Arabica Variety Flavor and Lineage: How Coffee Types Differ

Coffee trees include more than 500 species and roughly 6,000 varieties, but only Arabica and Robusta are cultivated on a large commercial scale. Typica came from Ethiopia, Bourbon mutated after being transplanted to Yemen, and Geisha now draws attention in specialty coffee. Genetic makeup and growing conditions together decide the aroma and flavor each variety shows in the cup.

The state before roasting is called green coffee beans, and their flavors vary widely with variety and geography, much like grapes or strawberries. Liberica and Excelsa have far less commercial value. Cuppings of representative lots such as Blue Mountain, Mandheling, Kona, and Pink Bourbon show how far an Arabica variety can diverge by origin and terroir.

Coffee is no longer just a pick-me-up; it is a way of life. Yet, faced with shelves full of coffee beans, do you truly understand the varietal differences behind them? There are over 500 species of coffee trees worldwide, with Arabica and Robusta dominating commercial cultivation. From Ethiopia's native Typica to the Bourbon that mutated after being transplanted to Yemen, and to Geisha, which has swept the specialty coffee scene in recent years, each variety displays distinctly different aromas and flavors due to genetic and terroir differences. This article systematically outlines the lineage of coffee varieties, explains the flavor divide between Arabica and Robusta, and introduces Typica, Bourbon, and their many mutations and hybrids one by one. It also combines the flavor profiles of representative products under the Front Street brand—such as Blue Mountain, Mandheling, Kona, and Pink Bourbon—to help you build a complete cognitive map of coffee varieties.

In today's society, as the emphasis on lifestyle refinement and ritual grows stronger, coffee culture has permeated daily life. Green coffee beans, before grinding, are now recognized by more and more people. Whether instant products or specialty-grade coffee beans, their origin lies in the seeds inside the coffee tree's fruit, which are processed. The state before roasting is called green beans. There are many types of green beans, and due to differences in coffee varieties and the geographical environments where the trees grow, flavors vary widely—just like fruits such as grapes and strawberries, different varieties and origins yield vastly different tastes.

Coffee trees encompass over 500 species and 6,000 varieties, most of which are tropical trees and shrubs. Globally, there are four main types of coffee trees, but only two have genuine commercial value and are cultivated on a large scale. The coffee beans produced by these two varieties are also superior in quality to those of other coffee trees.

One is Arabica, to which world-renowned coffees such as Front Street Blue Mountain and Front Street Yemen Mocha almost all belong. The other is Robusta, native to the Congo in Africa. Different varieties of coffee beans have different flavors, and even coffee trees of the same variety develop unique flavors depending on conditions such as soil and climate. The other two are Liberica and Excelsa.

Biologically, coffee varieties can be classified into Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. Global consumption is mainly concentrated on Arabica and Robusta, while Liberica is often overlooked by the market due to scarce production or inferior quality.

Overall, Arabica is mostly used for single-origin or specialty coffee, while Robusta is commonly found in instant coffee production. Although it is customary to position Arabica as premium coffee and Robusta as inferior, this division is not absolute; it is more appropriate to distinguish by personal flavor preference. In terms of taste orientation, consumers in the United States and Japan tend to drink the lighter coffee brewed from Arabica, while Europe favors espresso made from a blend of Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica: High-quality coffee beans with excellent flavor and aroma

Arabica originated in Ethiopia and is the country's representative variety. It is also produced in South Africa, Africa, and various Asian countries, accounting for 70% to 75% of global coffee production. Arabica has weak resistance to pests and diseases, making it more suitable for cultivation in highlands, especially Arabica coffee beans grown above 1,500 meters, which are of the highest quality.

Only good quality obtained through such effort, with balanced flavor, body, and aroma, can be recognized as premium coffee beans, mainly used for single-origin or specialty coffee. The famous three major coffee beans: Front Street Hawaii Kona, Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain, and Front Street Yemen Mocha, all belong to the Arabica variety. Arabica green beans are dark, narrow, and elongated in appearance and are hailed as the highest-quality highland Arabica variety, characterized by rich taste layers of sweetness, acidity, and aroma.

