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Many coffee shops use "100% Arabica" to advertise themselves. When coffee bean/powder cans have this line, the price won't be too low. Could Arabica be the high-end term in the coffee world?

Understanding Arabica

Arabica is one of the most main coffee tree species in the world. Arabica species account for about 65%-80% of all coffee beans worldwide. The so-called 100% Arabica can only represent the bean species description, with absolutely no implication of quality or excellence.

Coffee trees are shrubs or small trees of the Rubiaceae family. Mature coffee fruits look like cherries, appear bright red, have sweet flesh, and contain a pair of seeds - these are coffee beans. Whenever people mention coffee, they usually refer to the fruits from a specific tree species - this species is Arabica. Arabica is the world's main coffee bean, grown in dozens of coffee-producing countries between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.

Getting to Know Arabica Coffee Beans

1. Arabica is a premium coffee species widely used commercially

Arabica is naturally low-caffeine coffee, with caffeine content about one-half to one-third of Robusta. Arabica grown in different high-altitude regions produces coffee beans with significant taste differences, offering diverse flavors with unique characteristics. Blending coffee from different origins is also a natural advantage of the Arabica species, making coffee taste richer.

2. Arabica's high price comes from difficult cultivation

Arabica's cultivation conditions are quite stringent, requiring higher altitudes (above 600 to 2000 meters), fertile soil, sufficient humidity, appropriate sunlight conditions, and shade. That's not all - Arabica coffee tree species have poor resistance to pests and diseases and are easily damaged. Therefore, the annual yield per unit area of coffee trees is also lower.

3. Blue Mountain Coffee is one of the earliest sub-varieties of Arabica

Among the Arabica series, three earlier sub-varieties are: Blue Mountain varietal, Typica varietal, and Bourbon varietal. Blue Mountain Coffee, taking advantage of Jamaica's unique natural advantages, has become recognized as the world's best coffee. However, it should be noted that 99.9% of Blue Mountain Coffee available in China is just grown near the Blue Mountain range. Only coffee produced from the 6,000 hectares of land above 1600 meters altitude can be called Blue Mountain, and production has always been below 900 tons. Most importantly, 90% of the world's Blue Mountain Coffee is bought by Japanese people.

However, Arabica is not the only coffee tree species. Currently, more than 120 coffee tree species have been identified, but only one has a popularity level similar to Arabica: Coffea canephora (commonly known as medium-grain coffee), which we often call Robusta.

Understanding Robusta

1. Robusta is difficult to grow

The term Robusta is essentially a brand name that promotes the characteristics of its coffee tree species. It was first discovered in the late 19th century in what was then the Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo). Compared to existing Arabica, Robusta can be planted and bear fruit at lower altitudes, adapts to high-temperature environments, and has better disease resistance. Because Robusta's growing environment requirements are less stringent, the cost of producing Robusta coffee beans is relatively much lower. However, Robusta also has unavoidable disadvantages: the coffee is not very tasty.

2. Robusta is mainly used for instant coffee production

Of course, Robusta also has different grades, and it is possible to produce high-quality Robusta coffee. For many years, Robusta coffee has been an important component of espresso culture, but in recent years, most Robusta coffee produced worldwide has ended up in large commercial production factories, made into the most despised product in this industry: instant coffee.

3. Robusta is actually one of Arabica's parents

The coffee industry has always regarded Robusta as Arabica's ugly sister, until an interesting genetic discovery revealed the truth: Once scientists conducted gene sequence comparisons, they found that these two tree species are not siblings or cousins at all - Robusta is actually one of Arabica's parents. The most likely birthplace of Arabica is southern Sudan, where Robusta cross-pollinated with another coffee species, Eugenioides, creating the entirely new Arabica. This new species subsequently branched out and spread to Ethiopia for continued reproduction, and Ethiopia has thus long been considered the origin of coffee.

How to Distinguish Between Arabica and Robusta

From appearance:

Arabica coffee beans: Smaller in size, oval-shaped on the front, with narrow and curved cracks in the middle. The back of the bean has a relatively flat arc, somewhat like half a peanut.

Robusta coffee beans: Larger in size, increasingly circular on the front, with the cracked side slightly puffed up and very straight grooves. The back is round and convex.

From flavor perspective:

Arabica coffee beans possess varied and broad potential flavors. Arabica coffee produced in different regions, altitudes, and climates has its own characteristics, showing completely different personality flavors. Unroasted, they smell like fresh grass. After appropriate roasting, they display "fruit aroma" (light to medium roast) and "caramel flavor" (dark roast). Suitable for single-origin and various blend beans, can be brewed using various extraction techniques (French press, drip extraction, espresso machines).

Robusta coffee beans usually have relatively plain, dull, and pungent flavors. Because most Robusta worldwide is grown in low-altitude areas (currently only India grows rare high-altitude, high-quality, washed Robusta coffee beans), flavor differences between different regions and climates are not significant, lacking personality. Unroasted, they smell like raw peanuts. Cheap Robusta coffee beans after roasting usually show flavors between "wheat tea taste" (light to medium roast) and "rubber tire taste" (dark roast), making it difficult to display delicate flavors.

Arabica Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Arabica coffee beans have full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, the cost-performance ratio is extremely high. Each package is 227 grams, with a price of only around 70-90 yuan. Calculating at 15 grams of coffee beans per cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 5-6 yuan. Compared to coffee shops selling cups for over a hundred yuan, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473