Are Starbucks Reserve Coffee Beans All Arabica? Introduction to Arabica Coffee Bean Origins and Varieties

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Many people ask about the varieties of Starbucks coffee beans. Starbucks Reserve coffee beans are Arabica coffee. We often hear advertisements claiming "100% Arabica coffee beans," which has created a misconception that Arabica coffee beans must always be good coffee. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will provide some scientific knowledge about coffee bean varieties.

There are dozens of major coffee species in the world, but only three main types are commonly consumed and well-known: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica, also known as the "three major original coffee species."

Starbucks Reserve Arabica Coffee Bean Varieties Introduction:

1. Verona: A blend of coffees from Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region. No specific variety introduced.

2. Espresso Roast: Dark roast. Washed process. Multiple regions. Still no specific variety introduced.

3. Caffè Verona: Latin American region. Still no specific variety introduced.

4. Sumatra: Asia and Pacific region. Still no specific variety introduced.

5. Gazebo Blend: Latin American and Asian regions. Still no specific variety introduced.

6. Christmas Blend: Multiple regions. This red classic, first created in 1984, features premium Sumatra coffee beans with each bean carefully tended, blended with bright-tasting Latin American coffee beans and mild Indonesian coffee beans, creating rich flavor layers. Still no specific variety introduced.

7. Spring Day Blend: A blend of coffee beans from three major regions with four varieties, offering strong layering with berry flavors. It consists of four beans: the first is aged Sumatra from Indonesia, the second is natural-processed Ethiopia from Africa. The combination of these two created abrupt flavors, so third and fourth beans were added: Colombian coffee beans and Papua New Guinea coffee beans. These two beans brought bright acidity and nutty flavors to the blend, ultimately achieving harmony. Still no specific variety introduced.

8. Colombia Valle (Single Origin): Sorry, in Starbucks' coffee dictionary, the word "variety" doesn't exist.

9. Kenya: Sorry, in Starbucks' coffee dictionary, the word "variety" doesn't exist.

10. House Blend: Latin American region. Sorry, in Starbucks' coffee dictionary, the word "variety" doesn't exist.

11. Yunnan (Single Origin): It's the first coffee bean produced from China's single-origin region. This single-origin coffee uses 100% high-quality Arabica coffee beans grown in Yunnan, with mild acidity and soft herbal flavors. Sorry, the above was nonsense from the editor - Starbucks does have the concept of variety - in Starbucks' coffee dictionary, there's only the word Arabica.

12. Antigua: Latin American region. From Central America's Guatemala, still no specific variety introduced.

13. Huehuetenango: Latin American region. Guatemala's Huehuetenango region is one of the coldest places in Guatemala. Still no specific variety introduced!

On Starbucks' official website, there's no clear introduction of coffee bean varieties. Although Arabica coffee beans are considered the best-flavored among these three categories, it's important to know that Arabica is a major coffee category. In the specialty coffee world, Arabica is also divided into many smaller varieties. These smaller varieties also produce different flavors due to their own genes and different regional environments.

Common Arabica coffee varieties include Typica, Bourbon, Geisha, Caturra, Catuai, and so on.

Ethiopia Local Heirloom Varieties

Most Ethiopian coffee varieties are called local heirlooms or small-grain varieties. They have a relatively round appearance with very small beans, mostly between 14-15 mesh. The term "heirloom variety" emerged after the specialty coffee movement began. At that time, specialty coffee buyers who couldn't distinguish between Typica and Bourbon differences would collectively refer to these unknown varieties as heirloom varieties. Additionally, Ethiopia has too many coffee varieties, like a natural gene bank for Arabica. On one hand, there are numerous varieties making classification difficult, and on the other hand, the Ethiopian government, for protection considerations, is unwilling or unable to disclose this variety information.

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Kochere

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe

Altitude: 1800-2000 meters

Variety: Local Heirloom

Processing: Washed

Flavor: Jasmine, berries, lemon, citrus

Typica

Typica is the oldest native variety of Ethiopia. Typica has bronze-colored young leaves and oval or pointed thin beans. It has elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and low fruit yield. Premium coffee beans like Jamaica Blue Mountain, Sumatra Mandheling, and Hawaii Kona all belong to Typica.

Sumatra Typica

Indonesia's main coffee-producing areas include Sumatra Island, Java Island, and Sulawesi Island, with Sumatra's "Mandheling" being the most famous. Mandheling is also called "Sumatra Coffee." Coffee from Lake Toba in the north can be called Aceh coffee or Lake Toba coffee, whileLintong and Lake Toba areas can be called Mandheling.

Mandheling has strong flavor with rich mellow body and vibrant lively notes, neither astringent nor acidic, fully expressing mellow texture and bitterness.

