Coffee Variety Introduction: Caturra Coffee - Also Known as "Sun-Drenched Coffee" Colombia Caturra Coffee Bean Flavor Profile

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What is Caturra Coffee Variety?

Caturra is a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety. It was discovered between 1915 and 1918 in a plantation in Minas Gerais, Brazil. A group of genes in the Bourbon plants growing in the plantation mutated, causing the plants to grow smaller (similar to dwarfism). This new coffee variety, which expressed itself in a new biological form, was called "Caturra" by the locals in Guarani, meaning "small." Sometimes it is also called "Nanico."

The Institute of Agronomy (IAC) of the State of São Paulo in Campinas, Brazil began selection in 1937. The selection process for Caturra is called mass selection, which means selecting a group of individuals based on superior performance, and the seeds from these plants are accumulated to form a new generation, and this process is repeated. But interestingly, this variety was never officially released in Brazil, yet it has become very common in Central America.

Caturra has a small stature, which allows plants to be planted more densely, and its secondary branches are closely spaced, enabling it to produce more fruit in the same space. This greatly increases yield per unit area. Moreover, because of its small size, harvesting is also more convenient.

The most important advantage is that unlike ancient varieties such as Typica and Bourbon, it does not require shade trees and thrives in direct sunlight, so Caturra-type coffee is also called "Sun Coffee." Caturra is suitable for cultivation in areas from 700m to 1700m altitude, and its environmental adaptability is stronger than Bourbon. The higher the altitude, the better its flavor quality.

Flavor Characteristics

Like Bourbon, it has the problem of biennial production cycles. It simultaneously possesses excellent acidity and aroma, with overall brightness and good sweetness. Through cupping by FrontStreet Coffee, it was determined that Caturra coffee beans processed by traditional methods show prominent acidic aromas, overall brightness, and if properly processed, the sweetness can be expressed very well. However, the body is relatively low compared to Bourbon, and the cleanliness of the mouthfeel is somewhat lacking.

When processed using natural methods, Caturra coffee beans exhibit pleasant berry acidic aromas, tasting like berry juice when combined; while Caturra coffee beans processed using washed methods show bright citrus acidity, tasting somewhat like lemonade when combined.

FrontStreet Coffee's Caturra Selection

Currently, among the regional selection daily coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee, the beans representing the Huila region of Colombia are precisely the Caturra variety.

FrontStreet Coffee selected coffee beans grown at 1500-1800m altitude and processed using traditional washed methods. After medium roasting, the coffee flavor expresses nuts, dark chocolate, caramel, and gentle citrus fruit acidity.

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