Complete Guide to Common Coffee Varieties and Origins: Typica Coffee Beans

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Coffee, as a tropical plant, comes in numerous varieties, such as the relatively common Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai. These coffee bean varieties all belong to the Arabica species. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce you to common Arabica coffee beans.

Arabica originally originated from the Ethiopian branch. It has relatively high requirements for altitude. The same variety planted in different regions will produce different flavors. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will elaborate on the more common Arabica coffee branches.

Ethiopian Heirloom

The term "local heirloom" usually refers to native varieties in Ethiopia, where many wild coffee trees can still be found today. It is estimated that Ethiopia currently has about 10,000 to 15,000 coffee varieties, most of which have not yet undergone formal genetic identification. Due to the large population of heirloom varieties, farmers find it difficult to subdivide these varieties, mainly using mixed cultivation and mixed harvesting. This also explains why Ethiopian coffee beans vary in size.

The Sidamo and Yirgacheffe regions are famous specialty coffee producing areas in Ethiopia. FrontStreet Coffee's bean list features many coffee beans from Ethiopian regions. When FrontStreet Coffee cupped Ethiopian coffee beans, we found that washed beans from the Yirgacheffe region have extremely rich aromas, full of citrus and floral notes, with delicate and elegant mouthfeel; while natural processed beans from the Sidamo region have exuberant fruit aromas, with unique and delicious flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Gedeb Coffee Beans

Country of Origin: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe Region

Altitude: 2000-2100 meters

Variety: Heirloom

Processing: Washed

FrontStreet Coffee Sidamo Guji Hambella Coffee Beans

Country of Origin: Ethiopia

Region: Sidamo, Guji, Hambella

Altitude: 2050 meters

Variety: Heirloom

Processing: Natural

Typica

Typica is one of the oldest coffee varieties in the world, originating from the original forests of Ethiopia. The Typica coffee variety is excellent, with bronze-colored young leaves, possessing excellent cleanliness and body, with lemon-like acidity and a sweet aftertaste. However, Typica has a disadvantage: poor disease resistance and low yield. When FrontStreet Coffee receives Typica green beans, we notice that both ends of the beans are slightly upturned, with an oval shape that is relatively long and flat, and an "S"-shaped center line. From the side, the beans appear thin and flat. Even when planted at different altitudes, the thickness difference on the side of the green beans won't vary significantly.

Typica has derived many different variants with changes in environment and cultivation techniques, and their disease resistance and yield will also change. For example, the Jamaican Blue Mountain variety on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list is Typica, and the coffee beans from Papua New Guinea, known as "Little Blue Mountain," are also Typica. They were introduced from the Blue Mountain Typica variety, and because their growing environment is very similar to the Blue Mountain coffee mountains, the name "Little Blue Mountain" coffee from Papua New Guinea comes from this. FrontStreet Coffee's representative Typica coffee beans include:

FrontStreet Coffee Jamaican Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Beans

Region: Jamaican Blue Mountain Region

Estate: Clifton

Altitude: 1310 meters

Variety: Typica

Processing Method: Washed

FrontStreet Coffee Hawaiian Kona Coffee Beans

Country: United States

Region: Hawaiian Kona

Estate: Queen's Estate

Altitude: 1100 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Typica

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Huaguoshan Coffee Beans

Region: Baoshan, Yunnan, China

Altitude: 1200 meters

Variety: Typica

Processing Method: Washed

Java

Java was originally a coffee tree species from the original forests of Ethiopia, collected by local peoples, then transmitted through Yemen to Indonesia, where it was locally named Java. After arriving in Indonesia, the Java variety first spread to nearby Timor island groups, then to Cameroon in East Africa, where it was first released for farmer cultivation in 1980.

Java is currently mainly cultivated on Java Island, introduced from India by the Jember Coffee Research Center in East Java and given to Javanese farmers for cultivation. The variety belongs to S795, locally called Jember, and is artificially cultivated.

FrontStreet Coffee has listed a Java coffee from Indonesia. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee believes this bean can express the delicate aroma of the Java region, with relatively soft acidity, delicate mouthfeel, and good balance. The aroma and acidity of Java coffee are superior to coffee from Sumatra and Sulawesi islands.

Java spread to Central and South America. Under the leadership of breeding expert Benoit Bertrand, Java was introduced to Costa Rica. As the Java variety was cultivated in Central America, the Mierisch family of Nicaragua was the first to draw the specialty coffee market's attention to this variety. To distinguish Indonesian Java coffee from the Java variety, they named the Central American Java variety as JAVA NICA (meaning Java from Nicaragua). Java coffee has emerged in Central and South America in recent years, coming to Bolivia where it has been carefully cultivated by the Rodriguez family.

