Caturra Coffee Variety Introduction - What Are the Characteristics of Caturra Coffee

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Ancient Arabica Varieties

The ancient Arabica native species can be divided into two major categories: Ethiopia's Typica and Yemen's Bourbon.

Typica

Typica is the oldest native species in Ethiopia, featuring elegant flavor but weak constitution, susceptible to leaf rust disease, and low yield, making it economically unviable. The beans are slender and pointed. It's practically the Lin Daiyu of the coffee world!

Bourbon

Bourbon stands alongside Typica as an ancient superior variety. It can be further divided into "round Bourbon" and "pointed Bourbon." Round Bourbon has vigorous vitality, unlike the frail and sickly Typica. Round Bourbon's resistance to leaf rust is superior to Typica, and its flavor is no less impressive. The drawback is that the coffee tree needs to rest for a year after fruiting.

In reality, Arabica can be further subdivided into many subspecies. Just like humans have different races - yellow, white, black, and brown - different subspecies have variations. For example, white people are generally taller than yellow people, while black people have superior explosive athletic power compared to other races. Similarly, different Arabica subspecies vary in production capacity, disease resistance, and bean size.

Bourbon

A subspecies that mutated from Typica, currently one of the varieties closest to the native species alongside Typica. It was discovered on Reunion Island (originally named Bourbon) next to Madagascar. Some coffee experts believe Bourbon is merely a natural variant of Typica and nothing special! However, this is not the case - Bourbon has its own unique characteristics, sharing the same high-quality mouthfeel as Typica, with wine-like acidity and sweet aftertaste. Typica and Bourbon can be distinguished by their coffee tree leaves and bean appearance. Bourbon's leaves are broader, the coffee cherries are smaller but grow more densely, resulting in beans that are relatively smaller and rounder compared to Typica. In Kenya and Tanzania, Bourbon offspring were used for artificial crossbreeding, creating new artificial varieties "SL28" and "SL34" known for their excellent flavor performance. Although Bourbon's yield is higher than Typica, the harvesting period is also 2 years, making it a low-yield variety.

Caturra

A mutant of Bourbon. It was first discovered in Brazil and began commercial cultivation in Minas Gerais, Brazil in 1937. In terms of flavor, it carries lemon or citrus acidity, with sweetness inferior to Typica and Bourbon because Caturra's sweetness depends on the frequency and dosage of fertilization by growers. It has high production capacity, but maintaining production requires continuous fertilization and pruning, resulting in short trees with many branches. Although production capacity increased, the 2-year harvesting period and higher care costs still restrict overall yield.

Taking FrontStreet Coffee's "Flower Butterfly" as an example, it contains Caturra and Caturra's hybrid Catuai, offering a richer mouthfeel with subtle nutty flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations:

V60/90°C/1:15 ratio/Time 2'20"

Flavor Profile:

The dry aroma features subtle jasmine floral notes. Upon tasting, it delivers gentle citrus acidity, honey-like sweetness, black tea characteristics, and carries some nutty flavors.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473