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Catimor is one of the most widely planted coffee families in the world, and understanding where it came from explains a great deal about how commercial coffee is grown today.

Growers have crossed Arabica and Robusta coffee to make use of Robusta's robust, high-yielding genes; there are also naturally occurring hybrids that have been selected and cultivated for their excellent planting characteristics. Through multiple generations of backcrossing and mixing, breeders have tried to develop coffee varieties that are both delicious and hardy.

In major commercial coffee production areas worldwide, farmers have already planted these hybrid coffee varieties containing Robusta genes very widely. High yield and disease resistance directly affect the livelihood of coffee farmers, after all. Moreover, during export they are often mixed together without deliberately separating and labeling bean varieties. Importers tend to be more concerned with origin and quality standards such as size, hardness and defect rate.

A relatively famous hybrid coffee bean is Catimor, which carries one-quarter Robusta bloodline. It is a hybrid of Caturra (an Arabica variety) and Timor, a naturally hybrid variety discovered in East Timor.

On Indonesia's Sumatra island, Ateng (the local name for Catimor) and Tim Tim (that is, Timor, which carries half Robusta genes) already account for 70% of export volume. The so-called Mandheling is actually a three-in-one blend of these two hybrid varieties and Typica, one of the Arabica types.

Colombia has also planted its own Catimor coffee extensively. After multiple generations of backcrossing, the Robusta genes are said to have been greatly reduced. They named it "Colombia" after their country name, showing the importance placed on it, and it has become one of the main export varieties.

In Kenya, the local Arabica-Robusta hybrid is called Ruiru 11, and there is a trend in commercial export beans toward replacing the traditional SL28 and SL34 varieties.

In China's Yunnan province, the basic varieties exported to major international coffee companies like Starbucks and Nestlé are already Catimor varieties. High yield and disease resistance bring substantial economic benefits to coffee farmers.

About Catimor

Catimor comes from the hybridization of Timor and Caturra. In 1959, it was developed by the Portuguese Coffee Leaf Rust Research Center (CIFC), with research focused on disease resistance and high yield.

Catimor is high-yielding, with short plants that can be densely planted, and its new leaves are reddish-brown.

The Robusta genes inherited from Timor enable Catimor to better resist coffee berry disease and coffee leaf rust, while also giving it stronger general pest and disease resistance. This is also, however, what it is most often criticized for in terms of cup quality.

Catimor fruits mature quickly with high yields, requiring sufficient fertilizer supply and shade. Its high yield also corresponds to a relatively shorter commercial lifespan, averaging only ten years.

When planted at low altitudes, Catimor's cup performance shows no significant superiority or inferiority compared with other commercial varieties. When planted above 1,200 meters altitude, however, Catimor's cup flavor is clearly inferior to Bourbon, Caturra and Catuai.

Catimor was initially developed in 1959 and began to be promoted in Brazil in the 1970s and 1980s. With its disease resistance and high yield, it secured a place among Central and South American coffee varieties. The occasional coffee leaf rust crises in Central and South America also accelerated the adoption of Catimor.

Coffee varieties developed on a Catimor base can be found in major coffee-producing countries such as Colombia and Indonesia, and also in

Yunnan, China

Catimor's influence is easiest to see in the cup styles it underpins, and Sumatra is a good example: the Ateng and Tim Tim genetics behind Catimor are exactly what sit inside a classic Mandheling blend.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Because Catimor and its relatives dominate so much of the world's commercial coffee, the clearest way to taste what good breeding and careful processing can do is to start with Sumatra. FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling comes from PWN in the Gayo mountains of Aceh, North Sumatra. Each lot is screened to size 18 and above, with fewer than 3 defects per 300g green bean sample to meet the top G1 standard, then passed through three rounds of hand sorting. The result is a dense, clean, full-bodied cup with intense nut and caramel aromas, chocolate notes and a long, balanced finish.

For a more classically earthy Mandheling, the Lintong Mandheling comes from the Lintong area near Lake Toba and is processed with the region's distinctive wet-hulling method, which is what produces those herbal, dark chocolate and caramel notes with a sweet aftertaste. Both are medium-dark roasted, and both are excellent as pour-over. If you prefer your Mandheling in milk, FrontStreet's Classic Blend layers a medium-dark Mandheling over Brazilian beans with a small proportion of robusta, adding butter, roasted chestnut, caramel, sandalwood and spice to the crema.