Robusta: Strong acidity, intense mouthfeel

Robusta originated in the Congo, Africa, and accounts for 30% of global coffee production. The word "Robusta" carries the meaning of "robust." In fact, this coffee tree not only has strong resistance to pests and diseases but can survive in any soil, and can even grow in the wild. Therefore, it can be cultivated in high-temperature regions, grows quickly, is easy to cultivate, and has the advantage of low cost. It is mainly used as a blending component or the primary raw material for instant coffee. Some Robusta produced in India, Africa, Brazil, and other places has strong acidity, high caffeine content, and a relatively intense mouthfeel.

Recently, a variety called Arabusta, which is a crossbreed with Arabica and has superior taste and aroma, has also emerged.

Robusta has a plump, oval appearance, and the green beans have a light brown or yellowish-brown color with grassy green and yellow luster. Compared with Arabica, the taste is more aromatic but lighter, with less pronounced acidity and a heavier bitterness.

Coffee variety: Excelsa

Excelsa was only discovered in 1904 and is native to the Chari River basin in Africa. Its fruit is small, and per-plant yield is high—especially a drought-resistant variety. The product has a strong aroma, slightly bitter, and is rarely cultivated.

Coffee variety: Typica

Typica: The oldest native variety in Ethiopia, from which all Arabica is derived. Typica's top leaves are bronze-colored, and the beans are oval or slender and pointed. The flavor is elegant, but the plant is weak, has poor disease resistance, and low yield. Excellent estate beans such as Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain, Front Street Indonesia Sumatra Mandheling, and Front Street Hawaii Kona all belong to Typica. One of Typica's characteristics is its bronze-colored top leaves.

Typica green beans have slightly upturned ends and an oval shape. Viewed from the side, the bean body is flat and thin. Even if the altitude of the growing region differs, the thickness of the side of the green bean does not vary much.

[Genetic mutation—Typica variants]

Typica variant—Front Street Indonesia Sumatra Mandheling

The main coffee-producing regions in Indonesia include Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi, with "Mandheling" from Sumatra being the most famous.

Mandheling is also called "Sumatra coffee." In the northern part around Lake Tawar, it can be called Aceh coffee or Lake Tawar coffee; in the Lintong and Lake Toba areas, it can be called Mandheling.

Front Street Mandheling has a heavy taste, with rich body and a lush, lively dynamism. It is neither astringent nor sour, and its body and bitterness are fully expressed. The appearance of Front Street Mandheling coffee beans can be said to be the ugliest, but coffee enthusiasts say the uglier the Sumatra coffee beans, the better, richer, and smoother the taste.

Four types of Mandheling were collected, namely:

Front Street Gold Mandheling,

Front Street Horse-Face Mandheling (Tim Tim Mandheling longberry)

SumatraIsland,Mandehling Longberry,Timtim Belangele,

Front Street Lintong Mandheling G1 Lintong Mandheling Grade-1,

Front Street Emerald Mandheling (Aceh, Sumatra)

Green bean photos

Above: Front Street Gold Mandheling semi-washed green beans

Above: Front Street Horse-Face Mandheling full sun-dried green beans, a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta, called Timor, known in Indonesia as Tim Tim.

Tim Tim—

It is Timor Hybrid, which translates to the East Timor hybrid, a cross between Arabica and Robusta. The familiar Catimor was created by crossing it again.

Tim Tim----Front Street Horse-Face Mandheling longberry

Tim Tim is a bean from Indonesia. Because of its elongated shape, many people call it Horse-Face bean, and some call it Longberry Mandheling. In fact, Tim Tim is not a purebred bean but a natural hybrid of Arabica and Robusta coffee trees. This variety was discovered on the island of Timor in the 1940s and cultivated due to its natural disease resistance. In the Americas, this variety is called Hybrido de Timor, or Tim Tim for short; in Indonesia, it is also called Bor Bor.

Above: Front Street Lintong Mandheling G1. Although the grade is Grade-1, it still cannot change the high defect rate characteristic of Indonesian beans—about 8% defective beans

Above: Front Street Emerald Mandheling (Aceh, Sumatra), 19 mesh+, each green bean is plump and translucent, like an emerald

Typica variant—Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain

Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain: Popular worldwide, Blue Mountain—so rare that not even a single bean is easy to find—comes from the large Typica family.

