What is the Flavor Profile of Caturra Coffee Beans? The Single-Gene Bourbon Variant - Caturra

Coffee enthusiasts who enjoy Central and South American coffee beans have likely noticed that besides the Geisha variety, Caturra is a coffee variety we frequently encounter. Especially in countries like Colombia and Costa Rica, Caturra and Catuai are virtually the main varieties.

What is the Caturra Variety?

Caturra is a single-gene mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in the 1950s. It offers better yield and disease resistance than Bourbon, with shorter plants that facilitate harvesting. However, like Bourbon, it suffers from biennial production cycles. Its flavor is comparable to or slightly inferior to Bourbon, but more importantly, it has extremely strong adaptability—it doesn't require shade trees and thrives under direct sunlight, earning it the nickname "Sun Coffee." It can adapt to high-density planting but requires more fertilizer, increasing costs, so farmers were initially reluctant to accept it. This new coffee variety, with its unique biological form, was called "Caturra" in the local Guarani language, meaning "small." Sometimes it's also referred to as "Nanico."

However, when coffee prices soared in the 1970s, farmers switched to Caturra to increase yields. With vigorous promotion by Brazilian and Colombian authorities, the results were abundant. Farmers' acceptance of Caturra signaled a major transformation in cultivation techniques. Brazil and Colombia adopted high-yield, high-density sun cultivation methods. By 1990, one million hectares could harvest 14 million bags of coffee beans, increasing production by 60%. No wonder Caturra, with its high yield and quality, has become a relied-upon variety in coffee-producing countries.

From its discovery and screening at IAC research, Caturra was introduced to Guatemala in the 1940s but wasn't widely adopted commercially in the following 30 years. It spread from Guatemala to Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama, where it remains one of the most important economic coffee varieties today. Among FrontStreet Coffee's extensive coffee selection, varieties like Guatemala's Flor Divina, Honduras's Lychee Orchid, Colombia's Rose Valley, and Panama's Floral Butterfly all contain Caturra.

Caturra is suitable for cultivation from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters, demonstrating strong altitude adaptability. However, the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, though yield relatively decreases—this is the destiny of specialty coffee beans. Academics sometimes describe Caturra as the intensive, sun-grown version of Bourbon, which hits the nail on the head. Central and South America also have a yellow variant called Caturra Amarello, but its reputation doesn't match that of Yellow Bourbon.

Caturra Coffee Flavor Profile

Through cupping at FrontStreet Coffee, we've determined that Caturra coffee beans processed with traditional methods exhibit distinct acidity and overall brightness. With proper processing, the sweetness can be remarkably good. However, the body is relatively thin compared to Bourbon, and the cleanliness of the mouthfeel is somewhat lacking.

Natural-processed Caturra coffee beans display pleasant berry aromatics and, when combined, create flavors reminiscent of berry juice. Meanwhile, washed-processed Caturra coffee beans exhibit bright citrus-like acidity, coming together to create something akin to lemonade.

Recommended Caturra Coffee Beans

Among the regional selection coffee beans currently sold by FrontStreet Coffee, the representative beans from Colombia's Huila region are precisely the Caturra variety. FrontStreet Coffee has selected coffee beans grown at 1500-1800m altitude and processed with traditional washing methods. After medium roasting, the coffee flavors present notes of nuts, dark chocolate, caramel, and gentle citrus acidity.

FrontStreet Coffee: Colombia Huila Coffee Beans

Region: Colombia, Huila
Altitude: 1500-1800 meters
Processing: Washed
Variety: Caturra
Flavor: Nuts, dark chocolate, caramel, gentle fruit acidity

Brewing Suggestions for FrontStreet Coffee's Huila Daily Beans

The flavor descriptions for each coffee at FrontStreet Coffee are based on freshly roasted beans. If coffee beans have been stored for over a month, some aromatics may have diminished, making it difficult to replicate the original flavors during brewing. FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands the importance of freshness, so we ensure only coffee beans roasted within 5 days are shipped, allowing everyone to enjoy the complete flavor window upon receipt.

Considering that the Huila daily beans use medium-dark roasting, the flavors lean toward rich, nutty, and chocolate notes with a full-bodied profile. The darker roasting makes the coffee beans more porous, increasing their water absorption. To avoid over-extraction, FrontStreet Coffee uses medium grind size and medium water temperature, paired with a KONO dripper for extraction. Brewing parameters: KONO dripper, 90°C water temperature, 20 standard sieve with 75% passing rate grind size, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 15g coffee dose, three-stage extraction.

Pour the coffee grounds into a V60 dripper, wet the coffee bed with twice the weight of the coffee grounds, forming a dome and let it bloom for 30 seconds. Then, using a small water stream, pour in circles from inside to out until reaching 125g for the first stage. Wait until the coffee bed drops to half the dripper's height, then continue with the same fine stream for the third stage until reaching 225g. Remove the dripper once all coffee liquid has filtered through, taking about 2 minutes total.

This Colombia Huila daily coffee offers distinct roasted notes of chocolate, nuts, and caramel upon entry—smooth and sweet with moderate body and a clean mouthfeel. As the temperature decreases, you can experience pleasant, gentle acidity.

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