Arabica Coffee Bean Varieties, Origins, Flavor Profiles and Price Guide

Among coffee beans used for commercial purposes, they can be simply divided into two major categories: Arabica and Robusta. Among them, Arabica boasts rich and diverse flavors and aromas, making it more beloved by people.

Arabica Origins from Ethiopia

Arabica coffee originates from the Ethiopian highlands in Africa. Initially, Arabica coffee was primarily consumed as medicine. Later, people developed the habit of roasting and drinking it. In the 16th century, it was spread worldwide through trade by Arabs, gradually developing into today's popular beverage. Many of the specialty coffee beans we're familiar with belong to the Arabica variety, such as Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, Panamanian Geisha coffee, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee, and so on.

Arabica is a relatively large shrub with oval, dark green leaves. Its fruits are also oval, generally containing two slightly flattened beans. The bean body is round with an oval front, and the center crack is narrow and curved in an S-shape. The back of the bean has a relatively flat arc. FrontStreet Coffee has two Arabica coffee trees planted next to its Dongshankou store, so you might want to take a look when you're drinking coffee.

Arabica has low caffeine content, approximately 0.9% to 1.2%; its fat content is 60% higher than Robusta coffee; and its sugar content is twice as much. Therefore, Arabica tastes relatively sweet and smooth, with a hint of fruity acidity. Moreover, Arabica's chlorogenic acid content is lower, about 5.5% to 8%. Besides being an antioxidant, chlorogenic acid is also an important component for resisting pests, so Arabica is more susceptible to pest damage and is also easily affected by climate. It is generally grown at higher altitudes, where it produces fewer and slower-maturing fruits.

Friends who often drink coffee should know that coffee is a tropical plant that needs to be grown in warm places. The main growing areas for coffee trees are distributed between 25° south latitude and 25° north latitude, centered around the equator. This area is known as the "coffee belt." For example, Brazil and Colombia in Central and South America, Ethiopia and Kenya in Africa, Sumatra in Indonesia, Yunnan in China... all are quality coffee-producing regions located in the coffee belt. FrontStreet Coffee's selection of nearly fifty coffee beans are all high-quality Arabica varieties chosen from these regions.

Arabica Coffee Growing Environment

The cultivation of Arabica requires very stringent conditions and has high soil requirements. Arabica needs to grow at altitudes of 800-2200 meters in frost-free highlands. The higher the altitude, the more significant the temperature difference, which slows down the maturation of coffee fruits and is more conducive to the accumulation of flavor substances, resulting in fuller aroma development. The microclimates of various coffee-producing regions provide diverse growing conditions for Arabica, forming unique flavor profiles.

In addition to high altitude, Arabica also requires abundant rainfall, sunlight, well-drained loose soil, and fertile soil. From a cultivation perspective, the regional limitations are very strong, and planting and management costs are higher.

Two Ancient Pure Arabica Varieties

When researching coffee history, FrontStreet Coffee learned that Arabica coffee spread to the world in two paths through the ancient varieties Typica and Bourbon.

Typica

The oldest native variety from Ethiopia, discovered around the 15th to 16th centuries. Typica has bronze-colored top leaves and oval or pointed thin beans. Typica possesses elegant acidic aromas but has a weak constitution, making it susceptible to leaf rust disease and producing low yields. Therefore, it has gradually been replaced by farmers with hardier varieties. The world-renowned Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is a Typica variety.

Typica was introduced to Blue Mountain for cultivation in the 18th century and has been there for over two hundred years. The Typica in Blue Mountain has adapted to the local island-type terroir and evolved better disease resistance, particularly against coffee berry disease, which is much stronger than typical Typica. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the exquisite, clean flavor of Blue Mountain is inseparable from Jamaica's dedication to careful cultivation of the Typica variety. FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-dark roasting to maximize the presentation of chocolate and nut aromas while retaining soft acidity and sweetness, creating an overall balanced taste.

