Characteristics of Caturra/Catuai Coffee Beans - Where Do Caturra/Catuai Coffee Beans Come From?

Coffee Species Overview

Coffee belongs to the Rubiaceae family, genus Coffea, which consists of evergreen shrubs. There are approximately 125 species in the Coffea genus, distributed across subgenus Coffeae (25 species in Africa and 55 in Madagascar, plus the Mascarene and Comoros archipelago groups) and subgenus Baracoffeae with 7 species.

Commercially Valuable Coffee Varieties

Among these, only three species have commercial value:

Arabica (Coffea Arabica), Robusta (Coffea canephora, also known as Coffea Robusta), and Liberica (Coffea Liberica). These three are known as the "three major native coffee species."

Arabica accounts for approximately 70% of world production and is the primary source for specialty coffee;

Robusta accounts for 27% and is mainly used for instant and canned coffee, with caffeine content twice that of Arabica;

Liberica, being susceptible to leaf rust disease and poor in flavor, is traded only domestically in countries like Suriname, Liberia, and Cote d'Ivoire, and is not popular worldwide.

Coffee varieties can be divided biologically into Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. The main varieties consumed worldwide are Arabica and Robusta, while Liberica is often overlooked due to limited production or inferior quality.

Generally, Arabica is used primarily for single-origin or specialty coffee, while Robusta goes into instant coffee. Although Arabica can be defined as premium and Robusta as secondary, this classification is not necessarily fixed; it is more appropriate to distinguish based on personal taste. From a flavor preference standpoint, the United States and Japan more commonly drink light coffee brewed from Arabica, while Europe prefers espresso made from a blend of Arabica and Robusta.

Caturra Variety

Caturra belongs to the Arabica species.

It is a single-gene natural mutation of Red Bourbon, characterized by dwarf plants with green tops. It can be planted at 5,000-6,000 plants per hectare without shade requirements. The beans are medium to small, and it yields more than Bourbon. It was first discovered in Brazil in 1937 and began commercial cultivation in Minas Gerais that same year. It performs best in Central American countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. At altitudes of 1,500-1,700 meters, it can produce the best quality and quantity.

Caturra is characterized by bright acidity and low to medium body. It has less clarity and sweetness than its parent Bourbon, with medium to upper cup quality. In terms of flavor, it carries lemon or citrus acidity. In sweetness it doesn't match Typica and Bourbon, as Caturra's sweetness depends on the frequency and dosage of fertilization by growers. It has high production capacity, but maintaining that capacity requires continuous fertilization and pruning, resulting in short plants with many branches and a compact shape. The leaves are broader with fine serrations. Although production capacity has increased, the 2-year harvest cycle, higher care costs, and extreme susceptibility to leaf rust, berry disease, and nematode infections keep yields limited.

So Caturra will have lemon acidity and mild sweetness.

Caturra is a single-gene variant of Bourbon discovered in Brazil in 1937. Both its production capacity and disease resistance are better than Bourbon. The plants are shorter, making harvesting convenient. Unfortunately, it runs into the same problem as Bourbon: bearing fruit one year and resting the next. The flavor is comparable to Bourbon beans, or slightly inferior.

Its adaptability, though, is stronger, allowing high-density planting without shade trees. It can thrive even when directly exposed to intense sunlight, which earned it the name "Sun Coffee."

Caturra suits low altitudes from 700 meters up to high altitudes of 1,700 meters, but the higher the altitude the better the flavor, though bean production decreases accordingly. There are also yellow Caturra variants in Central and South America, but their reputation doesn't match that of Yellow Bourbon.

FrontStreet Coffee has several coffees containing the Caturra variety.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

V60/90°C/1:15/Time: two minutes

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Caturra is a mutation of Bourbon, the same line that runs through so much of Latin America, and FrontStreet Coffee's arabica lineup shows where that family took root. FrontStreet's Brazil Queen Estate is the earliest-discovered Yellow Bourbon, with notes of cream, peanut, toasted bread, and sugarcane, rich and clean, and it works as a pour-over, a moka pot, or an espresso machine coffee. Bourbon is also the variety that yields roughly 30% more than Typica while keeping the round, short bean shape.

For the washed side of Arabia, FrontStreet's Yirgacheffe Guodingding is a strong reference: a G1 lot from the Guodingding village processing station, using the classic washed method to show elegant white florals, citrus, orange, and green tea. Against it, FrontStreet's Huakui, a natural from Hambela in Guji, brings a sunny tropical fruit character with cream strawberry, mango, jackfruit, citrus, and blueberry.

The varieties keep broadening from there. FrontStreet's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is a Typica, transplanted to the Blue Mountain range from Martinique in the 1720s and refined over more than 200 years. And FrontStreet's Panama Red Label Geisha, grown at 1,600-1,800 m, is a floral, citrus-led arabica of exceptional refinement. Sidra, meanwhile, first came to wider attention when champion barista Anthony Douglas used a Sidra from the Finca division in the 2022 World Barista Championship, and FrontStreet's Colombia Sidra, roasted medium-light, shows florals, tropical fruit, grape, and passionfruit with a juice-like body.