The world of coffee is far richer than we imagine. From the two main commercial species, Arabica and Robusta, to classic derivatives such as Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, and Maragogype, and on to Geisha, which has been highly sought after in recent years, every variety carries a unique story of terroir and genetics. This article systematically sorts out the classification system of coffee varieties, explains in detail the origin, characteristics, and flavor performance of each variety, and includes tasting recommendations from Front Street Coffee to help coffee lovers find their own cup among the dazzling array of bean lists.

Under the Coffea genus, Arabica and Robusta are the two main cultivated species, and famous names we know well, such as Blue Mountain and Mocha, almost all come from Arabica. Robusta originated in the Congo region of Africa. It should be noted that the flavor of coffee is not determined by variety alone—even within the same variety, different soil conditions and climates at the growing site will ultimately produce different flavors. In addition, there are two less frequently mentioned species, Liberica and Excelsa.

Arabica: relatively high price, smooth taste, low caffeine content

Coffee advertisements often tout "100% Arabica." In terms of price, Arabica beans usually sell for twice as much as Robusta. In terms of composition, Arabica's caffeine content is only 0.9% to 1.2%, while its fat content is 60% higher than Robusta's, and its sugar content is also twice that of Robusta. These factors combine to make Arabica taste sweeter, with a softer mouthfeel and a hint of plum-like acidity. At the same time, Arabica's chlorogenic acid content is relatively low (5.5% to 8%), and chlorogenic acid is not only an antioxidant substance but also a key defense line for coffee trees against pests. Therefore, Arabica has weaker resistance to pests and diseases and is more susceptible to climate fluctuations. It usually needs to be planted at higher altitudes, has lower fruit yields and slower ripening, and its beans are oval in shape. Brazil is currently the largest producer of Arabica, while Colombia grows only Arabica.

Robusta: affordable price, bitter and intense taste, high caffeine content. By contrast, Robusta's caffeine content reaches 1.6% to 2.4%, while its fat and sugar content are both low, so its bitterness is more prominent and its mouthfeel more aggressive; some even bluntly describe it as having a rubbery aroma. Robusta's chlorogenic acid content is higher (7% to 10%), and it has strong tolerance to pests and climate. It is generally grown at lower altitudes, produces large yields quickly, and its beans are rounder.

Vietnam is currently the largest grower of Robusta, and Africa and India also produce it.

From a biological classification perspective, coffee varieties can be divided into three major categories: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. The mainstream of global consumption is Arabica and Robusta, while Liberica is often overlooked because of its scarce production or unsatisfactory quality.

Generally speaking, Arabica is mostly used for single-origin or specialty coffee, while Robusta is commonly found in the production of instant coffee. Although Arabica is customarily regarded as premium beans and Robusta as lower-grade beans, this division is not absolute, and choosing according to personal taste preferences is more reasonable. In terms of consumption habits, the United States and Japan prefer lighter coffee brewed from Arabica, while Europe favors espresso made from a blend of Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica: premium coffee beans with excellent flavor and aroma

Arabica originated in Ethiopia and is also grown in South Africa, Africa, and many Asian countries, accounting for 70% to 75% of global coffee production. Because Arabica has poor resistance to pests and diseases, highland environments are more suitable for cultivation, especially Arabica produced above 1,500 meters, which is of the best quality.

Only good quality obtained through careful cultivation, with balanced flavor and aroma, can be recognized as premium coffee beans, mainly used for single-origin coffee or specialty coffee. Three famous coffee beans—Hawaiian Kona, Jamaican Blue Mountain, and Yemeni Mocha—all belong to Arabica. Arabica green beans are dark, narrow, and long in appearance. Highland-grown Arabica is praised as the highest quality, characterized by rich layers of sweetness, acidity, and aroma.

Robusta: strong acidity, intense mouthfeel

Recommended tasting: Front Street Classic Espresso Blend

Robusta originated in the Congo in Africa and accounts for 30% of global coffee production. The word "Robusta" carries the meaning of "tough." This coffee tree not only has strong resistance to pests and diseases and can survive in any soil, but can even grow in the wild. Therefore, it is suitable for cultivation in high-temperature regions, grows quickly, is easy to manage, and is relatively inexpensive, mainly used as a raw material for blended beans or instant coffee. Some Robusta produced in India, Africa, Brazil, and elsewhere has strong acidity, high caffeine content, and an intense mouthfeel.

