When buying coffee, what exactly does the word "Arabica" that frequently appears on packaging represent? It is not a country or a brand, but the most important species in the coffee world. This article will start from biological classification, clarify the differences between Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica, and then take a deeper look at the characteristics and flavor tendencies of mainstream varieties such as Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, SL28/SL34, Geisha, Ethiopian heirloom varieties, and Catimor. At the same time, combined with several representative beans from Front Street Coffee, it helps coffee lovers establish a clear understanding of the connection between varieties and flavors at the beginner stage of pour-over coffee.

Is Arabica a coffee brand from a certain country? Actually, it is the name of a coffee variety, and it belongs to an extremely common category of coffee variety names.

"100% Arabica coffee beans" "Carefully selected Arabica coffee beans"... When buying various coffee products in daily life, the word "Arabica" is often printed on the packaging. Therefore, many friends consult Front Street Coffee about Arabica coffee beans. In this article, Front Street will give everyone a brief understanding of what exactly Arabica coffee is.

If coffee is classified biologically, it can be divided into Arabica (small-bean coffee/Arabica), Robusta (medium-bean coffee/Robusta), and Liberica (large-bean coffee/Liberica). The most widely circulated worldwide are Arabica and Robusta. Because Liberica has scarce production or unsatisfactory quality, it is generally used only for variety research and development, and it is almost never seen sold separately on the market.

(Comparison of Arabica and Robusta)

Overall, Arabica is mostly seen in today's popular single-origin or specialty coffee sector, while Robusta is widely used in instant coffee production. This does not mean that Robusta is necessarily inferior to Arabica; it is just that, from the perspective of the main uses of these two varieties in the market, there is such a tendency.

Although Arabica can be regarded as premium coffee and Robusta as secondary, this division is not mandatory. It is actually more reasonable to distinguish them according to personally preferred taste. Not all Arabica beans are necessarily the best, and not all Robusta beans are necessarily bad～

What exactly is Arabica coffee?

Arabica coffee beans are not just the name of a coffee variety. More accurately, Arabica belongs to a coffee species group. Through natural mutation, natural hybridization, artificial hybridization, and cultivation, there are now more than one hundred coffee varieties within the Arabica species group.

But no matter which variety it is, coffees in the Arabica species group all originated in the Ethiopia region, and current production accounts for about 70% to 75% of the world's coffee. Front Street believes that the key reason Arabica coffee is so widely favored is that coffees in this species group have a more pleasant flavor performance than Robusta and Liberica.

Although coffees in the Arabica species group have excellent flavor, their shortcoming is that many varieties have relatively weak resistance to pests and diseases, so they are suitable for cultivation in high-altitude areas. Especially when the growing altitude reaches 1200m, the coffee flavor becomes richer and more delicate. However, at the same time, more manpower and material resources are needed for cultivation and processing to ensure better coffee bean quality, so high-altitude Arabica is higher in price than low-altitude Arabica.

What is specialty coffee?

Not all Arabica coffee beans can be considered specialty coffee. Specialty coffee was first proposed in English as "Specialty Coffee." If translated as "characteristic coffee" or "specialty product coffee," it refers to coffee beans cultivated under the unique microclimate and geographical conditions of a producing region that possess the flavor of that region.

In short, specialty coffee is coffee in which you can taste flavors representative of the producing region's characteristics. For example, Arabica beans from the Ethiopia region offer bright acidity, while Arabica beans from the Indonesia region offer a herbal, full-bodied taste.

There are so many branch varieties within the Arabica species group. What are the mainstream coffee varieties on the market?

Although there are many branch varieties within the Arabica species group, not many are actually widely used at present. They mainly include Ethiopian heirloom varieties Heirloom, Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, Catimor, Geisha, and SL28 and SL34.

Typica

Typica is one of the oldest Arabica coffee varieties in the world. The top leaves of the Typica coffee tree are bronze-colored, and the beans are oval or slender-pointed. The flavor is elegant and balanced, but the plant is relatively weak, has poor disease resistance, and produces little fruit. Basically, Typica has appeared in all areas where Arabica coffee can be grown. Many famous coffee beans, such as Jamaica Blue Mountain, Sumatra Mandheling, and Hawaii Kona, are all Typica.

Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Beans

Origin: Jamaica Blue Mountain Range

Estate: Clifton Estate

Altitude: 1310m

Variety: Typica

Processing method: Washed process

Brewing flavor: Dark chocolate, nuts, cream, balanced acidity, sweetness, and bitterness

Bourbon

Bourbon was first discovered in Brazil in 1930 and is currently mainly grown in Brazil. It is generally believed that it may have originated from a mutation after hybridization between the red-fruited Bourbon variety and a yellow-fruited Typica variant named "Amerelo de Botocatu" (discovered in São Paulo in 1871). Because its yield is relatively low and it is not very resistant to wind and rain, it has not been widely planted on a large scale. However, when grown in high-altitude areas, it presents excellent flavor and pronounced sweetness.

