Are Catimor Coffee Beans Really Arabica?

Catimor is an Arabica variety bred from Caturra and Hibrido de Timor, the natural Canephora-Arabica hybrid found on Timor in the early 1900s. Because it carries Robusta genes, some drinkers question whether it counts as pure Arabica, yet growers value its cold resistance, disease resistance and high yield.

Its weaknesses are a short tree lifespan, limited flavor complexity and a less refined mouthfeel, so opinion in specialty circles is divided. Advances in cultivation and post-processing have improved cleanliness, and Yunnan Catimor in particular now shows better cup quality, which changes how roasting and brewing parameters should be set.

Catimor is a variety widely planted in Asian coffee-producing regions. It is favored by growers for its advantages such as cold resistance, disease resistance, and high yield, but its flavor performance is often considered insufficiently refined. With advances in cultivation techniques and post-processing methods, Catimor's cleanliness and image have improved somewhat. This article will systematically introduce Catimor's varietal origins, flavor characteristics, the development history of Yunnan Catimor, and Front Street Coffee's practical experience in variety selection and brewing parameters, helping coffee enthusiasts gain a comprehensive understanding of this variety's past and present.

Catimor Coffee Bean Taste and Flavor Characteristics, Grind Setting, Processing Method Introduction

Although new varieties continue to emerge in the Arabica family, Catimor has always held an important position in Asian producing regions. Growers value its cold resistance, disease resistance, and high yield, but its shortcomings are also obvious: a relatively short tree lifespan, insufficient flavor complexity, and less refined mouthfeel.

For this reason, opinions on Catimor within the specialty coffee circle have always been divided. Fortunately, in recent years, cultivation management and post-processing technology have continued to advance, and Catimor's cleanliness has improved noticeably, and its market image has changed accordingly.

What exactly is Catimor coffee?

Front Street has learned that, similar to varieties highly praised in the specialty coffee circle such as Pacamara and SL28, Catimor was also developed in a laboratory, and its lineage is not romantic. One side of its maternal line is Caturra, which originated from a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety in Brazil; the other side is Hibrido de Timor (also known as Timor Hybrid or Tim Tim), which is the only known natural hybrid between Canephora (Robusta species) and Arabica, produced on the island of Timor in Southeast Asia in the early 1900s.

Because it carries Robusta genes, some enthusiasts believe that Catimor cannot be considered pure Arabica. But from the grower's perspective, cash crops pursue low cost and high output. However, as consumers' demands for flavor increase, more attention has gradually been paid to Catimor's cultivation and green bean processing stages.

Some coffee researchers have pointed out that if Catimor is planted in high-altitude areas with a mild climate and abundant rainfall, and the environment is kept clean during processing, the variety's inherent astringency and undesirable flavors can be effectively reduced.

Is Yunnan Catimor small-bean coffee good?

Many people first came to know Yunnan coffee through the Catimor variety. Although Yunnan has a hundred-year history of coffee cultivation, what was originally planted was not Catimor. In 1904, a French missionary brought the first coffee tree into Yunnan. Later, genetic testing confirmed that it was actually the Typica variety, but at the time it was not recorded under the name "Typica"; instead, based on the morphology of Arabica fruit, it was recorded as "small-bean coffee."

After that, for a period of time, in order to repay loans to the Soviet Union, Yunnan coffee farmers planted Typica coffee trees on a large scale. After the debt was repaid, domestic coffee consumption demand was extremely low, and many farmers cut down coffee trees and switched to other cash crops. It was not until the 1990s, when Nestle took notice of Yunnan's natural conditions and distributed Catimor coffee trees with stronger resistance to leaf rust to local farmers, that people began planting coffee again and supplied Nestle for a long time.

During the stage when the main supply was to Nestle, coffee farmers did not manage cultivation carefully enough, and the green bean processing and drying stages were also relatively rough, resulting in an unsatisfactory flavor performance for Yunnan coffee in the first two decades, with a poor direct drinking experience. As a result, external evaluations of Yunnan coffee were also relatively low.

As demand for coffee consumption grew, Yunnan's producers and sellers realized that only by promoting scientific cultivation and being more meticulous in the processing and drying stages could the flavor become cleaner. At the same time, in recent years, special processing techniques have become increasingly mature, and people began applying them to Yunnan Catimor coffee beans, using external intervention to correct undesirable flavors, and only then did consumers gradually accept Yunnan coffee.

Although scientific cultivation and improved post-processing have made Yunnan coffee much more palatable, FrontStreet Coffee believes that Catimor's inherently unpleasant flavors still exist and are merely masked by more scientific cultivation and processing methods. The meaning of specialty coffee lies in improving quality. If the variety and growing altitude have not changed, and quality improvement is claimed solely on the basis of post-processing methods, the argument is not sufficiently convincing, and this also goes against the original intent of specialty coffee.

Therefore, since 2013, FrontStreet Coffee has established its own estate and begun planting the Typica variety. Typica was chosen because, first, it is one of the oldest coffee varieties and has pure Arabica genes, and second, it naturally possesses an elegant, clean flavor and has long been universally recognized as a specialty coffee variety.

As of 2022, FrontStreet Yunnan Typica coffee beans are not produced in large quantities, only just over 600 kilograms, available for sale at the FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store and for production at FrontStreet Coffee's physical stores. But only by personally experiencing the entire process can shortcomings be discovered and continuous improvement be made. Because the change was made at the source of the variety, although "FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan Typica Coffee Beans" uses traditional sun-dried processing, the flavor is full and enticing, presenting notes of plum, berries, brown sugar, black tea, and nuts.

In addition to growing Yunnan Typica itself, FrontStreet Coffee also sells a Catimor coffee bean from the Baoshan producing region of Yunnan. As a member of FrontStreet Coffee's signature daily-drinking bean series, this Yunnan small-bean coffee allows consumers to experience the flavor of the Yunnan producing region at extremely high cost-effectiveness, expressed as Yunnan's distinctive plum-like acidity, brown sugar caramel sweetness, and melon-fruit aroma.

How should Yunnan coffee beans be brewed to taste good?

All coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee are shipped within five days after the roast date. Only fresh roasting can reveal coffee's best flavor. In order to preserve Yunnan coffee's sweet-and-sour quality and tea-like character, FrontStreet Coffee uses a medium roast.

Front Street recommends using a V60 dripper, with a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, medium grind (about the size of coarse granulated sugar / 75% passing through a Chinese No. 20 standard sieve), water temperature of 88-89 degrees, together with a three-stage pouring method.

In the first stage, pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 30 seconds; in the second stage, pour in a small stream in circles until 125g, and after the water level in the coffee bed drops by half, pour again, continuing to pour in a small stream in circles until 225g. After all dripping is complete, the total extraction time is about 2 minutes 10 seconds.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.