Interesting article in the Economist, even if you don’t drink coffee. Which I don’t. Either way, I didn’t know that Pu-er is now a city too, not just tea and that they have a Coffee Industry Development Office right in the Tea Industry Bureau building. Sounds sinful to me. After the burst of the Puer bubble in 2008, more farmers turned to planting coffee seeds instead of tea which has proved a lot more lucrative. Coffee is currently grown on 28,000 hectares (70,000 acres) whereas tea takes up 220,000 hectares. Non-the-less coffee planting is expected to continue its rapid growth. I fear “Puer” might mean “coffee” soon.
http://www.economist.com/node/21543580