In recent years, a hybrid variety with Arabica called Arabusta has also appeared, with even better flavor and aroma.

Robusta has a plump oval appearance, and its green beans are light brown or yellowish brown with grassy green and yellow luster. Compared with Arabica, Robusta has a stronger but flatter aroma, less noticeable acidity, and heavier bitterness.

Coffee variety Excelsa

Excelsa was not discovered until 1904. It originated in the Chari River basin of Africa. Its fruit is small, its yield per plant is high, and it is especially known for its drought resistance. Its flavor is intense, slightly bitter, and it is cultivated in relatively small amounts.

Coffee variety Typica

Recommended tasting: Front Street 2013 Yunnan Typica

Typica: This is Ethiopia's oldest native variety, and all Arabica originates from Typica. Typica's top leaves are bronze-colored, and its beans are oval or slender and pointed; its flavor is elegant, but the plant is relatively weak, has poor disease resistance, and produces low yields. Excellent estate beans such as Jamaican Blue Mountain, Sumatra Mandheling, and Hawaiian Kona all belong to Typica. Bronze-colored top leaves are one of the important characteristics for identifying Typica.

Typica green beans are slightly upturned at both ends, oval in shape, and appear flat from the side. Even when grown at different altitudes, the thickness difference on the side of the green beans is not very great.

TimTim

Recommended tasting: Front Street Indonesian Mandheling

That is, Timor Hybrid, translated into Chinese as East Timor hybrid, a hybrid variety of Arabica and Robusta. The well-known Catimor was developed by crossing it again on this basis.

Tim Tim—horse-face Mandheling longberry

Tim Tim is a bean variety from Indonesia. Because of its slender shape, many people call it horse-face bean, and some also call it long-strip Mandheling. In fact, Tim Tim is not a pure variety but a natural hybrid of Arabica and Robusta. It was discovered on Timor Island in the 1940s and began to be cultivated because of its natural disease resistance. In the Americas, this variety is called Hybrido de Timor, abbreviated as Tim Tim, while in Indonesia it is also called Bor Bor.

Typica variant Blue Mountain

Recommended tasting: Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1

Blue Mountain: The world-famous, hard-to-find Blue Mountain comes from the large Typica family.

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

Within Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are each further divided into four grades. From highest to lowest quality, they are: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB, with PB meaning peaberry. According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters in elevation can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.

Typica variant Hawaiian Kona

Kona: Although grown at an elevation of only a few hundred meters, Kona from the Big Island of Hawaii is bathed in gentle sea breezes and, together with fertile volcanic rock soil, has an extremely clean acidity and sweetness. Compared with the higher-altitude Blue Mountain, it can be said to be even better.

Typica variant Maragogype

Maragogype is a mutant of Typica. Its fruit is large and long, slightly twisted, and the plant has long internodes and large leaves. Its 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 performs poorly in flavor at low altitudes, but at high-altitude production areas its flavor is better, 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. Its beans are large, second only to Maragogype. It is an excellent variety developed in El Salvador in the 1950s, and its cupping results in recent years have been quite impressive.

Typica variant Kent

Kent: A Typica hybrid variety discovered in India. It has high yield and strong disease resistance, but its cupping results have never been particularly outstanding.

Bourbon coffee Bourbon variety

Bourbon: A variant produced after early Typica was transplanted to Yemen, with the bean shape changing from slender and pointed to round. In 1715, the French transplanted the round-bean Yemen Mocha to Bourbon Island off the east coast of Africa (renamed Reunion Island after the French Revolution), and only afterward was it named Bourbon. The round Bourbon bean was introduced to Brazil and Central and South America in 1727. In 1732, the British also transplanted Yemen Mocha to Saint Helena Island (later the place where Napoleon was imprisoned), which also belonged to the round Bourbon bean. Bourbon is a frequent winner in cupping among specialty coffees in the Americas.

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

[Gene mutation variety—Bourbon variants]

Recommended tasting: Front Street Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon

Bourbon coffee Red Bourbon

After the Red Bourbon coffee tree flowers and bears fruit, the color change process of the fruit is: green > slightly yellow > slightly orange > mature red > riper dark red. Therefore, some people also call it the Red Bourbon variety. In fact, Red Bourbon is what we usually call the Bourbon variety. Bourbon grown at high altitude usually has a better aroma, brighter acidity, and even a flavor reminiscent of red wine.

Simply put, Bourbon is a branch under the Arabica species. It generally bears red fruit, called Red Bourbon. There are also Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yield but better quality.

