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Which is Better: Robusta or Arabica? _ Robusta Coffee Bean Origins _ Are Robusta Prices Low?

Published: 2026-01-28 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/28, Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account cafe_style). Why do Robusta coffee beans have such a notorious reputation? Robusta beans, with their round appearance resembling soybeans at first glance, are also known as "robust beans." They possess strong disease and pest resistance, high yields, and low prices. In the specialty coffee world, Robusta has historically had an extremely poor reputation.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange, for more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

Why is Robusta Coffee Notoriously Bad?

Robusta beans, which are round and look like soybeans at first glance, are also called "coarse beans." They have strong resistance to pests and diseases, high yields, and are inexpensive. The specialty coffee industry has historically had a very poor impression of Robusta because it usually lacks charming and delicate flavors. The bigger problem is that because it's positioned as a low-priced product, cultivation and processing methods are mostly extremely rough, leading to an abundance of defect flavors. It often carries earthy, dirty flavors, and sometimes even tastes similar to burnt tires or burning plastic.

Ten years ago, I had the opportunity to taste several cheap Vietnamese Robusta beans. The taste of a few of them was unforgettable - it was simply like burnt barley tea with tire flavoring, accompanied by nine other defect flavors, making me involuntarily spit it out and never want to take another sip.

Why Discuss Robusta If It's So Bad?

Good question! As mentioned at the beginning of this article, everything has its good and bad sides. Good beans take you to heaven, while bad beans break your heart! This is true for Arabica, and Robusta is no exception! In fact, under the recent wave of specialty coffee, high-quality processed premium Robusta beans have already emerged in the world! The representative of specialty-grade Robusta beans is India's "Kappi Royale" grade Robusta.

The Emergence of Premium Robusta

"Kappi Royale" means "top grade," and currently in India, at least four (and continuously increasing) private coffee estates are cultivating and producing high-quality "Kappi Royale" grade Robusta coffee beans using the standards and procedures of premium Arabica beans! This includes refined full washed processing and the popular Pulp Natural semi-washed processing method in recent years. The advent of "Kappi Royale" grade premium Robusta beans is undoubtedly beginning to change the world's impression of Robusta!

Most people who have tried it are surprised by its combination of thickness and cleanliness. Because of refined cultivation and processing routines, "Kappi Royale" grade Robusta's flavor performance is mostly quite clean, without the disturbing defect flavors (off-flavors) of cheap-grade Robusta. Robusta naturally lacks the ethereal aromatic flavors unique to Arabica beans, replaced instead by a thicker, more stable mouthfeel, and strong walnut, peanut, hazelnut, and wheat flavors similar to eating peanut butter or hazelnut paste.

Recognition in the Specialty Coffee Industry

India's "Kappi Royale" grade Robusta currently has very limited production, but it has gradually begun to receive attention from elite specialty coffee professionals worldwide. David C. Schomer, an espresso expert and owner of the renowned Seattle shop Espresso Vivace, began adding 14% India "Kappi Royale" grade Robusta to his espresso blend ten years ago. Paradise Roasters, the champion roastery of the All-American Coffee Review scores, took the lead in the North American specialty coffee market by launching a 100% Robusta India CxR single-origin espresso in 2009, receiving 90 and 91 point evaluations from Coffee Review in 2009 and 2010 respectively! This proves that Robusta is no longer what it used to be!

Italy's Love for Robusta

If you were to ask which country or region in the world loves Robusta coffee beans the most, the undisputed first place would be Italy, the homeland of espresso! If we narrow it down further, more precisely, the places that use the most Robusta beans are in southern Italy, such as Palermo, Naples, and Sicily. In fact, in southern Italy, the coffee people drink mostly contains a considerable proportion of Robusta beans. Content ranging from thirty to sixty percent is quite common, with some blend formulas containing up to eighty or even one hundred percent Robusta!

Opening the supply list of local Italian green coffee wholesalers, you'll see a dozen or even more than twenty varieties of Robusta green beans from coffee-producing regions worldwide listed for local coffee roasters to choose from. This phenomenon doesn't exist in other parts of the world, such as the United States, Canada, Northern Europe, Japan, or even Taiwan, and is considered incredible.

Why Italians Mix Robusta with Arabica

You might wonder why Italians mix large amounts of Robusta into their Arabica beans. The common explanation is that Italians add Robusta to increase the Crema content in Espresso. This explanation is only half correct; there's another rarely known reason.

It turns out that southern Italy was historically a relatively poor region where people could only afford cheap coffee, so initially, Robusta beans were mixed purely to reduce costs. However, after years of extensive roasting and blending with Robusta, combined with Italians' natural sensitivity to gourmet cooking, they discovered that Robusta beans possess many characteristics that Arabica beans lack. As long as one becomes familiar with and fully masters these characteristics, an excellent chef (coffee roaster) can create dishes (espresso beans) with captivating charm.

Compared to Arabica beans' 44 pairs of chromosomes, Robusta beans have only 22 pairs, with caffeine contents of 1.5% and 2.8% respectively. They are completely different varieties that cannot be cross-bred, which explains why they have many completely different characteristics.

Quality vs. Quantity

When it comes down to comparison, perhaps it should be called - quality versus quantity. Arabica coffee represents [quality], while Robusta coffee represents [quantity]. When you are particular about the [flavor] of coffee, the money you pay determines which coffee deserves you.

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