After genetic comparison, it was discovered that Java comes from an Ethiopian branch called Abysinia, an original ancient variety. This branch is actually the same as Geisha, with the same origin, both possessing excellent floral and fruity flavors. For this reason, Java is often called Geisha's cousin.

Java's fruit and seeds are very long, the young shoots are bronze-colored, and the plant is quite tall but low-yielding. Due to its outstanding flavor that rivals Geisha, and stronger resistance to leaf rust and coffee berry disease, it is very suitable for small farmers to cultivate.

Indonesia West Java Emmanie Coffee Beans

Region: West Java, Tangkuban Perahu Mountain

Altitude: 1400-1600m

Variety: S795 Jember

Processing Method: Natural Honey

Bolivia Waliki Coco Natural Java

Coffee Region: La Paz

Planting Altitude: 1600 meters

Coffee Variety: Java

Processing Method: Cocoa Natural

Maragogype

Maragogype is the most well-known variant of Arabica. It was discovered in a place called Maragogype in Bahia, Brazil. The beans are at least three times larger than regular Arabica beans, hence the name "Elephant Bean." The flavor is very mild with a slight sweet and sour taste. It was first discovered in 1870 in the Maragogype producing area of Bahia state, northeastern Brazil. Maragogype has poor flavor at low altitudes but better flavor at high altitudes, with mild acidity and pleasant sweet aroma.

Maragogype (right)

FrontStreet Coffee has been committed to establishing archives about coffee bean information, so FrontStreet Coffee certainly cannot miss this Maragogype coffee bean. FrontStreet Coffee has cupped many different Maragogype beans from different regions and believes that the Maragogype flavor from the Nicaraguan coffee region is excellent, with the Maragogype coffee cultivated at the Mamina Manor in Nicaragua being the best.

Bourbon

Bourbon is a variety mutated from Typica and is one of the oldest coffee varieties in the world along with Typica. Bourbon green beans are relatively round and small. After spreading from southwestern Ethiopia to Yemen, the bean shape changed from slender and pointed to round, with larger and thicker particles. FrontStreet Coffee's comparison of green beans from different altitudes found that beans grown at low altitudes are slightly thinner than those from high-altitude areas. In 1715, after France transplanted the round beans from Yemen Mocha to Bourbon Island on the east coast of Africa (renamed Reunion Island after the French Revolution), it was named Bourbon.

Bourbon has complex acidity, caramel sweetness, and relatively balanced flavor. After maturation, Bourbon fruits come in red, yellow, and pink colors. They are named Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, and Pink Bourbon according to the color of the mature coffee fruit. Red Bourbon is the most common. The coffee variety of FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian daily bean is Red Bourbon. Although Bourbon has higher yield than Typica, it is also highly susceptible to leaf rust, berry disease, and nematode infections.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazilian Red Bourbon Coffee Beans

Region: South Minas, Brazil

Altitude: 1000 meters

Variety: Red Bourbon

Processing Method: Pulped Natural

FrontStreet Coffee Burundi Heart of Africa Coffee Beans

Region: Ruterana Town

Altitude: 1400-1700 meters

Variety: Bourbon

Processing Method: Washed

Yellow Bourbon

Yellow Bourbon fruits turn yellow when mature, first discovered in Brazil in 1930. Yellow Bourbon is a mutation from the hybridization of red-fruited Bourbon with a yellow-fruited Typica variant called "Amerelo de Botocatu" (discovered in São Paulo state in 1871). Due to its lower yield and poor tolerance to wind and rain, it was not widely cultivated, but when planted in high-altitude areas, it shows excellent flavor performance.

For example, the Yellow Bourbon from FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian Queen Estate presents a sweet and smooth fruity sweetness, with obvious nutty flavors, balanced and soft acidity, weak and clean bitterness, containing rich chocolate aroma and nutty flavors, with bright and refreshing mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate Coffee Beans

Region: Mogiana, Brazil

Altitude: 1000-1950 meters

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Processing Method: Pulped Natural

Pink Bourbon

Pink Bourbon coffee fruits turn pink when mature, belonging to a very rare new variety. It is cultivated from the hybridization of Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon. The reason Pink Bourbon is considered a rare variety is that the final color of coffee fruits is determined by recessive genes in the pollen grains. Among the selected pollen grains for hybridization, there are both yellow genes leaning toward Yellow Bourbon and red genes leaning toward Red Bourbon, all of which are recessive genes that easily interfere with each other. Initially, it was mixed with other Bourbon and Caturra varieties, but later it was harvested and processed separately. It is now mainly cultivated in Colombia and Guatemala.