The history of Jamaican coffee can be traced back to the 18th century, when the British introduced coffee tree species to Jamaica and planted coffee in the Blue Mountains. It is further divided into high-altitude Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Coffee, and Jamaica Coffee, with different grades determining different prices.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

(Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee), within which Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are each divided into four grades. From highest to lowest quality, they are: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB, where PB stands for Peaberry. According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters is called Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee;

Jamaica High Mountain Coffee

(Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans) Coffee produced below 666 meters in Jamaica's Blue Mountain region is called High Mountain Coffee, second only to Blue Mountain Coffee in quality and called by industry insiders the brother variety of Blue Mountain Coffee. Because Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee has extremely low production, if you want to taste Jamaican-style coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Coffee is your best choice.

Jamaica Coffee

(Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans). Coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain range is called Jamaica Coffee. Originally, Chinese coffee professionals generally had a mistaken understanding that only coffee grown in the Blue Mountain region above 1,800 meters could be called Blue Mountain Coffee. In fact, on the crown of the Blue Mountains above 1,800 meters, there is only one estate, Amber, owned by a person of Chinese descent surnamed Lyn (Lin), whose ancestral home is Guangdong, China. The estate has only 30 hectares of land and very low production. Blue Mountain Coffee is mainly distributed across five mountain areas: John Crow, St. John's Peak, Mossman's Peak, High Peak, and Blue Mountain Peak.

Typica variant—Front Street Hawaii Kona

Kona: Although planted at an altitude of only a few hundred meters, Kona from the Big Island of Hawaii, caressed by gentle sea breezes and supported by fertile volcanic soil, possesses incredibly clean acidity and sweetness. Compared with the higher-altitude Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, it is arguably even better.

Typica variant—Maragogype

Maragogype, a mutant of Typica, has very large, long fruit that is somewhat twisted. The plant has long internodes and large leaves. Yield is relatively low.

It was first discovered in 1870 in the Maragogype bean-producing area of Bahia state in northeastern Brazil. Its beans are at least three times larger than ordinary Arabica, hence the name. Maragogype has poor flavor at low altitudes but better flavor at high altitudes, with mild acidity and pleasant sweet aroma. (The left side of the image shows Maragogype)

Typica variant—Pacamara

Pacamara: A hybrid of Pacas and Maragogype, with beans second only to Maragogype in size. It is an excellent variety developed in El Salvador in the 1950s and has performed well in cup tests in recent years.

Typica variant—Kent

Kent: A Typica hybrid variety discovered in India, with high yield and strong disease resistance, but it has never achieved good results in cup tests.

Bourbon coffee: Bourbon variety

Bourbon: A variant that emerged after Typica was transplanted to Yemen in early times (pre-coffee history), with the bean shape changing from slender and pointed to round. In 1715, the French transplanted round-bodied Yemen Mocha beans to Bourbon Island off the east coast of Africa (renamed Reunion Island after the French Revolution), after which the name Bourbon was given. Bourbon round beans spread to Brazil and Central and South America in 1727; in 1732, the British transplanted Yemen Mocha to St. Helena Island (later the place of Napoleon's imprisonment), which was also Bourbon round beans. Bourbon is a frequent winner in American specialty coffee cup tests.

The Bourbon variety is a secondary species produced by mutation of Typica. Together with Typica, it is one of the oldest existing coffee varieties. Its green fruit turns bright red when ripe.

[Genetic mutation—Bourbon variants]

Bourbon coffee—Red Bourbon

For Red Bourbon, after the coffee tree flowers and fruits, the color of the coffee fruit changes from green > slightly yellow > slightly orange > ripe red > then darker, more mature red. Therefore, some people call it [Red Bourbon], which is actually what we generally call the Bourbon variety. Bourbon grown at high altitudes usually has better aroma, brighter acidity, and even a flavor reminiscent of red wine.

To put it simply, Bourbon is a coffee tree variety belonging to a branch of Arabica. It generally bears red fruit, called Red Bourbon. Besides that, there are also Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yield but better quality.

Bourbon coffee—Yellow Bourbon

Yellow Bourbon is a cross between Bourbon and other varieties. Because of its lower yield and relatively poor resistance to wind and rain, it has not been widely planted. However, when grown at high altitudes, it shows excellent flavor and has become more common in recent years. Yellow Bourbon, as the name suggests, has yellow fruit when ripe. It was first discovered in Brazil and is currently mainly grown there. It is generally believed to have arisen from a mutation after crossing red-fruited Bourbon with a yellow-fruited Typica variant called "Amerelo de Botocatu."