Front Street Brazil Queen Estate Coffee Beans

Region: Mogiana region, Brazil

Estate: Queen Estate

Altitude: 1400m - 1950m

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Processing method: Natural process Flavor: Nuts, creamy peanut, cane sugar, fermented fruit

Caturra

Caturra is a single-gene mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its productivity and disease resistance are better than Bourbon, and the tree is shorter, making harvesting easier. Unfortunately, like Bourbon, it has the periodic problem of fluctuating production every two years. However, its flavor is on par with Bourbon beans, and more importantly, it has extremely strong adaptability and does not need shade trees, so it is also called Sun Coffee. It can adapt to high-density planting, but requires more fertilizer, which increases cultivation costs.

Front Street Colombia Huila Coffee Beans

Region: Huila region, Colombia

Altitude: 1500 meters——1800 meters

Variety: Caturra

Processing method: Washed process

Brewing flavor: Nuts, dark chocolate, caramel, soft fruit acidity

Catuai

Catuai is a variety obtained through artificial hybridization between Caturra and Mundo Novo in Brazil in 1950. Catuai inherited Mundo Novo's attributes of high yield, strong disease resistance, and good cup performance, and also inherited Caturra's attributes of small size, high-quality acidity, and sun coffee. Because the plant is shorter, double density can be used when planting. The flavor performance of Catuai is soft acidity, a clean mouthfeel, and rich fruity aroma.

Sl28 & SL34

SL28 is one of the famous coffee varieties in Africa. SL28 was selected and researched by the former Scott Agricultural Laboratories (now the National Agricultural Laboratories). This variety has good drought resistance and can tolerate drought, pests, and diseases. It is suitable for planting in medium- and high-altitude areas, but is susceptible to common diseases.

SL34 was also selected by the former Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the late 1930s. At that time, researchers selected trees prefixed with SL in plantations and studied their yield, quality, drought resistance, and disease resistance.

SL28 and SL34 have similar flavors, but SL34 has richer acidity and a more intense mouthfeel. However, both varieties have a unique Kenyan flavor, with abundant fruit acidity and a balanced mouthfeel.

Front Street Kenya Little Tomato Coffee Beans

Region: Asali Processing Plant, Thika region, Kenya

Altitude: 1550 meters——1750 meters

Variety: SL28, SL34

Processing method: K72 washed process

Flavor description: Dark plum, cherry tomato, snow pear, yellow sugar, plum

Geisha

Geisha is a genetic mutation of Typica, originating from the Geisha forest in Ethiopia. After decades of artificial cultivation, it was introduced to Panama in the 1960s, discovered and independently planted by Hacienda La Esmeralda, and became famous after winning the BOP in 2004, setting multiple auction price records. It has a jasmine-like fragrance, citrus sweetness, and rich floral and fruity notes with a tea-like quality.

Front Street Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Region: Boquete, Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda

Plot: Jaramillo Mario

Altitude: 1700m

Variety: Geisha

Processing method: Natural process

Flavor description: Citrus, complex fruit, rose tea, honey

Ethiopian Heirloom

The term "Heirloom" in Ethiopia refers to "the country's own coffee varieties." Many local smallholder coffee farmers in Ethiopia grow multiple varieties at the same time in their own backyards, and of course some coffee farmers will separately select better varieties for cultivation and sale. Because most local coffee is in a wild or semi-wild state with a huge population, it is impossible for every household to carefully distinguish varieties.

Therefore, most coffee varieties are mixed-planted and mixed-harvested, so many coffee beans from the Ethiopia region are mixed together. Because specialty coffee needs to list the coffee variety, Ethiopia named these natural mixed varieties Heirloom. Because it is a mix of multiple varieties, the coffee beans of Ethiopian heirloom varieties look uneven in size, while showing bright citrus acidity and green tea-like sweetness.

Front Street Yirgacheffe Gedeb Cooperative Coffee Beans

Region: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia

Cooperative: Gedeb Cooperative

Altitude: 2000m - 2100m

Variety: Local heirloom varieties

Processing method: Washed

Flavor: Citrus, black tea, floral, cream, caramel, almond

Catimor

In the 1970s and 1980s, coffee leaf rust broke out in many countries in Central and South America, seriously dragging down coffee production. In response to the leaf rust problem, a Portuguese coffee research center, CIFC, crossed Timor, which carries Robusta genes, with the Bourbon variant Caturra in 1959 to cultivate the disease-resistant and high-yield Catimor.

Because it carries Robusta genes, Catimor's flavor performance is not as outstanding as other common Arabica varieties, but it still has plum-like acidity and nutty aroma, while also having low cultivation costs and large harvests. In 1952, scientific and technical personnel from the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences distributed 80kg of coffee seeds to farmers in Lujiangba, Baoshan for trial planting, and found that the adaptability was good and the quality was excellent. Yunnan coffee cultivation thus developed and expanded again. By 1988, Nestlé established a new joint venture in China, promoted coffee planting projects, and introduced the high-yield Catimor variety, which greatly promoted large-scale coffee cultivation in Yunnan. Therefore, Catimor is widely planted in the Yunnan region of China.

Front Street Yunnan Baoshan Small-Bean Coffee Beans

Region: Lujiangba, Baoshan, Yunnan, China

Altitude: 1450-1550m

Variety: Catimor

Processing method: Red cherry natural process

Flavor description: Nuts, chocolate, spices, caramel, red berries, plum

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