How to Distinguish Robusta from Arabica? Which Country is the Origin of Arabica Cultivation?

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Popular Science: 100% Arabica Is Not a Type of Coffee

Let's do some popular science. Nowadays, many coffee merchants have started their own coffee beverage journey, and they're not shy about using Arabica for brand promotion, all claiming they use "100% Arabica." When doing promotion, they even say: Freshly ground black coffee is 100% made with Arabica!

Dear readers, Arabica coffee is a variety of coffee bean, not a type of coffee.

Coffee Varieties

The three main original species are Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. Arabica ranks first in production, accounting for about 60-70% of the world's coffee. It has sub-varieties such as Bourbon and Typica. Robusta accounts for about 30-40% of the world's total coffee production. Liberica only accounts for 3% of the total and is mostly grown in the Asia-Pacific region.

Liberica, also known as large bean coffee, has extremely strong vitality, but its flavor and resistance to leaf rust disease are both weak. Its cultivation volume is less than 1%, and it has basically withdrawn from the commercial market, only preserved for scientific research. Therefore, today we will focus on Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica

Also known as small bean coffee, originally from Ethiopia. Arabica coffee trees mostly grow at altitudes between 1000-2000 meters; they are relatively cold-resistant and suitable for growing temperatures of 15-24℃. They require high humidity with annual rainfall not less than 1500ml, and at the same time, have higher requirements for cultivation techniques. Arabica coffee trees belong to larger shrubs, with oval-shaped, dark green leaves, and oval-shaped fruits that generally contain two slightly flat beans. The front side shows a long oval shape with a narrow, curved crack in the middle forming an S-shape, while the back of the bean has a relatively flat arc. Caffeine content is about 0.8%-1.5%.

The excellent flavor and aroma of Arabica coffee make it the only coffee among these original species that can be directly and individually consumed. Single-origin coffees like Jamaica Blue Mountain, Indonesia Mandheling, Yirgacheffe, and Brazilian coffee all belong to this category. However, its resistance to drought, frost damage, pests, and diseases is weak, especially不耐 coffee's greatest enemy—leaf rust disease—so all producing countries are committed to improving varieties.

Arabica coffee produced in different regions, at different altitudes, and under different climates has its own characteristics and can show completely different personality flavors. When unroasted, it smells like fresh grass. After appropriate roasting, it displays "fruity aroma" (light to medium roast) and "caramel flavor" (dark roast). It is suitable for single-origin and various blend beans, and can be made using various extraction techniques.

Robusta

Also known as medium bean coffee, originally from Congo, Africa. Robusta coffee trees are mostly planted at low altitudes of 200-800 meters and prefer warm climates, requiring temperatures between 24-29℃, with not high requirements for rainfall. However, this variety relies on insects or wind for pollination, so the time from pollination to fruiting is 9-11 months, which is longer than Arabica.

The Robusta coffee tree is a species between shrub and tall tree, with longer leaves and bright green color. The tree can reach up to 10 meters in height, but the roots are very shallow. The fruit shape is fuller than Arabica beans, with the central line cracking vertically. From the side, they are usually flat or protruding in the middle, feeling harder than Arabica beans, like small stones.

Robusta Coffee Flavor Is Generally Inferior to Arabica

The Value of Robusta

As a very important variety in the coffee world, Robusta has made indelible contributions to the commercial world. The value of Robusta is not to serve as a negative example to highlight how superior Arabica's flavor is; it has an unshakable position in espresso blends. Italian blends add a small amount of Robusta to increase the coffee's body and produce espresso with richer crema.

When espresso blends with milk, it presents a rich, full-bodied texture. Milk coffee becomes richer and more aromatic due to the complementary relationship between Robusta and Arabica. Robusta compensates for Arabica's lack of body.

[Robusta]

Mainly used in espresso blends to increase body and obtain rich crema. Although Robusta's flavor cannot be compared with Arabica, it has its own value.

Beginner Questions:

1｜What's the difference between 10 yuan and 30 yuan coffee?

From the coffee market perspective, coffee beans are mainly divided into two categories: commercial beans and specialty coffee beans. In terms of price, Robusta's international futures are about $1,686 per ton, which calculates to about 11.5 RMB per kilogram at today's exchange rate. Specialty coffee beans are several times more expensive than commercial beans. From a cost perspective, choosing commercial beans certainly offers larger profit margins, but the flavor obtained from commercial beans is much inferior to specialty coffee beans. They can be used to make espresso-based drinks like lattes and cappuccinos.

Between commercial coffee and specialty coffee, 10 yuan and 30 yuan indeed mean a quality gap. Simply put, specialty coffee beans are high-quality green beans that have been expertly roasted to restore the unique flavors inherent in the coffee beans—flavors that belong exclusively to this type of coffee bean. Specialty coffee beans are processed using refined methods. Careful washing and sun-drying, various sophisticated green bean processing techniques, give coffee "layered," "fruity acidic," "sweet," and "mellow" flavors.

Specialty coffee beans are several times more expensive than commercial beans. From a cost perspective, choosing commercial beans certainly offers larger profit margins. Large-scale batch production and packaging are generally commercial beans.

In terms of individual bean flavor, commercial beans are generally chosen for blending. These commercial coffee beans are usually cheaper, and both the green beans and roasting techniques can only be said to follow a standardized mass production process. The biggest difference between specialty coffee and commercial coffee beans lies in quality and price. Specialty coffee beans might cost 90 yuan per pound, while commercial beans might reach as low as 40-50 yuan per pound.

However, in reality, blended beans can also produce coffee with excellent taste—it mainly depends on what beans are used for the blend.

2｜"Blue Mountain Coffee" and "Kopi Luwak" are types of coffee, Arabica is a coffee bean variety

Most people have heard of "Blue Mountain Coffee" and "Kopi Luwak"—these are coffee beverages.

While "coffee" called "Arabica" refers to a coffee variety.

◆ "Blue Mountain Coffee" refers to coffee brewed from coffee beans grown in Jamaica's Blue Mountains.

◆ "Kopi Luwak" is because an animal called the civet cat excretes the coffee beans intact after eating coffee cherries, and people extract the coffee beans from its feces and process them.

Therefore, the "Arabica" we often see today is actually classified based on coffee bean varieties.

Coffee bean varieties can be mainly divided into three types: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. Arabica is further divided into Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, etc.

In fact, not all coffee made from Arabica beans is specialty coffee. Unfortunately, many people don't understand this point, and many brands take advantage of this by using "100% Arabica coffee beans" as a gimmick to make consumers think their coffee is excellent.

When ordering single-origin coffee in a "relatively professional" coffee shop, you almost never see promotions for "Arabica coffee beans." For example, at FrontStreet Coffee, you'll see names like "Kenya," "Colombia," "Yirgacheffe," etc. Tasting "single-origin coffee" allows you to understand the characteristics and flavors of coffee from a particular country or region.

Important Notice :

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