Coffee Bean Classification Standards and Flavor Characteristics: Differences Between Typica Coffee Beans and Arabica Coffee Beans

Coffee beans seem to multiply on the market every year. There are more than 500 known coffee tree species—and counting cultivars and mutants, at least 6,000 types in all. Here, FrontStreet Coffee walks you through the most common varieties and how they relate to one another.

The Three Major Coffee Species

Most of the coffee we drink belongs to a single species: Arabica. Robusta typically goes into commercial coffee such as instant, while Liberica rarely appears on the market at all.

Common Arabica Varieties

Every family tree starts at its roots. As far as we know, Typica is among the oldest of all coffee varieties, with origins tracing to places like Martinique. Typica beans carry a hint of sweetness—though not every Typica tastes the same.

These varieties are one big family, all genetically related. Typica planted in Indonesia, for example, mutated into the most distinctive local coffee of all: Mandheling. Of the five Mandheling varieties at FrontStreet Coffee—Lintong Mandheling, Golden Mandheling, Tiger Mandheling, Aged Mandheling, and Natural Mandheling—the most famous is unquestionably PWN's Golden Mandheling, rated as the coffee with the best texture in the world. FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling is rich and fragrant, full-bodied, with a touch of sweetness and faint acidity—complex yet clearly layered.

The Bourbon Family

Bourbon, like Typica, is one of the oldest varieties in cultivation—and a direct descendant of it: Bourbon is a genetic variant of Typica. What we usually mean by "Bourbon" is Red Bourbon. Among FrontStreet Coffee's beans, the Brazilian Red Cherry belongs here, serving up rich nutty and chocolate flavors with peanut and cream aromas and a sweet edge.

Much of Brazil's coffee is Bourbon-derived. A Yellow Bourbon mutation was discovered there and is now grown mainly in Brazil; by FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, it is of very good quality and tolerates high-altitude planting. Naturally processed Yellow Bourbon keeps the nuttiness inherent to Bourbon, with balanced acidity and slight bitterness. The Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon on FrontStreet Coffee's menu is a textbook expression of it.

Pink Bourbon and Regional Treasures

Perhaps by chance, Red and Yellow Bourbon were crossed to create a new variety. The fruit's romantic pink color gave the name away: Pink Bourbon. This rare variety was first planted in Colombia's Huila region, initially mixed in with other Bourbon and Caturra lots before being picked and processed separately. Among FrontStreet Coffee's offerings, the Pink Bourbon comes from Huila as the Isabel coffee: berry and cherry-tomato fruit aromas up front, honey sweetness as it cools, and a smooth, clean finish.

Hybrid Varieties

Later, in El Salvador, a natural Bourbon mutation called Pacas was discovered and later planted in Honduras as well. Pacas coffee shows bright floral character and a full body.

FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry beans are a case in point—a very classic Honduran coffee whose blend of Pacas, Caturra, and Catuai varieties has made it hugely popular. Add whiskey-sherry barrel fermentation, and beyond vanilla cream, nut, and cocoa you get a distinct whiskey note.

Catimor and Regional Development

Since we're on Honduran varieties, it's worth covering Catimor: a hybrid of Caturra and Timor (an Arabica-Robusta cross). Catimor combines Arabica's quality aromatics with Robusta's hardiness, disease resistance, and high yield.

Yunnan coffee, which has surged in popularity in recent years, is planted mainly with Catimor. Yunnan Catimor is mellow and fragrant, rich but not bitter, with a light fruitiness—and processing changes the cup considerably. Natural red-cherry processing, as on FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Catimor, brings nutty, chocolate, and spice flavors; washed processing lets brown-sugar sweetness come forward, as in FrontStreet Coffee's everyday Yunnan Xiaoli beans.

Conclusion

You could talk about coffee varieties for three days and three nights and barely scratch the surface. The best way to learn them is to taste them—one family branch at a time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Typica's Indonesian branch—Mandheling—intrigues you, go straight to FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling, the benchmark of the style. From PWN in Indonesia, it starts with beans of 18 screen size and above, allows fewer than 3 defective beans per 300g green sample to meet G1 grade, then adds three rounds of hand-sorting for exceptional cleanliness and sweetness. The production is limited and mostly shipped to Japanese and American markets, but FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling comes with PWN certification and stamped bags.

Brew it as pour-over to see it at its best: 15g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio, water at 87-88°C, a coarse-sugar grind, and a three-stage pour—30g to bloom and degas, 100g to lift the bed and bring up the golden crema, then a gentle 95g centered pour to boost sweetness. The cup shows a thick, full body with caramel sweetness, chocolate, and nuts. For espresso machines, FrontStreet Coffee's classic blend adds medium-dark Mandheling to Brazil's creamy nuttiness—butter, roasted chestnut, caramel, plus a touch of Robusta for crema—equally happy as a latte or a Dirty.