Bourbon coffee Yellow Bourbon

Recommended tasting: Front Street Brazil Queen's Estate

Yellow Bourbon is a hybrid of the Bourbon variety and other varieties. Because of its lower yield and poor resistance to wind and rain, it has not been widely planted. However, when grown in high-altitude areas, its flavor performance is excellent, and it 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 that it may have originated from a mutation after crossing red-fruited Bourbon with a yellow-fruited Typica variant called "Amerelo de Botocatu."

Taste characteristics: sweet fruit sweetness, obvious nutty flavor, balanced and smooth acidity, weak and clean bitterness, with rich chocolate aroma and nutty flavor, and a bright, refreshing mouthfeel.

Bourbon coffee Pink Bourbon

Pink Bourbon, as the name suggests, has romantic pink coffee cherries when ripe. This is a very rare new variety, developed by crossing Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon. Pink Bourbon is rare mainly because maintaining this beautiful pink color is very difficult, and sometimes some orange Bourbon is harvested. This is because the final color of the coffee fruit is determined by recessive genes in the pollen grains. Among the selected hybrid pollen grains, there are both yellow genes tending toward Yellow Bourbon and red genes tending toward Red Bourbon. These are all recessive genes and are highly prone to interfering with each other.

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

Taste characteristics: sweet orange, sugarcane sweetness, pleasant juicy feel, cherry tomato

Bourbon variant Bourbon Pointu

Bourbon Pointu: Discovered on Bourbon Island in 1810. Its beans changed from round to pointed, and its caffeine content is only half; however, its yield is low and the plant is weak, making it extremely precious (mostly cultivated in laboratories).

Bourbon Pointu also has two other names, Laurina and Leroy, but neither is as well known as Bourbon Pointu. It is called Bourbon Pointu because its bean shape is narrow and long with pointed ends, while the original Bourbon (sometimes called round Bourbon) has shorter beans and a somewhat oval outline.

Because of its good flavor and low caffeine content (it does not affect sleep), Bourbon Pointu was already highly favored as early as the 18th century, and many famous people were once its fans, such as King Louis XV of France and the novelist Balzac. During the two hundred years from the 18th to the 19th century, Bourbon Pointu was once widely planted on Bourbon Island, and in 1800 it even reached a peak annual production of 4,000 metric tons. But afterward, a series of disasters such as hurricanes, fire ants, and leaf rust followed one after another, and cultivation gradually declined. Finally, in 1942, the last shipment of Bourbon Pointu returned to France amounted to only a pitiful 200 kilograms. After that, Bourbon Pointu disappeared completely, and even official documents no longer mentioned it. After the 1950s, no one on Reunion Island cultivated coffee anymore, and the island's agriculture shifted entirely to sugarcane and other crops. Coffee no longer had any connection with Reunion Island, and Bourbon Pointu was widely recognized in the coffee world as "already extinct."

This bean disappeared for half a century and only reappeared eight years ago, causing the price of Bourbon Pointu from its place of origin, La Reunion Island, to exceed 500 yuan per 100 grams on the international market. After that, Colombia also began growing this bean, and only Camilo Merizalde, the source of beans for multiple WBC champions, dared to take on its transplantation. 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 variants SL28, SL34

Recommended tasting: Front Street Kenya Cherry Tomato

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

Kenyan coffee is divided into seven grades according to bean size, and into six flavor grade specifications from top to bottom. Kenya's best coffee grade is Peaberry (PB), followed by AA++, AA+, AA, AB, and so on. Premium coffee has a bright luster, is delicious and palatable, and carries a slight vinous aroma. In terms of flavor, "Kenya AA" is especially highly praised.

Grading according to bean size:

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

PB (Peaberry): A grade for small round beans. It refers to coffee cherries that develop only one seed rather than the usual two.

AA: A relatively common grade. The coffee beans are larger in size, with a screen size above 18 mesh or 7.22 mm. These beans usually command 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

Recommended tasting: Front Street Colombia Huila

Caturra: A single-gene Bourbon variant discovered in Brazil in the 1950s. Its yielding ability and disease resistance are both better than Bourbon's, and the tree is shorter, making harvesting easier. Unfortunately, it encountered the same problem as Bourbon—bearing well one year and resting the next—and its flavor is comparable to or slightly inferior to Bourbon beans. However, it has stronger adaptability, can be planted at high density, does not need shade trees, and can thrive under direct exposure to the sun, so it is also called 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 relatively. 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

Recommended tasting: Front Street Panama Elida Estate Catuai

Catuai: Catuai is a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra, so to speak a second-generation hybrid. It inherited Caturra's advantage of a low tree height and also made up for Arabica's weakness of fragile fruit. The fruit holds firmly and is not easy to drop when strong winds blow. Its greatest regret is that its overall flavor is slightly more monotonous than Caturra's.

