Chinese tea hub branches into coffee

Local infusion: Farmers rake raw coffee beans, left to dry at a plantation in southern Yunnan.China's coffee output has risen dramatically in recent years, though it still lags far behind traditional powerhouses such as Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia.. Los Angeles Times

BEIJING: At a mountainside cafe in southwestern China, Liao Shihao brews handfuls of locally grown beans into steaming cups of coffee, a modern twist on the region’s traditional drink.

For centuries, Pu’er in Yunnan province has given its name to a type of richly fermented tea -- sometimes styled “pu-erh” -- famous across East Asia and beyond.