Bourbon

Bourbon originated from a natural mutation of Typica, with the pointed thin beans becoming round-bodied. It was first discovered on Bourbon Island (now Réunion) on the east coast of Africa. In 1715, after France transplanted round beans from Yemen Mocha to Bourbon Island on the east coast of Africa (renamed Réunion after the French Revolution), it was named Bourbon. The round-bodied Bourbon beans were introduced to Brazil for cultivation in 1727. Because the plants can be densely planted and yield relatively more fruit, the production is 20-30% higher than Typica.

Most Brazilian coffee has low acidity, combined with rich, mellow aromas, making it extremely smooth on the palate with a refreshing aftertaste. FrontStreet Coffee has selected a semi-dry processed Red Bourbon coffee as Brazil's representative. The coffee flavor has distinct nutty and chocolate notes, medium caramel sweetness, smooth mouthfeel, and overall balance. FrontStreet Coffee has added it to its daily bean series. FrontStreet Coffee's daily beans represent the signature of each major producing region, presenting the basic flavors of the region. Coffee beginners can understand the basic flavors of each region and then choose to explore different regional types according to their preferences.

What Other Common Arabica Varieties Exist?

With the development of the coffee industry, high-quality coffee beans will have detailed traceability information. Therefore, when we buy coffee beans, we can know the origin, variety, flavor, grower, processing method, and other information from the packaging. Here, FrontStreet Coffee introduces several common Arabica varieties.

Geisha

Friends who often drink pour-over coffee must have heard of Panamanian Geisha coffee, which has become one of the symbols of contemporary specialty coffee due to its stunning aroma. The Geisha variety is derived from Typica and also originates from Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Unlike other coffee varieties, Geisha coffee trees have very thin leaf systems, meaning photosynthesis efficiency is very low. The roots are also fragile, with slow absorption of water and nutrients, resulting in very low coffee yields. Coupled with high-altitude growing environments, the fruit maturation time is also relatively late.

Currently, Geisha is grown in many regions worldwide and is the new king of specialty coffee, with higher quality in Latin American countries such as Panama, Guatemala, and Colombia. Panamanian Geisha is particularly outstanding among specialty coffees. When it comes to Geisha coffee, the most popular on FrontStreet Coffee's menu is, of course, the renowned Geisha coffee produced by Hacienda La Esmeralda, which is divided into Red Label Geisha, Green Label Geisha, and Volcanic Geisha according to different characteristics. High-quality Geisha coffee has an intoxicating fragrance of rose flowers, citrus, berries, and honey, loved by many coffee enthusiasts.

Caturra

Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. The tree is relatively short with low disease resistance, but due to dense planting capability and higher fruit-bearing rates, its yield is higher than Bourbon and other varieties. Caturra is widely planted in Central American countries. Caturra has bright acidity and a taste full of fruit flavors. After medium-dark roasting, it presents chocolate and nutty sweetness, making it a frequent champion in many coffee competitions. Many coffee beans on FrontStreet Coffee's menu contain the Caturra variety. If you want to understand the flavor characteristics of this variety, FrontStreet Coffee recommends the Colombian daily bean, which is selected from the Huilan region's washed Caturra variety and has very high cleanliness. FrontStreet Coffee hopes to highlight the classic Colombian coffee flavor and uses medium-dark roasting to present aromas of nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel.

SL28 & SL34

Between 1935-1939, Scott Laboratories prefixed all selected and cultivated coffee varieties with SL. The laboratory selected 42 varieties from different origins and studied their yield, quality, drought resistance, and disease resistance. After numbering and screening them one by one, they finally obtained SL-28 and SL-34.

SL28 comes from the Bourbon genetic group, with short, round beans and a thick body, featuring flavor characteristics of uplifted acidity and noticeable sweetness. SL34 comes from the Typica genetic group, with oval beans that appear flatter from the side compared to Typica varieties, featuring flavor characteristics of balanced, full sweet and sour with caramel aftertaste. FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Assalia coffee beans are selected from these two varieties, using 72-hour washed processing to present the full acidity of plum, brown sugar, black plum, and cherry tomato.

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