[Front Street Brazil Queen Estate semi-washed Yellow Bourbon] Taste characteristics: sweet, smooth fruit sweetness, distinct nutty flavor, balanced and gentle acidity, weak and clean bitterness, rich chocolate aroma and nutty flavor, bright and refreshing mouthfeel.

Bourbon coffee—Pink Bourbon

Pink Bourbon, as the name suggests, has romantic pink coffee cherries when ripe. It is a very rare new variety bred by crossing Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon. The reason Pink Bourbon is considered rare is mainly that maintaining this beautiful pink color is very, very difficult. Sometimes some orange Bourbon is harvested because the final color of the coffee fruit is determined by recessive genes in the pollen grains. Among the pollen grains selected for crossing, there are both yellow genes tending toward Yellow Bourbon and red genes tending toward Red Bourbon, and these are all recessive genes that easily interfere with each other.

At present, Pink Bourbon can be seen in Colombia and Guatemala. Taking this batch of Front Street Colombia Pink Bourbon coffee as an example, with about 1,800 coffee trees, each tree produces about 1.8 kg of fresh fruit per season. After pulping and mucilage removal, about 0.36 kg of coffee beans is obtained. In a normal season, the production of this batch of coffee is less than 650 kg.

[Front Street Colombia Pink Bourbon] Taste characteristics: sweet orange, sugarcane sweetness, pleasant juice-like mouthfeel, small tomato

Bourbon variant—Bourbon Pointu

Bourbon Pointu: Discovered on Bourbon Island in 1810, its bean shape changed from round to pointed, and its caffeine content is only half; however, it is low-yielding and weak, making it extremely precious (mostly cultivated in laboratories).

Bourbon Pointu has two other names, Laurina and Leroy, but neither is as well known as Bourbon Pointu. It is called Bourbon Pointu because the bean shape is narrow and long with pointed ends, whereas native Bourbon (sometimes called Round Bourbon) has a shorter bean body with a slightly oval outline.

Because of its good flavor and low caffeine content (less likely to affect sleep), Bourbon Pointu was loved by the world as early as the 18th century. Many famous people, such as King Louis XV of France and novelist Balzac, were its "fans." During the two hundred years from the 18th to the 19th century, Bourbon Pointu was planted on a large scale on Bourbon Island, reaching a peak annual output of 4,000 metric tons in 1800. But afterward, a series of disasters followed—hurricanes, fire ants, leaf rust—and planting gradually declined. Finally, in 1942, the last batch shipped back to France amounted to only a pitiful 200 kg, and after that, Bourbon Pointu disappeared without a trace, no longer even mentioned in official documents. After the 1950s, no one on Reunion Island planted coffee, and the island's agriculture shifted entirely to other crops such as sugarcane. Coffee and Reunion Island were no longer connected, and Bourbon Pointu was recognized by the coffee world as "already extinct."

Given that this bean disappeared for half a century and only reappeared eight years ago, Bourbon Pointu from its original origin, La Reunion Island, sells on the international market for more than 500 yuan per 100 grams. Only afterward did Colombia begin growing this bean, and only Camilo Merizalde, the source of beans for multiple WBC champions, dared to take on transplanting this variety. Therefore, this coffee bean, with global annual production of only a few tons, commands a very high price.

Flavor description in the archive: bright acidity, notes of blueberry and vanilla, velvety smoothness

Bourbon variant—SL28, SL34

Kenya's "SL28" and "SL34": Direct Bourbon descendants selected and cultivated in Kenya in the early 20th century by French and British missionaries and researchers. Over a century, they have adapted to Kenya's high-concentration phosphoric acid soil, giving rise to Kenya's characteristic acidic aroma spirits. Top Front Street Kenya coffees all come from these two varieties, but when transplanted elsewhere, they lose their flavor.

Kenyan coffee is graded into seven levels according to bean size, and into six levels from top to bottom according to taste. Kenya's best coffee grade is Peaberry (PB), followed by AA++, AA+, AA, AB, and so on in order. Premium coffee is bright and glossy, delicious, and slightly winey. In terms of taste, "Kenya AA" is especially well received.

