What Separates These Two Types of Coffee Seeds?

Caturra and Catuai are two distinct arabica varieties that often appear side by side on South American coffee labels. Caturra is a natural Bourbon mutation found in Minas Gerais, Brazil, between 1915 and 1918, named for its short stature. Catuai is a cross of Mundo Novo and Yellow Caturra, bred for high yield and resistance to wind and rain.

Caturra's compact form allows denser planting, while Catuai was selected to hold yield under harsher weather. In the cup the two differ in structure and sweetness rather than in a simple quality ranking. A Honduras Sweet Orange Estate Catuai shows the variety's brewing behavior and flavor performance under a typical pour-over method.

Among the variety labels of South American specialty coffee, the similarly named pair Caturra and Catuai often appear together, sparking curiosity in many coffee lovers. What exactly is the relationship between the two? Caturra, as a natural mutation of Bourbon, changed the planting landscape of Central America with its compact stature and sun adaptability; Catuai, a cross between Mundo Novo and Yellow Caturra, combines high yield with resistance to wind and rain. This article systematically sorts out the differences and connections between the two, from variety origins and botanical characteristics to cup profile, and uses the Catuai from Honduras' Sweet Orange Estate as an example to showcase Front Street Coffee's brewing approach and flavor performance.

To learn more about specialty coffee, welcome to follow our WeChat public account: Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)

The coffee family has a great many varieties. If you often drink coffee beans from South America, you've probably noticed that many coffee variety columns list Caturra and Catuai. These two names sound quite similar—what exactly are they? In this article, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will talk about the origins and development of these two varieties.

What is the Caturra coffee variety? Caturra is a natural mutated descendant of the Bourbon variety. It was discovered between 1915 and 1918 on a plantation in Minas Gerais, Brazil. At the time, a group of genes in the Bourbon planted there had mutated, making the plant's stature shorter and giving it a dwarf-like form. The locals named this coffee, which appeared in a new biological form, "Caturra" in the Guarani language, meaning "small," and sometimes also called it "Nanico."

The São Paulo State Agricultural College (IAC) in Campinas, Brazil, began selection work on Caturra in 1937. Its selection method was mass selection, that is, selecting a group of individuals based on excellent traits, collecting the seeds of these plants to breed the next generation, and repeating this cycle. Interestingly, this variety was never officially released in Brazil, but instead became widespread in Central America early on.

The Caturra plant is compact, so a higher density can be arranged when planting. In addition, the secondary branches are closely spaced, so the same land area can bear more fruit, and unit yield rises substantially. The short stature also makes harvesting more convenient.

One of its most prominent advantages is that, unlike old varieties such as Typica and Bourbon, Caturra does not depend on shade trees and still grows vigorously under direct sunlight, so this type of coffee is also called "Sun Coffee." Caturra is suitable for planting at altitudes of 700 to 1700 meters, and its adaptability to the environment surpasses Bourbon. The higher the altitude, the better its flavor performance.

Like Bourbon, Caturra has a biennial cycle of yield fluctuation. It combines high-quality acidity and aroma, is bright overall, and its sweetness is also noteworthy.

What is the Catuai coffee variety? The name Catuai makes it obvious at first glance that it is closely related to Caturra. It is a variety developed by the São Paulo State Agricultural College (IAC) in Campinas, Brazil, through artificial hybridization of Mundo Novo and Yellow Caturra, originally coded "H-2077." Mundo Novo, in turn, is the product of a natural cross between Bourbon and Typica, first discovered in 1943 in Tietê, São Paulo, Brazil.

On the one hand, Catuai inherits Mundo Novo's characteristics of high yield, strong disease resistance, and good cup quality; on the other hand, it also carries Caturra's attributes of small stature, excellent acidity, and suitability for sun cultivation. Therefore, Catuai's disaster resistance is quite good, especially against wind and rain. Because the plant is relatively short, it can be planted at double density, and pest and disease control is easier. Catuai grows robustly and is relatively short, but it is susceptible to leaf rust.

Precisely because this variety performs so outstandingly, it was named Catuai, which means "very good" in the Guarani language. However, the variety originally called "H-2077" did not stand out in cupping; its strengths lay in disease resistance, insect resistance, yield, and adaptability to the growing environment.

The São Paulo State Agricultural College therefore adopted pedigree selection for "H-2077" (continuous generation selection of individual plants), and in 1972 it began to be widely promoted for planting in Brazil. Catuai's high-yield characteristics also attracted Central American countries to introduce it, though some studies found that its productivity seemed to decline after being transplanted to Central America.

Catuai performs well in cupping and is divided into red-fruit and yellow-fruit types, planted in various countries according to different characteristics. For example, Costa Rica introduced Yellow Catuai in 1985. A Costa Rica Musician Series Beethoven listed by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) is a coffee bean product made entirely of the Yellow Caturra variety. It has excellent acidity and a clean mouthfeel, along with a charming fruity aroma.

Why do Caturra and Catuai often appear in the same coffee? Research in Honduras and Costa Rica found (tested by the Honduran Coffee Institute IHCAFe, selecting two lines to begin planting) that no obvious productivity difference was observed between Caturra and Catuai. Coffee estates in Central America had originally planted Caturra to replace Bourbon, and then introduced Catuai for localized planting. Catuai itself contains Caturra's genes, and the biological habits of the two have gradually converged. If secondary classification were done again within the same planting area, it would instead drive up labor costs. Therefore, when we buy estate-level coffee beans from Latin America today, we often see words such as Caturra and Catuai in the variety description.

At present, Catuai is widely planted in Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras, and other Central American regions. For example, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) lists the Costa Rica Musician Series Bach and Mozart (Caturra, Catuai), the Catuai from Honduras' Sweet Orange Estate, Panama's Butterfly (70% Geisha, Caturra, Catuai), and so on.

How does Catuai taste? Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses the Catuai from Honduras' Sweet Orange Estate as a demonstration:

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Honduras Sweet Orange Estate Region: Marcala, Honduras Estate: Sweet Orange Estate Altitude: 1425 meters Variety: Catuai Processing method: Washed

To highlight this coffee's sweet orange aroma and pleasant acidity during brewing, a fine grind is used, close to the coarseness of fine granulated sugar, with a pass rate of 80% when tested with a national standard 850-micron sieve. A relatively high water temperature of 92°C is chosen; high temperature helps extract the coffee's aroma and sweetness. A V60 dripper is selected; this flushing-type dripper can better highlight a certain flavor, and this brewing session is precisely intended to emphasize an orange-like sweetness.

This brewing still uses 15 grams of coffee grounds, with a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:16. After grinding, a clear aroma of melon seeds and fresh berries can be smelled. After pouring in the coffee grounds, first pour 30 grams of water and let it bloom for 30 seconds, and you can observe the coffee absorbing water, expanding, and releasing gas.

In the second stage, pour 150 grams of water in a circular motion. The pouring after blooming is very important and basically determines the main flavor direction of this cup of coffee; pouring a 1:10 amount of water better highlights sweetness. After the coffee bed drops slightly, pour another 60 grams of water to raise the coffee bed to the height of the second pour. End extraction after all the coffee liquid has flowed into the server; the total time is 2 minutes.

Flavor: Brewed this way, you can smell the fragrance released by orange peel and the sweet aroma of sucrose. On the palate there is lemon-like acidity and orange-like sweetness, with a juice-like mouthfeel. The aftertaste carries the flavor of genmaicha.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

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