FrontStreet Coffee Indonesian Tiger Mandheling

Country: Indonesia

Region: Aceh

Variety: Caturra, Typica, Sidikalong

Altitude: 1500 meters

Processing: Wet-hulled

Flavor: Balanced taste with distinct cream, dark chocolate, and nutty flavors

Blue Mountain Coffee

Jamaica's coffee history can be traced back to the 18th century. In 1717, French King Louis XV ordered coffee cultivation in Jamaica. In the mid-1720s, Jamaica's Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes imported Arabica seeds from Martinique and began promoting cultivation in the St. Andrew area. Coffee trees were introduced to Jamaica and planted in the Blue Mountains, which were further divided into high-altitude Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, High Mountain coffee, and Jamaica coffee, with different grades determining different prices.

FrontStreet Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

Country: Jamaica

Region: Jamaica Blue Mountain

Estate: Clifton

Altitude: 1310 meters

Processing: Washed

Variety: Typica

Flavor: Dark chocolate, nuts, cream, balanced sweet, sour, and bitter

Geisha

Geisha is a derivative variety of the Typica family. It was exported from Geisha Mountain in southern Ethiopia in 1931 and remained obscure in many countries until 1960 when it was transplanted to Panama. It only started winning cupping competitions in 2005, thus astonishing everyone. Currently, the most famous Geisha growing region is in Panama's Boquete area, a small town located on the eastern foothills of Baru Volcano. In the Boquete region, the most famous Geisha coffee growing estates include the renowned La Esmeralda, Elida Estate, and Panama NPGE Estate. Although people around the world are growing Geisha coffee, even in Taiwan, China, the flavors still don't match Panama's impressive quality. Panama's La Esmeralda Geisha is further divided into three grades: Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label.

Frontsteet Red Label: Coffee flavor has rose and citrus aromas, with rich juice-like texture and noticeable sweetness.

Frontsteet Green Label: Coffee flavor has classic Geisha coffee bean flavors, floral, fruity, citrus acidity, with thick and juicy mouthfeel.

Frontsteet Blue Label: Coffee flavor has slight floral notes, fruit acidity, and sweetness, with less full-bodied texture.

Bourbon

Bourbon is a variant of early Typica after being transplanted to Yemen, with bean shape changing from pointed to round. In 1715, France transplanted Yemen's round Mocha beans to Bourbon Island on the east coast of Africa (renamed Reunion Island after the French Revolution), hence the name Bourbon. Bourbon round beans were indirectly transmitted to Brazil and Central/South America in 1727. In 1732, Britain also transplanted Yemen's Mocha to St. Helena Island (later where Napoleon was imprisoned), which were also Bourbon round beans. Bourbon is often victorious in American specialty coffee cupping competitions.

Bourbon coffee beans are divided into Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, and Pink Bourbon based on different mature colors. Red Bourbon is the most common, and generally when people refer to Bourbon variety, they mean Red Bourbon by default. Red Bourbon usually has better aroma and brighter acidity, even with fermented rich flavors similar to red wine.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazilian Red Bourbon

Country: Brazil

Region: South Minas

Altitude: 700-1200 meters

Variety: Red Bourbon

Processing: Pulped Natural

Flavor: High sweetness, clean, smooth, low acidity, with tropical fruit aroma

Yellow Bourbon

Yellow Bourbon was initially discovered in Brazil and is currently mainly grown in Brazil. It's generally believed to be a mutation from hybridization between Red Bourbon and a Typica variant called "Amerelo de Botocatu" that produces yellow fruit. Due to its lower yield and less resistance to wind and rain, it hasn't been widely cultivated. However, when grown in high-altitude areas, it exhibits excellent flavor performance and has become more common in recent years. It has prominent sweetness, distinct nutty flavors, balanced and smooth acidity, with weak and clean bitterness.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazilian Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon

Country: Brazil

Region: Mogiana

Estate: Queen Estate

Altitude: 1400-1950 meters

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Processing: Natural

Flavor: Obvious sweetness with light lemon aroma, rich nutty flavors, with distinct dark chocolate flavor in the finish

Pink Bourbon

Pink Bourbon represents coffee cherries that turn pink when mature, belonging to a very rare new variety. It was hybridized and cultivated from Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon. The reason Pink Bourbon is considered a rare variety is mainly because maintaining this beautiful pink color is very difficult. Sometimes orange Bourbons are harvested because the final color of coffee fruit is determined by recessive genes in pollen grains. Among selected hybrid pollen grains, there are both yellow genes leaning toward Yellow Bourbon and red genes leaning toward Red Bourbon, all of which are recessive genes that easily interfere with each other.

FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Isabella Pink Bourbon

Country: Colombia

Region: Huila

Altitude: 1760 meters

Variety: Pink Bourbon

Processing: Semi-washed

Flavor: Citrus, berries, cherry tomatoes, honey, with floral notes in the aftertaste

Bourbon Pointu

Bourbon Pointu is academically called "Coffea Laurina" or Laurina coffee, but generally known as "Bourbon Pointu" because its beans are relatively slender with slightly pointed ends.

Bourbon Pointu can be called one of the world's rarest coffees. It was discovered in 1810 by coffee farmer Leroy on Réunion Island (formerly Bourbon Island). Unlike other processed low-caffeine coffees, Bourbon Pointu has lower caffeine content due to genetic degeneration compared to regular Bourbon coffee trees, with better flavor but extremely low yield, which is why Bourbon Pointu is rare and expensive. Common Arabica beans like Typica or Bourbon have about 1.2% caffeine content, Robusta beans have higher caffeine content at about 2.8% (often used for instant coffee due to poor flavor), while Bourbon Pointu has only 0.6%. Not only is the caffeine content low, but the rich fruit flavors and its mellow richness are not diminished.

The Bourbon Pointu variety is particularly susceptible to leaf rust and black spot disease, which is the main reason for its low yield. Because of this, Bourbon Pointu is very precious and mostly cultivated in laboratories.

Flavor: The dry aroma has fermented, spice, nut, and tropical fruit notes. The wet aroma has distinct floral notes. It's smooth on entry with red fruit, plum, and pine nut flavors, with lasting sugarcane sweet aftertaste.

SL28, SL34

In the 1930s, the Kenyan government commissioned the newly established Scott Labs to select varieties suitable for the country. After screening 42 initial varieties with sequential numbering, SL-28 and SL-34 were finally obtained. The former originated from Bourbon, while SL-34 originated from Typica. The two are not part of the same variety series.

The original goal of selecting SL28 was to hope for mass production of coffee beans that combined high quality with disease and pest resistance. In some regions, the selection goal was mainly high yield and disease resistance, without considering disease resistance.

Thanks to Bourbon genetics, although SL28's yield was later lower than expected, its copper-colored leaves and broad bean shape have wonderful sweetness, balance, and complex changing flavors, as well as distinct citrus and preserved plum characteristics.

SL34 has similar flavors to SL28. Besides complex changing acidity and wonderful sweet finish, its texture is smoother and cleaner than SL28. SL34 has French missionary, Bourbon, and more Typica bloodlines. The bean appearance is similar to SL28 and better adapted to rainforest growth.

It was later proven that the former received high praise, usually having blackcurrant-like acidity and complex flavor expression; while the latter was slightly inferior, it still had impressive fruit flavors. These two varieties currently account for 90% of Kenya's production, becoming generally recognized representatives of Kenyan coffee varieties. South America is also actively introducing SL28 as a cultivation variety.

FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Asalia

Country: Kenya

Region: Thika, Kenya

Processing Station: Asalia Honey Processing Station

Altitude: 1550-1750 meters

Grade: AA TOP

Variety: SL28, SL34

Processing: Kenya 72-hour washed

Flavor: Entry has preserved plum and cherry tomato flavors, with strong and thick acidity on the palate, prominent sweetness in the middle section with juice-like texture, berry fruit aroma and brown sugar sweetness in the aftertaste, with green tea notes

Caturra

Caturra is a natural variant of the Arabica variety Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its plant is not as tall as Bourbon, being more compact. Due to inheriting Bourbon's bloodline, its disease resistance is relatively weak, but its yield is higher than Bourbon. Although discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not suitable for growing in Brazil, so it wasn't cultivated on a large scale there. Instead, it became popular in Central and South America, with Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua all cultivating Caturra extensively.

FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Huila

Country: Colombia

Region: Huila

Altitude: 1500-1800 meters

Variety: Caturra

Processing: Washed

Flavor: Nuts, dark chocolate, caramel, soft fruit acidity

Catuai

Catuai is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra,可以说是混二代. It inherits Caturra's advantage of short plant height and compensates for Caturra's weakness of fruit being easily blown off by wind, resulting in solid fruits that don't easily fall when exposed to strong winds. The biggest regret is that its overall flavor is slightly more monotonous than Caturra. Catuai also has red fruit and yellow fruit variations, with red fruit having better flavor than yellow fruit. Catuai, Caturra, Mundo Novo, and Bourbon are the four major coffee varieties in Brazil.

FrontStreet Coffee Panama Hartman Estate

Country: Costa Rica

Estate: Canet Estate

Altitude: 1980 meters

Variety: Catuai

Processing: Washed processing

Flavor: Relatively mellow and thick texture with obvious sweet and sour sensations. Smooth entry with rich red wine flavor, high sweetness, lively and bright acidity, rich layers, tropical fruits, aftertaste, honey, and brown sugar flavors are obvious. When completely cooled, brown sugar flavors.

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