Graded according to bean size:

Kenya's best coffee grade is Peaberry (PB), followed by AA, AB, and so on in order.

PB (PeaBerry) round bean: This is a grade for small round beans. It refers to a coffee fruit that develops only one bean rather than the usual two.

AA: This is a more common grade, with larger coffee beans, screen size above 18 mesh or 7.22 mm. These beans usually fetch the highest price.

AB: This grade combines A (screen size 16 mesh or 6.80 mm) and B (screen size 15 mesh or 6.20 mm); it accounts for about 30% of Kenya's annual coffee production.

Bourbon variant—Caturra

Caturra: A single-gene Bourbon mutation discovered in Brazil in the 1950s. Its yield capacity and disease resistance are better than Bourbon. The tree is shorter, making harvesting easier. Unfortunately, it encountered the same problem as Bourbon—bearing fruit one year and resting the next. Its flavor is comparable to or slightly inferior to Bourbon beans.

But it has stronger adaptability, can be planted at high density, does not need shade trees, and can thrive even under direct exposure to strong sun. Therefore, it also has a name—"Sun Coffee."

Caturra is suitable for low altitudes of 700 meters up to high altitudes of 1,700 meters, but the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, and the yield decreases accordingly. There is also a yellow Caturra variant in Central and South America, but its reputation is not as good as Yellow Bourbon.

Bourbon variant—Catuai

Catuai: Catuai is a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra, so to speak, a second-generation hybrid. It inherits Caturra's advantage of a low tree height and also compensates for Arabica's weakness of delicate fruit. The fruit holds firmly and does not easily fall even in strong winds. The greatest regret is that its overall flavor is slightly more monotonous than Caturra.

Catuai also has red-fruit and yellow-fruit types, with red fruit winning awards more often than yellow fruit. Catuai, Caturra, Mundo Novo, and Bourbon are together regarded as Brazil's four main coffee varieties.

Bourbon variant—Pacas

Pacas: A Bourbon variant discovered in El Salvador. In 1935, Salvadoran coffee farmer "Don Alberto Pacas" selected high-yielding San Ramon Bourbon plants and moved them to his farm for cultivation. In 1956, his coffee trees bore more fruit than trees of the same type. University of Florida professor "Dr. William Cogwill" determined that this was a genetic mutation of Bourbon and named it "Pacas."

Pacas has high yield and good quality and is quite popular in Central America. Currently, 68% of El Salvador's coffee is Bourbon varieties, of which Pacas accounts for 29%. It is similar to Brazil's Caturra and Costa Rica's Villa Sarchi. Today, Pacas already accounts for about 25% of El Salvador's coffee production. It has high yield and has always been popular. The coffee it produces has high sweetness, similar to Bourbon, but with brighter acidity than Bourbon.

Pacas seedling

Bourbon variant—Villa Sarchi

Villa Sarchi: A Bourbon variant first discovered in Costa Rica in the 1960s. In recent years, it has often appeared on lists of excellent cup tests and can be described as a dark horse with promising prospects. This is a rare variety bred through hybridization of Red Bourbon trees. It resists strong winds, prefers high-altitude environments, and possesses excellent acidity and a variety of layered fruit notes. It has high sweetness, with bright, delicate citrus acidity and lower-toned raisin and nut aromas, with considerable complexity and full balance.

It is also a dwarf Bourbon, discovered in the village of Sarchi in Costa Rica's western valley. It is suitable for high-altitude organic cultivation, with lively fruit acidity and obvious caramel notes.

Hybrid variant—Mundo Novo

Mundo Novo: A natural hybrid of Bourbon and Sumatra Typica, first discovered in Brazil. It has high yield and resistance to pests and diseases. It was widely planted in Brazil in the 1950s and hailed as the new hope of Brazil's coffee industry; however, the tree is taller and not easy to harvest.