Catuai also has red-fruit and yellow-fruit types, and the red-fruit type wins awards more often than the yellow-fruit type. Catuai, Caturra, Mundo Novo, and Bourbon are together listed 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 produced more fruit than coffee trees of the same type. Dr. William Cogwill, a professor at the University of Florida, 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. At present, 68% of El Salvador's coffee is Bourbon varieties, and Pacas accounts for 29%. It is similar to Brazil's Caturra and Costa Rica's Villa Sarchi. Today Pacas accounts for about 25% of El Salvador's coffee production. It has high yield and has always been very popular. The coffee it produces has high sweetness, similar to Bourbon, but with brighter acidity than Bourbon.

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 excellent cupping lists, making it a dark horse with promising prospects. This is a rare variety developed through hybridization of Red Bourbon trees. It resists strong winds, prefers high-altitude environments, and has excellent acidity and a variety of bright fruit notes, high sweetness, bright and delicate citrus acidity along with deeper raisin and nut aromas, high complexity, and a full sense of 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 was hailed as the new hope of Brazil's coffee industry; however, the tree is relatively tall and not easy to harvest.

Hybrid variant Nicaragua Java

That is, the Java variety from Nicaragua, a long-bean variety that is now rarely seen even in Java. It was first successfully sown in Nicaragua by Limoncillo Estate. The Java variety originates from the Typica lineage. Java's Typica once suffered a severe outbreak of leaf rust, causing Java's Typica to almost disappear. Limoncillo Estate unexpectedly obtained a bag of seeds. After sowing and raising seedlings, they brought the young plants to experts for identification and only then learned that they were Java variety. In 2007, Limoncillo 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 of Maragogype and Caturra developed in Guatemala (Maragogype × Caturra). After winning the Nicaragua COE championship in 2009, it received even greater recognition. It combines Maragogype's rich fruitiness with Caturra's elegant acidity, has high body, full floral aroma, and high sweetness.

Arabica species Geisha

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

| Geisha, also called Geisha

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 was 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 La Esmeralda has the [red label, green label, blue label] distinction:

Red label (Special-Geisha): The collection of Hacienda La Esmeralda's top lots, all grown at altitudes above 1,600 meters (even above 1,900 meters), and all with cupping scores above 90;

Green label (Private Collection-Geisha): Geisha from different plots within Hacienda La Esmeralda's estates, grown at altitudes of 1,600-1,800 meters;

Blue label (Geisha1500): Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda's estates, grown at altitudes 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

Arabica and Robusta bean hybrid (Interspecific Hybrid)

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 and is closer to Arabica; however, its flavor is plain and unremarkable. Timor has low acidity and lacks distinctive features. Taiwan often uses it in blend beans to lower costs. But East Timor also has high-altitude pure Typica that is washed. Before buying, be sure to clarify whether it is a hybrid or washed pure Typica. The quality of the two differs greatly: the former is plain and unremarkable, while the latter is stunning.

Hybrid variant Catimor

Catimor: In 1959, the Portuguese crossed Brazil's Caturra with Timor and developed the second-generation hybrid Catimor, which had extremely strong disease resistance and yielding ability. But its flavor is also relatively poor, and it is currently an important commercial bean variety. In order to improve Catimor's poor reputation in cupping, in recent years botanists in various countries have gone back and crossed Arabica with Catimor in multiple generations, attempting to reduce its Robusta lineage.

Hybrid variant Icatu

Icatu: A variety improved through multiple generations of hybridization in Brazil, and it once entered the top ten of Brazil's Cup of Excellence. In the past, Arabusta, a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta, although it increased yield and disease resistance, always 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 beans and enhancing the richness of Arabica beans, 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 emphasized yield over quality. Varieties produced by crossing Arabica and Robusta have so far not 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 some importing famous coffee brands, mix this hybrid bean into blends to reduce costs. From the above gene mutation varieties (whether natural or the product of research), it can be seen that their flavors are greatly related to specific regional conditions.

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