How do you tell arabica coffee varieties apart by bean shape?

Different arabica varieties can often be told apart by bean appearance. Typica beans are slender yet plump, Bourbon beans are short and round with a thick body, Geisha beans taper at both ends and bulge in the middle, Caturra shows a curved tail end, and Catuai is oval and flat. Combining shape with cupping flavor gives a preliminary read on the variety.

Bean shape, thickness and tail-end form are the practical starting points, but they only support a preliminary judgment. SL28 and SL34 trace back to the Bourbon and Typica genetic groups, while Ethiopian Heirloom varies widely in size because it covers so many distinct varieties, so appearance alone rarely settles the question.

Different coffee varieties have their own distinctive bean appearances. In this article, Front Street Coffee starts with bean shape to help you identify common Arabica varieties and understand each one's unique flavor profile. Typica beans are slender and plump, Bourbon is round and thick, Geisha is pointed at both ends and bulging in the middle, Caturra has a curved tail end, Catuai is oval and flat, SL28 and SL34 come from the Bourbon and Typica genetic groups respectively, and Ethiopian Heirloom varies in size due to its vast number of varieties. By observing bean shape, bean thickness, and tail-end form, combined with cupping flavor performance, you can make a preliminary judgment about which variety the coffee beans in front of you belong to.

Introduction

Every coffee variety has its own unique appearance characteristics. This time, Front Street Coffee will guide you through the appearance of coffee beans to learn how to identify different varieties and what flavor directions they each present.~

| Typica

Typica originated in Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan and is one of the oldest varieties in the Arabica family. Its young leaves at the top of the plant are a reddish-copper color, which earned it the nickname "red-top coffee." Most Arabica varieties we see today can basically be traced back to Typica. Typica beans are oval in shape, with a relatively slender yet plump body. In cupping, it is known for a clean mouthfeel and elegant, refined flavors.

| Bourbon

Bourbon arose from a natural mutation of Typica, and its most notable change in bean appearance is from a long body to a round body. This variety was first planted on Réunion Island in Brazil, which was called Île Bourbon (le Bourbon) before 1789, and the variety name comes from this. Bourbon beans are short and round, with a thick body, smooth mouthfeel, and prominent sweetness.

| Geisha

Geisha originates from the Geisha forest in Ethiopia. Compared with other varieties, Geisha's most prominent characteristic is extremely low yield; its plant has long internode spacing, and it flowers and bears fruit relatively sparsely. Geisha beans are slender, tapering at both ends, and plump and full in the middle.

To allow Geisha to display delicate floral aromas and citrus notes, the growing area's temperature cannot be too low to avoid frost, the altitude must be high enough, and the temperature difference between day and night must be large enough so that the Geisha tree has sufficient time to accumulate nutrients.

| Caturra

Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon. Its branches have compact internodes, and its fruit is slightly smaller than Bourbon's, so it can bear more fruit in the same area, significantly increasing overall yield. Caturra beans are round with some length, the tail end of the bean is slightly curved, and the cup is bright and clean with quite obvious sweetness.

| Catuai

Catuai is a variety developed by artificial hybridization between Caturra and Mundo Novo. On the one hand, it inherits Mundo Novo's characteristics of high yield, strong disease resistance, and excellent cupping performance; on the other hand, it also retains Caturra's advantages of small plant size, high-quality acidity, and suitability for natural processing. Because the plant is short, it can be planted at double density. Catuai beans are oval and flat, with a relatively slender tail end, soft acidity, a clean mouthfeel, and rich fruit aromas.

| SL28 & SL34

Between 1935 and 1939, coffee varieties selected and bred by Scott Laboratories all used the prefix SL. The laboratory selected 42 plants from different origins and studied their yield, quality, drought resistance, and disease resistance. After numbering and screening them one by one, SL-28 and SL-34 were ultimately retained.

(SL28)

SL28 belongs to the Bourbon genetic group, with a short, round bean shape and a thick body; its acidity is vibrant and its sweetness is clear. SL34 comes from the Typica genetic group, with an oval bean shape; viewed from the side, it is less plump than Typica and appears somewhat flat. Its acidity and sweetness are balanced and full, with a caramel-like aftertaste.

(SL34)

| Ethiopian Heirloom

Most varieties in Ethiopia are referred to by this name. The reason is that there are simply too many local varieties, making it a natural gene pool for Arabica—on the one hand, the categories are complex and extremely difficult to identify and classify; on the other hand, out of conservation considerations, the Ethiopian government is unwilling to disclose specific variety information, so they are collectively called Ethiopian Heirloom.

Because the varieties are so diverse, local cultivation and harvesting are often mixed, so the bean sizes of Ethiopian Heirloom are not uniform. These coffee beans mostly present floral and fruity aromas with citrus acidity.

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