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Coffee Basics: Three Major Coffee Bean Varieties - Flavor Differences Between Typica, Bourbon, Geisha, Catuai, Catimor

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Coffee is mainly divided into three categories---Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages, with different purposes and uses. Coffee has long been believed to have certain medicinal properties, such as aiding digestion, refreshing the mind, stopping bleeding, reducing heat, and strengthening the body. Current research has found that there are approximately

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Major Coffee Varieties

Currently, there are 66 countries worldwide cultivating coffee beans, which are mainly divided into three major categories: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. Among these, Arabica and Robusta are the most common coffee bean varieties.

Arabica coffee beans have numerous varieties, most of which possess clean and high-quality flavors. Therefore, the specialty coffees available on the market are all Arabica varieties. Arabica coffee plants generally have weaker resistance to diseases and pests and have high environmental requirements, requiring careful cultivation. With lower yields, they account for approximately 30% of global coffee production.

Robusta coffee beans have fewer varieties, most of which have strong bitterness, making them generally used for making instant coffee or for consumption with large amounts of sugar and milk. Robusta coffee has extremely strong resistance to diseases and pests, with low environmental requirements and minimal maintenance needed. With higher yields, it accounts for nearly 70% of global coffee production.

In our daily lives, coffee beans we often hear about, such as Typica, Bourbon, Gesha, Caturra, and Catuai, are all Arabica varieties, but their flavors and textures are significantly different.

Arabica Varieties

Typica

Typica originates from southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan and is one of the oldest coffee varieties among Arabica species. The top leaves of Typica plants are reddish-brown, so it is also known as red-topped coffee. Most of the Arabica coffee varieties we see today are derived from the Typica variety.

Through observation and cupping, FrontStreet Coffee has found that Typica coffee beans are oval in shape, with a slender and full body, featuring a clean taste and subtle, pure flavor characteristics.

Bourbon

Bourbon is a natural mutation of Typica, with the most significant change in its coffee beans being the transformation from the long shape of Typica to a round shape. Bourbon coffee was initially cultivated on Réunion Island, which was called Bourbon Island before 1789, hence the coffee variety was named "Bourbon."

Through observation and cupping, FrontStreet Coffee has found that Bourbon coffee beans are short and round, with a thick body, featuring a smooth taste and prominent sweetness characteristics.

Gesha/Geisha

Gesha/Geisha comes from the Gesha forest in Ethiopia. The most significant feature of Gesha coffee compared to other varieties is its extremely low yield. Its shape characteristics manifest as long nodes on coffee branches, with large distances between nodes, resulting in fewer flowers and fruits on the coffee tree.

Through observation and cupping, FrontStreet Coffee has found that Gesha coffee beans are slender, with pointed ends and a plump, full middle section.

Caturra

Caturra is a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety. Caturra plants have closely spaced branches, and the fruit is smaller than Bourbon, which allows for more fruit production in the same space, greatly increasing coffee fruit yield.

Through observation and cupping, FrontStreet Coffee has found that Caturra coffee beans are round and long, with a curved tail end, featuring a bright, clean taste and prominent sweetness characteristics.

Catuai

Catuai is an artificially cultivated hybrid of Caturra and Mundo Novo. Catuai inherits Mundo Novo's attributes of high yield, strong disease resistance, and excellent cup quality, as well as Caturra's characteristics of small size, high-quality acidity, and sun-dried coffee processing. Due to its smaller plant size, it can be planted at twice the density during cultivation.

Through observation and cupping, FrontStreet Coffee has found that Catuai coffee beans are oval and flat, with a relatively slender tail end, featuring gentle acidity, a clean taste, and rich fruity aromas.