FrontStreet Coffee's bean list features a Pink Bourbon from Colombian Isabella coffee, with overall flavors leaning toward citrus, floral, honey, and berry notes.

FrontStreet Coffee Colombia Isabella Coffee Beans

Region: Huila, Colombia

Altitude: 1760 meters

Variety: Pink Bourbon

Processing Method: Semi-washed

Bourbon Pointu

Discovered on Bourbon Island in 1810, Bourbon Pointu coffee trees are relatively small, producing pointed coffee fruits. The beans are slender and pointed at both ends, while the original Bourbon variety has shorter beans with slightly oval contours. Additionally, its caffeine content is only half that of regular Arabica coffee, earning it the name Bourbon Pointu or natural low-caffeine coffee. Bourbon Pointu is susceptible to disease and low-yielding, so local farmers were unwilling to cultivate it, and it nearly became extinct. Before 2000, Bourbon Pointu only existed on Bourbon Island, after which it was successfully trial-planted in Colombia and El Salvador.

Kenya's SL-28 and SL-34

Scott Laboratories selected 42 varieties from different origins and studied their yield, quality, drought resistance, and disease resistance. SL28 and SL34 now account for the majority of Kenya's coffee production. Relatively speaking, SL-34 is higher yielding and requires slightly lower altitude, while SL28 is suitable for medium to high altitude areas, has drought resistance, but is sensitive to coffee's main diseases. SL28 can be found in many parts of Kenya, and even at 60-80 years of age, it remains highly productive. Recent genetic tests have also confirmed that the SL28 variety's gene group is closer to Bourbon, while the SL34 variety's genome is closer to Typica.

FrontStreet Coffee found that SL28 variety coffee beans are similar in appearance to Bourbon varieties - round and thick. While SL34 is closer to Typica bean appearance - slender, oval-shaped, and looks relatively flat from the side. Both SL28 and SL34 varieties have similar flavors - complex and varied berry-like acidity with caramel sweet aftertaste. SL34 has a heavier body compared to SL28, with acidity leaning toward blackberries and other berries, overall sweet-sour balance, with caramel aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Assalia Coffee Beans

Region: Thika, Kenya

Processing Station: Asali Honey Processing Station

Altitude: 1550—1750 meters

Grade: AA TOP

Variety: SL28, SL34

Processing Method: Kenya 72-hour Washed

FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Thiani Estate Coffee Beans

Origin: Kiambu Region

Estate: Thiani Estate

Altitude: 1650 meters

Grade: AA

Variety: SL28, SL34

Processing Method: Washed

Pacas

Pacas is a natural variant of Bourbon, first discovered in 1949 by the Pacas family in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador. In 1974, the Honduran Coffee Institute introduced Pacas and cultivated it in Honduras. Pacas and Caturra have similar appearances - round, slender shapes, but from the side, Pacas is thinner than Bourbon. Pacas variety coffee plants have smaller morphology and can be planted more densely, with higher yields than the original Bourbon.

FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Sherry Coffee Beans

Region: Marcala, Honduras

Estate: Moca Estate

Altitude: 1500-1700 meters

Variety: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas

Processing Method: Refined Washed Whiskey Barrel Fermentation

Caturra

Caturra is a single-gene variant of Bourbon, so its appearance has high similarity to Bourbon. The end part of Caturra is more curved than Bourbon, with round and slender being its main appearance characteristics. It was discovered in Brazil in 1937, with both productivity and disease resistance superior to Bourbon, and with shorter plants that facilitate harvesting. Its flavor is excellent, and more importantly, it has super strong adaptability, not needing shade trees, so it's also called Sun Coffee, capable of adapting to high-density cultivation. Caturra is suitable for planting from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters, with strong adaptability, but the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, though yield will relatively decrease.

FrontStreet Coffee Colombia Huayueye Coffee Beans

Region: Huila, Everest Addington Farm

Altitude: 1800m

Variety: Caturra

Processing Method: Anaerobic Natural

FrontStreet Coffee Colombia Rose Valley Coffee Beans

Region: Santander Region

Estate: Big Tree Estate

Altitude: 1700m

Variety: Caturra

Processing Method: Anaerobic Enzyme Washed

Mundo Novo

Mundo Novo is the result of natural hybridization between Bourbon and Sumatran Typica, first discovered in 1943 in São Paulo's Tete Mineiros, Brazil. Mundo Novo was initially planted in Mundo Novo city, now called Urupês. Mundo Novo also spread to other countries but failed to achieve widespread cultivation locally for various reasons. Mundo Novo coffee plants are tall, with leaf tip colors being green or brown, and the overall coffee bean shape tends to be round with large particles.