Hybrid variant—Nicaragua Java

That is, the Java variety of Nicaragua, a longberry type that is now rare even in Java. It was first successfully planted in Nicaragua by Hacienda Limoncilo. The Java variety originates from the Typica lineage. Java's Typica once suffered a severe leaf rust outbreak, causing Java Typica to almost disappear. Hacienda Limoncilo accidentally obtained a bag of seeds. After sowing and raising seedlings, they brought the young plants to experts for identification and only then learned it was Java variety. In 2007, Hacienda Limoncilo entered this variety in the COE for the first time and won second place in that year's Nicaragua COE, with a bidding price even surpassing that year's champion.

Hybrid variant—Maracaturra

A hybrid developed in Guatemala from Maragogype and Caturra (Maragogype × Caturra). After winning the 2009 Nicaragua COE championship, it received even greater recognition. It combines Maragogype's rich fruitiness with Caturra's elegant acidity, with high body, full floral aroma, and high sweetness.

Arabica—Geisha

Geisha: A derivative variety belonging to the Typica family. It was exported from Geisha Mountain in southern Ethiopia in 1931 (Geisha sounds the same as the Japanese word for "geisha"). It remained obscure after passing through many countries, was transplanted to Panama in the 1960s, and only began winning frequently in cup tests in 2005.

| Geisha, also called Geisha coffee

Geisha is pronounced the same as the Japanese word for geisha, so it is also nicknamed Geisha coffee; because the tree is taller than ordinary coffee trees, it was originally planted in a small area within that estate and used as a windbreak.

| Geisha is a variety

First, the Geisha variety was discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia and later sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya. It was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936; and to Costa Rica in 1953.

| Red Label, Green Label, Blue Label

Only Geisha from Hacienda Esmeralda has the [Red Label, Green Label, Blue Label] distinctions:

Red Label (Special-Geisha): Represents Hacienda Esmeralda's top batches, all grown above 1,600 meters (some even above 1,900 meters), with cup scores all above 90;

Green Label (Private Collection-Geisha): Geisha from different plots within Esmeralda's various estates, grown at 1,600-1,800 meters;

Blue Label (Geisha 1500): Geisha from Esmeralda's various estates, grown above 1,500 meters;

| Geisha, unique floral and fruity aroma

Among the many coffees, floral aroma and the intense sweetness of tropical fruit are the consistent characteristics of Geisha.

Image source: aroma

Interspecific Hybrid of Arabica and Robusta

Hybrid variant—Timor

Timor: A natural hybrid variety discovered in East Timor, an island nation at the eastern end of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It has 44 chromosomes, closer to Arabica; however, its flavor is unremarkable. Timor has low acidity and lacks distinctiveness. In Taiwan, it is often used in blend beans to lower costs. But East Timor also has high-altitude washed pure Typica. Before buying, be sure to clarify whether it is a hybrid or pure washed Typica. The quality of the two differs greatly: the former is unremarkable, while the latter is stunning.

Hybrid variant—Catimor

Catimor: In 1959, the Portuguese crossed Brazil's Caturra with Timor to breed the second-generation hybrid Catimor, which has extremely strong disease resistance and yield capacity. However, its flavor is also relatively poor, and it is currently an important commercial bean variety. To improve Catimor's poor cup-test reputation, in recent years botanists in various countries have gone back and repeatedly intercrossed Arabica with Catimor, attempting to reduce its Robusta lineage.

Hybrid variant—Icatu

Icatu: A variety improved through multiple generations of hybridization in Brazil and once ranked in the top ten of Brazil's "Cup of Excellence." In the past, Arabusta, a cross of Arabica and Robusta, increased yield and disease resistance but consistently had poor coffee flavor. Scientists then crossed Arabusta with Arabica varieties such as Caturra, Mundo Novo, and Bourbon over multiple generations, gradually reducing the unpleasant flavors of Robusta and enhancing the aroma and richness of Arabica, thus giving rise to the excellent multi-generation hybrid variety—Icatu.

Hybrid variant—Ruiru 11

Ruiru 11: A hybrid variety developed in Kenya in 1985 that emphasizes yield over quality. It is a cross between Arabica and Robusta, and so far none has been considered specialty coffee; therefore, many suppliers specializing in fresh-roasted specialty coffee, such as Fresh, do not carry these types. However, many suppliers, even of imported famous coffees, mix this hybrid bean into blends to reduce costs. From the above genetic mutations (whether natural or scientific products), their flavors are greatly related to specific regional conditions.

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