Catuai Coffee Variety Introduction | Catuai Coffee Taste and Flavor Description

What is the Catuai Coffee Variety?

Catuai, judging by its name alone, clearly has a strong connection with Caturra. It is an artificially cultivated hybrid variety developed by the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC) in São Paulo State, Brazil, using Mundo Novo and Yellow Caturra. Initially, it was called "H-2077." Mundo Novo is the result of natural hybridization between Bourbon and Typica, first discovered in 1943 in Itimirim, São Paulo, Brazil.

Catuai inherits Mundo Novo's characteristics of high yield, strong disease resistance, and excellent cup quality, while also possessing Caturra's attributes of compact plant size, superior acidity, and sun-dried coffee properties. Therefore, Catuai has good resistance to natural disasters, particularly wind and rain. Due to its smaller plant size, it can be planted at double density, and its compact height makes it relatively easier to treat for pests and diseases. Catuai grows vigorously and has low height but is susceptible to leaf rust.

Because this coffee variety is so outstanding, it was named Catuai, which means "very good" in Guaraní language. However, the variety initially called "H-2077" did not perform very well in cupping, though it excelled in disease resistance, pest resistance, yield, and environmental adaptability.

Therefore, the São Paulo State Agricultural Institute subjected "H-2077" to pedigree selection (continuous generational selection of individual plants), and it was widely promoted and planted in Brazil in 1972. Catuai's high yield also attracted Central American countries to introduce it for cultivation. However, research found that Catuai transplanted to Central America seemed to have decreased productivity.

Catuai performs well in cupping, and it also has red and yellow fruit varieties, planted in different countries according to their characteristics. For example, Costa Rica introduced the yellow fruit variety of Catuai in 1985. For instance, the Costa Rica Musician Series Beethoven offered by FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee bean product composed entirely of the Yellow Catuai variety. It has excellent acidity and a clean taste, importantly possessing fruity aromatics.

Why Do Caturra and Catuai Often Appear Together on a Single Coffee?

Research conducted in Honduras and Costa Rica (tested by the Honduran Coffee Institute, IHCAF, which selected two strains to begin cultivation) observed no significant productivity differences between Caturra and Catuai. Coffee estates in Central America were already growing Caturra as a replacement for Bourbon coffee, and when Catuai was introduced for localized cultivation, Catuai already contained Caturra genes, and their biological habits gradually became similar. This led to increased labor costs if secondary classification was performed within a single coffee growing area. Therefore, when we purchase estate-level coffee beans from Latin America today, the varieties will often be described as including Caturra, Catuai, and others.

Today, Catuai is widely grown in Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras, and other Central American regions. Examples include the Costa Rica Musician Series Baha and Mozart (Caturra, Catuai) offered by FrontStreet Coffee, natural processed Catuai from Panama's Elida Estate, Catuai from Honduras's Dulce Naranjo Estate, and Panama's Flower Butterfly (70% Geisha, Caturra, Catuai), among others.

What Does Catuai Taste Like?

FrontStreet Coffee demonstrates with the natural processed Catuai from Elida Estate:

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Elida Estate Catuai

Region: Panama Boquete

Estate: Elida Estate

Altitude: 1850 meters

Variety: Catuai

Processing: Natural Process

As a century-old prestigious estate, Elida Estate was established in 1918 in Kentucky, USA, when Robert Lamastus founded Elida Estate near Barú Volcano in Boquete, Panama. The estate's name is something that everyone emphasizes when introducing Elida Estate, because Mr. Robert named it after his wife's name.

After establishing the estate, Mr. Robert focused on the production and cultivation of high-quality coffee. His passion for coffee seemed to be imprinted in his blood, continuously passing down through generations. Today, Elida Estate has been handed over to the fourth generation of the Lamastus family, with each generation expressing their passion for and emphasis on coffee in different ways. In recent years, the Lamastus family acquired a brand new high-altitude estate—Trompo Estate—marking their fifth estate under the family's ownership. Although the Lamastus family has five estates in Panama, currently only three can produce coffee. Each of these three estates is an extremely well-known renowned Panamanian estate! In addition to our protagonist Elida Estate, there are also: Donkey Estate and Luisito Estate. Because the three estates are located in vastly different areas, the terroir environments for coffee cultivation vary considerably. It is precisely these differences that allow coffee from each estate to possess unique characteristics.

Returning to Elida Estate itself, Elida is the largest and highest-altitude farm among the three estates, covering an impressive 65 hectares! Although its total area is large, the usable area (for coffee cultivation) is much smaller! This is because more than half of Elida Estate lies within the Barú Volcano National Park, where all trees are strictly protected from cutting and represent a nationally protected natural environment.

Therefore, out of 65 hectares, only 30 hectares can be used for coffee cultivation. Even so, the excellent growing environment (microclimate, volcanic soil, pristine nature) and towering altitude have laid a solid foundation for Elida coffee's deliciousness. Of course, this离不开 the Lamastus family's strict and meticulous care in every aspect of coffee harvesting and processing. It is precisely because of this that coffee produced by Elida Estate can be unforgettable and endlessly memorable.

Over the years, Elida Estate has primarily cultivated three varieties: the traditional Typica, the modern Catuai, and the current coffee king—Geisha. Elida Estate was also one of the estates amazed by Geisha's spectacular performance at the BOP competition in 2004 by Hacienda La Esmeralda. Consequently, third-generation estate owner Wilford Lamastus, like other estate owners, embarked on the journey of Geisha cultivation. In the following year of 2005, both Elida Estate and Donkey Estate began planting Geisha.

How to Brew Elida Natural Catuai?

For brewing, to highlight this coffee's sweet orange aroma and comfortable acidity, fine grinding is used, with a consistency similar to fine sugar, achieving 80% pass-through on a national standard 850-micron sieve. Water temperature is selected at a relatively high 92°C, as high water temperatures can extract the coffee's aroma and sweetness. The V60 filter cup is chosen—this fast-draining filter cup can better highlight specific coffee flavors, and this brewing aims to emphasize the peach-like sweetness.

This brewing still uses 15g of coffee grounds with a 1:16 ratio. After grinding, you can clearly detect aromas of melon seeds and fresh berries. Pour in the coffee grounds, first inject 30g of water and bloom for 30 seconds. You can observe the coffee expanding and releasing gas after absorbing water.

The second pour involves circular injection of 150g of water. The post-bloom pour is crucial as it basically determines the main flavor direction of this cup of coffee. Injecting water to a 1:10 ratio further highlights the coffee's sweetness. Wait for the coffee bed to drop slightly before injecting 60g of water, raising the coffee bed to the height of the second pour. End the extraction once all coffee liquid has flowed into the lower vessel, with a total time of 2 minutes.

Flavor: When brewed this way, Elida Catuai clearly presents flavors of peach, raisin, and orange upon entry. Gradually, sweetness of sucrose and muskmelon emerges, with the finish carrying notes of grapefruit and green tea-like characteristics.

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