Catuai

Catuai is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, so it has Caturra's slender round shape and Mundo Novo's flat shape, making it a true second-generation hybrid. It inherits Caturra's advantage of low plant height, with solid fruit that doesn't easily fall off in strong winds. However, its overall flavor is more monotonous than Caturra. Catuai also has red and yellow fruit varieties. Catuai, Caturra, Mundo Novo, and Bourbon are listed as Brazil's four main coffee varieties.

Catuai is also widely cultivated in other countries, such as Honduras where Catuai accounts for nearly half of the planting area. It is also cultivated in Costa Rica. In 1970, Catuai was introduced to Guatemala and now accounts for about 20% of the national production.

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Musician Series Baha Coffee Beans

Region: Tarrazú, Costa Rica

Estate: Canet Estate

Processing Method: Raisin Honey

Variety: Yellow Caturra

Altitude: 1900m

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Musician Series · Beethoven Coffee Beans

Region: Tarrazú, Costa Rica

Estate: Canet Estate

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Yellow Catuai

Altitude: 1900m

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Musician Series Mozart Coffee Beans

Region: Tarrazú, Costa Rica

Estate: Canet Estate

Processing Method: Raisin Anaerobic Honey

Altitude: 1980 meters

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Timor

Timor is a natural hybrid variety discovered in East Timor, being a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta. It has 44 chromosomes, closer to Arabica; but its flavor is plain and unremarkable. Timor has low acidity and lacks distinctive characteristics, often used for low-cost blend beans.

Catimor

In 1959, the Portuguese hybridized Brazilian Caturra with Timor to cultivate Catimor, a second-generation hybrid with super strong disease resistance and productivity. Its green beans are large and thick, with relatively slender end parts. To improve the poor reputation of Catimor in cupping, botanists from various countries in recent years have returned to cross-breeding Arabica with Catimor for multiple generations, attempting to reduce the Robusta heritage.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Xiaoli Coffee

Region: Baoshan, Yunnan

Altitude: 1200 meters

Variety: Catimor

Processing Method: Washed

Geisha

Geisha originates from Geisha Mountain in Ethiopia and was introduced to Panama from Costa Rica in 1963, but due to low productivity, no farmers were willing to cultivate it. Panama is the main country producing Geisha coffee.

Geisha is an Arabica native variant from Ethiopia's Geisha region, with large beans and is a variety unique to Panama. In 1931-1932, it was imported to Kenya under the names Abyssinian and Geisha respectively. In 1936, Kenya sent harvested Geisha seeds to Uganda and Tanzania for cultivation. In July 1953, Tanzania sent daughter trees to Costa Rica, keeping the mother plants in their own country. In 1960, Panama officially cultivated Geisha.

Among the Geisha coffees listed by FrontStreet Coffee, the first is American Geisha, represented by Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. Its most prominent appearance characteristic is slender with pointed ends and full, plump middle. Some high-quality Geishas even have Pacamara-like size (18-19 screen), making them very distinctive. The second is African Geisha, represented by Ethiopia's Gesha Village. The Geisha coffee varieties from Gesha Village include Gor Geisha (selected from the Gor Geisha forest) and Geisha 1931 (selected from a diverse forest population similar to Panama Geisha). Their appearance shows elongated beans, smaller compared to Panama Geisha, with less obvious characteristics.

Geisha trees are tall and slender (can reach 4.5 meters), with spreading branches and leaves, long leaves that are green and red, and late fruiting. It is resistant to leaf rust but susceptible to berry disease and nematodes, with medium to small fruits and medium-low yield. Panama Geisha has a very unique flavor, with beans from high-altitude areas having excellent aroma, sweet and clean characteristic aftertaste, with jasmine and peach aromas, bright fruit acidity, and very smooth mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Region: Boquete, Panama

Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda

Altitude: 1600-1800 meters

Variety: Geisha

Processing Method: Natural

FrontStreet Coffee Hacienda La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Region: Boquete, Panama

Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda

Altitude: 1600-1800 meters

Variety: Geisha

Processing Method: Washed

FrontStreet Coffee Hacienda La Esmeralda Blue Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Region: Boquete, Panama

Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda

Altitude: 1400-1500 meters

Variety: Geisha

Processing Method: Washed

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