What Arabica Coffee Beans Does Starbucks Use? How Are They Different from Robusta?

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What is Arabica Coffee? How Does It Differ from Robusta?

There are many varieties of coffee trees, but the two main types that can be used for drinking and are traded in the market are "Arabica species" and "Robusta species." Currently, about 70% of the coffee cultivated in the world's major producing regions is Arabica, about 30% is Robusta, and Liberica (C. Liberica) accounts for very little production.

Arabica Species

It has special requirements for climate, rainfall, and soil conditions (it is not suited to hot, humid climates) and is easily affected by pests, disease, frost, and drought, making it a relatively difficult variety to cultivate. However, thanks to its rich, mellow taste, Arabica is mostly used for fresh-roasted original coffee.

Robusta Species

It resists pests and disease strongly and grows easily even in hot, humid conditions. It has strong bitterness and astringency, lacks fruity acidity, and generally scores lower as drinking coffee. Robusta's caffeine content is almost twice that of Arabica. Because Robusta is cheap to cultivate, it is mainly used for canned coffee, instant coffee, commercial coffee powder, or as an additive to inexpensive fresh-roasted coffee. In addition, French roast and Italian espresso also favor Robusta beans for the special flavor they contribute.

What Do Bourbon and Typica Mean?

Typica (the original landrace) and Bourbon (a newer mutant) are the two major varieties of Arabica coffee. They are also the old varieties from which Arabica descends.

Typica is the original landrace of Arabica. The beans are somewhat slender, with rich aroma and an elegant balance of fruit acidity and sweetness. However, the yield is small, harvest years are unstable, and it is extremely susceptible to pests and disease.

Bourbon emerged when the French planted seedlings on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean in the 18th century (then called "Bourbon Island"). It is a newer mutant of Typica. The beans are round, of good quality, with excellent sweetness and mellow richness. Its yield varies greatly from year to year, making it unstable, and it is susceptible to frost damage and pests and disease. In the past, improved high-yield, pest-resistant varieties were widely planted instead. In recent years, however, as consumer knowledge and appreciation of coffee have grown, pursuing high-quality, excellent taste has become the new trend. Typica and Bourbon, which have low yields but excellent, rich flavors, have begun to be valued and promoted again.

Coffee Bean Components

Caffeine

Has a particularly strong bitter taste and stimulates the central nervous system, heart, and respiratory system. In appropriate amounts, caffeine can also reduce muscle fatigue and promote digestive fluid secretion. Because it promotes kidney function, it has a diuretic effect, helping the body expel excess sodium ions. However, excessive intake can lead to caffeine poisoning.

Tannic Acid

When boiled, tannic acid decomposes into pyruvic acid, so coffee brewed for too long will taste worse.

Fats

The most important among them are acidic fats and volatile fats.

Acidic Fats

That is, acids contained in fats, whose strength varies depending on the coffee variety.

Volatile Fats

These are the main source of coffee aroma, emitting about forty aromatic substances.

Proteins

The main source of calories, but the proportion is not high. Most of the proteins in coffee powder do not dissolve when brewing coffee, so intake is limited.

Sugar

The sugar content in raw coffee beans is about 8%. After roasting, most of the sugar converts to caramel, which makes the coffee brown and combines with tannic acid to produce sweetness.

Fiber

The fiber in raw beans carbonizes after roasting, and when combined with caramel, it forms the color tone of coffee.

Minerals

Coffee contains small amounts of lime, iron, phosphorus, sodium carbonate, and other minerals.

Coffee Characteristics (Four Tastes and One Aroma)

All the color, aroma, and taste of coffee are formed through roasting, where chemical changes occur in the raw beans and produce the distinctive characteristics of richness, bitterness, sweetness, acidity, and aroma.

Richness

The thick, mellow taste of coffee beans.

Bitterness

When roasting beans, the soluble minerals in coffee beans form the basic bitter taste of coffee.

Acidity

The compound components of tannic acid are the main source of acidity in coffee beans, but in some 5- to 10-year-aged beans, even the acidity disappears.

Sweetness

When sugar is present during roasting of raw beans, the caramel components formed after caramelization become the sweet taste.

Aroma

The fats, proteins, and sugars in raw beans are important sources of aroma, and some aroma also comes from spices added when roasting beans.

In addition to the above four tastes and one aroma, aged coffee beans have a particularly mellow and rich taste, while slightly fermented beans also have a particularly smooth throat-feel - truly special!

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and unknown beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Understanding the difference between Arabica and Robusta matters most when you build an espresso blend. FrontStreet Commercial Blend and FrontStreet Classic Blend both start from a traditional old-style Italian recipe and add a small proportion of Robusta, so extraction yields butter, nut, spice, dark-chocolate, and toast aromas, a wild yet thick body, and the explosive golden crema that makes latte art easy.

If you prefer a nut-forward, pure-Arabica cup, FrontStreet Premium Blend and FrontStreet Black Cocoa Blend both contain a large share of Brazilian coffee, giving a comfortable bittersweetness and creamy peanut aroma with a very smooth entry. FrontStreet Premium Blend adds Colombia's nut, chocolate, and caramel notes with a gentle acidity, while FrontStreet Black Cocoa Blend brings in the ripe-plum acidity of Yunnan small beans, releasing a creamy chocolate aroma when ground - balanced and versatile for lattes, Americanos, and specialty drinks. For a single-origin option, FrontStreet Huakui SOE delivers creamy strawberry, cocoa, and red-tea notes, while FrontStreet Costa Rica Blackberry SOE offers a honey-processed, high-sweetness alternative with blackberry and cranberry-cookie character.