prefer coffee with low acidity, "Lin De'en understands this well." This is highly related to diet. "Guangdong people drink herbal tea in their daily lives, so they have a higher acceptance of acidity, while Shanghai cuisine tends to be sweeter.
This' cold knowledge 'that many Chinese people may not necessarily know stems from a collaboration. In March 2024, at the Shanghai International Hotel and Catering Industry Expo, Linden reached a cooperation agreement with a leading national enterprise in the field of plant-based milk in the Yangtze River Delta. Linden participated in the company's offline activities held in multiple cities across the country to showcase the different combinations of its products and coffee to coffee practitioners.
Why do we have to collaborate with Linden? They needed a coffee master, preferably a foreigner, so they found me. "Lin De'en understands the considerations of the brand: coffee culture is a Western culture, and having a foreigner come forward is more convincing. At the same time, he has been deeply involved in coffee in China for many years, and his peers have heard of the name" Coffee Old Forest "to some extent.
Lin De'en's collaboration with his coffee teacher Zhu Hewen also originated from a sentence from Zhu Hewen, 'I need a' foreigner '.'. Before the cooperation, Zhu Hewen had been helping Pu'er coffee farmers train in coffee planting, management, and other related work, but he had been struggling to expand the market and find sales channels.
After the cooperation, the two have clear division of labor: Zhu Hewen will be stationed in Pu'er for a long time, mainly responsible for innovative research and development of coffee technology and coffee farmer training, while Lin De'en will become the spokesperson for local coffee, expanding markets in Shanghai and abroad. Linden's "foreigner" identity has achieved value optimization. With Linden's active efforts, the coffee beans here have connected to Shanghai, the largest coffee consumption market in China. They have not only entered major coffee festivals and exhibitions in Shanghai, but also coffee shops in major cities such as Shanghai, allowing consumers to taste fresh Yunnan coffee. At the same time, he has also opened an online store, allowing more consumers to shop Yunnan coffee products online.
Lin De'en participates in Yunnan coffee activities
But the international coffee industry has been slow to adopt new products. In order to gradually introduce Yunnan coffee to the world, Lin De'en not only frequently sent samples to foreign customers, but also led Yunnan coffee to various competitions, which led to the later "Yunnan P86+" coffee repeatedly winning awards.
Nowadays, Linden has transformed from a participating baker to an organizer of international events. In November 2024, the Golden Bean Cup East Asia competition will be held at Shanghai Hongqiao International Coffee Port, covering countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea. The second competition kicked off around November last year during the Wuxi International Coffee Festival.
At the Wuxi Coffee Festival, the head of a Brazilian coffee bean trading company approached Linden, hoping to collaborate with him to promote Brazilian coffee beans and expand the Chinese market. I think it's quite suitable. Many of my clients need to do blending, and Brazilian beans are very important among them. "This Brazilian found Linden because he was familiar with the Chinese market. This time, Lin De'en, the 'foreigner', has become the 'old man' again.
Linden is organizing samples provided by Brazilian coffee bean traders
When naming "Yunnan P86+" back then, colleagues all questioned it. I think it's okay, just wait for us for a moment, "Lin De'en replied with a smile. Now, he has more confidence. From the changes around us, it can be seen that many cooperative coffee estates have been able to produce good boutique coffee, "even earning over 86 points". By 2025, the premium coffee rate in Yunnan will reach 31.6%, and the deep processing rate will reach 80%.
When talking about his new expectations for this year, Lin De'en expressed his hope to build a large comprehensive coffee plant in Yunnan with a designed production capacity of over 10000 tons. At the same time, he also plans to quickly convert the production into export volume. This year, Yunnan P86+coffee, which will be exported to Germany, is expected to exceed 200 tons.
Original title: "Why should a German who has lived in Pudong, Shanghai for 23 years become a spokesperson for Yunnan coffee
Column Editor in Chief: Chen Shuyi
Source: Author: Ren Junmang from Liberation Daily