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What are the characteristics of Arabica green coffee beans and how to identify Arabica coffee beans

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). You often see breakfast shops or coffee shops emphasizing that their coffee is 100% Arabica coffee, but isn't this something that should be expected? Coffee beans are generally divided into Arabica and Robusta varieties. Seventy percent of the world's coffee beans are Arabica.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

Have you ever seen breakfast shops or coffee shops emphasizing that their coffee is 100% Arabica coffee? But isn't this something that should be taken for granted?

Coffee beans are generally divided into Arabica and Robusta varieties.

Seventy percent of the world's coffee beans are Arabica, while the remaining thirty percent are Robusta. Therefore, most coffees are Arabica.

Don't be deceived by such marketing claims anymore. Using Arabica coffee beans isn't anything special—it's the bean variety that most people use, with only differences in grade levels. However, there are 3 exceptions:

1. 3-in-1 coffee - To reduce costs and increase caffeine content.

2. Commercial beans - To reduce costs.

3. Blended beans - To balance coffee flavors.

Arabica Variety

Grown at high altitudes above 1000 meters, it's considered a high-quality coffee bean.

Robusta Variety

Grown at low altitudes of 200 meters, it's considered inferior quality, such as coffee beans from Vietnam and Indonesia.

Admittedly, Robusta beans can increase the richness of coffee, and many shops add them to enhance body and reduce costs. However, their quality and aroma still fall short compared to Arabica coffee beans. Moreover, their caffeine content is three times that of Arabica beans, which is also why some people experience heart palpitations when drinking coffee.

Therefore, good establishments don't use Robusta beans.

The taste characteristics of Robusta coffee: smells like tires and straw, tastes like the Americano sold at McDonald's—the taste of coffee water.

Coffee Bean Types

Coffee beans can be roughly divided into three types:

Arabica

Accounts for 69% of world coffee production. Arabica coffee trees are relatively difficult to cultivate. They prefer mild daytime temperatures and cooler nights. Too cold, too hot, or too humid climates can be fatal to them. Arabica coffee trees need to be planted on high-altitude sloped terrain, so harvesting must be done manually by climbing up and down, making it extremely difficult. However, because Arabica coffee beans have excellent aroma, balanced flavor, and lower caffeine content, despite being difficult to cultivate, they actually account for about 70% of total coffee cultivation.

Robusta

Accounts for 30% of world coffee production. Robusta coffee trees are resistant to high temperatures, cold, humidity, drought, and even mold infestation. Their adaptability is extremely strong, and they can grow very well on flat land. Harvesting doesn't necessarily require manual labor and can be done entirely with shaking machines. In terms of cultivation, Robusta coffee trees have many advantages, but unfortunately, the coffee beans produced have poor aroma, strong bitterness, insufficient acidity, and double the caffeine content of Arabica. Robusta coffee beans have more distinctive flavor characteristics and are mostly used for blending or instant coffee.

Liberica

Accounts for 1% of world coffee production.

Therefore, coffee bean trading and coffee futures trading worldwide are mainly focused on Arabica and Robusta varieties.

Arabica vs. Robusta Comparison

Characteristic/Variety	Arabica	Robusta
Origin & Growing Environment	The most popular coffee bean in the market, mainly grown in highland regions of the Western Hemisphere, including Brazil, Colombia, and other Latin American countries. Brazil and Colombia are the world's first and second largest coffee-producing countries respectively, grown at heights exceeding 2000 feet in areas with moderate and stable temperatures.	Mainly grown in lower and hotter regions of Africa and Asia, with Côte d'Ivoire being the primary producer, followed by Uganda, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, etc., with heights between 500 to 2000 feet, and stronger disease resistance.
Harvest Period & Yield	Arabica coffee trees take five years from seedling planting to bear fruit. Brazil's main harvest period is May to September, while Colombia's is April to June. Total production accounts for about 70% of the global market.	Robusta coffee trees only need two to three years to bear fruit. Indonesia's harvest period is April to August, while Vietnam's is October to April of the following year. Total production accounts for about 30% of the global market.
Characteristics & Uses	Milder taste, with aroma and wine-like acidity, higher quality, relatively higher price.	Possesses strong resistance to pests and diseases, taste and aroma are less popular, mainly used for blending and as raw material for instant coffee.

Detailed Technical Comparison

Characteristic	Arabica	Robusta
Chromosomes	44	22
From planting to first harvest	9 months	10 to 11 months
Mature fruit	Falls off	Stays on branches
Wild tree maximum height	7-12 meters	10 meters
Root system	Deep soil	Shallow soil
Optimal growing temperature	15-24°C	24-30°C
Optimal rainfall	1500-2000 mm	2000-3000 mm
Optimal growing height	900-2000 meters	0-700 meters
Growing environment	Mild and cool	Warm and humid
Coffee tree production	Low	High
Global production share	About 70%	About 30%
Cultivation method	Mostly organic cultivation	Commercial large-scale cultivation
Cultivation land	Mostly private farms	Mostly controlled by multinational corporations
Coffee bean harvesting	Manual	Shaking machines
Disease resistance	Weak	Strong
Pest resistance	Weak	Strong
Caffeine content	1.1-1.7%	4.5-4.7%
Fruiting characteristic	Same flower pollination	Cross pollination
Fruit color	Yellow or red	Dark red
Bean shape	Long oval, flat	Oval, spherical
Bean center line	S-shaped	Straight line
After brewing characteristic	Acidic	Bitter
Body consistency	Average 1.2%	Average 2.0%
Flavor	Good	Poor

Coffee bean shapes are long oval and flat.

Oval, spherical, or nearly spherical.

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