Coffee Classification and Flavor Characteristics_ Benefits of Common Coffee Varieties and Prices with Pictures

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The Rise of Coffee Culture

In this era of sophisticated lifestyle and ritualistic living, coffee culture is increasingly becoming part of people's daily lives, and unground coffee beans are gradually becoming well known to the public. Whether it's instant coffee or premium coffee beans, both are made from the seeds of fruits harvested from coffee trees. Coffee beans before roasting are called green beans. There are many types of green beans, and their flavors vary depending on the coffee variety and the geographical environment where the coffee trees grow. Like grapes, strawberries and other fruits, their tastes differ greatly according to variety and growing conditions.

Coffee Tree Varieties

There are over 500 species of coffee trees with 6,000 varieties, most of which are tropical trees and shrubs. There are four main coffee trees in the world, but only two have significant commercial value and are widely cultivated, with their coffee beans surpassing those from other coffee trees in quality.

The first is Arabica beans. World-renowned FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Coffee, FrontStreet Coffee Yemen Mocha Coffee, and others are almost all of the Arabica variety. The other is Robusta variety. The Robusta coffee tree originates from Congo, Africa. Different varieties of coffee beans have different flavors, but even with the same variety of coffee tree, due to different soil, climate, and other influences, the coffee beans produced each have their unique flavor characteristics. The other two are Liberica and Excelsa varieties.

Biologically speaking, coffee varieties can be divided 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 speaking, Arabica is mainly used for single-origin or specialty coffee, while Robusta is used to make instant coffee. Although Arabica can be defined as premium coffee and Robusta as secondary, this classification isn't necessary—it's more appropriate to distinguish based on personal taste preferences. From a flavor perspective, the United States and Japan tend to prefer lighter coffee brewed from Arabica, while Europe favors espresso made from a blend of Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica: Premium Coffee Beans with Exceptional Flavor and Aroma

Arabica is a representative variety originating from Ethiopia, also produced in South Africa, African, and Asian countries, accounting for 70-75% of the world's coffee production. Arabica has weak resistance to pests and diseases, making highland regions more suitable for cultivation. Arabica coffee beans grown at elevations above 1,500 meters have the best quality.

The high quality resulting from such painstaking effort, with balanced flavor, mouthfeel, and aroma, can be certified as premium coffee beans, mainly used for single-origin or specialty coffee. The three famous coffee beans—FrontStreet Coffee Hawaii Kona, FrontStreet Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain, and FrontStreet Coffee Yemen Mocha—all belong to the Arabica variety. Arabica green beans have a dark, narrow appearance and are hailed as the highest quality highland Arabica variety, characterized by rich flavors including sweetness, acidity, and aroma.

Robusta: Strong Acidity with Rich Body

Robusta originates from Congo, Africa, accounting for 30% of the world's coffee production. The word "Robusta" means "robust," and indeed, this coffee tree not only has strong resistance to pests and diseases but can survive in any soil, even growing in wild conditions. Therefore, it can be cultivated in high-temperature regions, grows quickly, and is easy to cultivate, offering the advantage of low price. It is mainly used for blending or as the main ingredient for instant coffee. Some Robusta produced in India, Africa, and Brazil has strong acidity, high caffeine content, and a richer body.

Recently, there's also the Arabusta variety, a crossbreed with Arabica that offers superior taste and aroma.

Robusta has a plump oval appearance, with raw beans showing light brown or yellowish-brown with grass-green and yellow luster. Compared to Arabica varieties, it has a more fragrant but lighter taste, characterized by inconspicuous acidity and stronger bitterness.

Excelsa Coffee Variety

Excelsa is a variety discovered in 1904, originating from the Charlie River region in Africa. It produces small fruits with high single-tree yields, particularly being a drought-resistant variety. The product has a strong aromatic flavor with a slightly bitter taste, and it is cultivated in limited quantities.

Typica Coffee Variety

Typica: The oldest native variety of Ethiopia, from which all Arabica varieties are derived. Typica has bronze-colored top leaves and oval or slender-pointed bean shapes. It has elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and low fruit yield. FrontStreet Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain, FrontStreet Coffee Indonesia Sumatra Mandheling, and FrontStreet Coffee Hawaii Kona are all excellent estate beans belonging to Typica. The bronze-colored top leaves of Typica are one of its characteristic features.

Typica green beans have slightly upturned ends, oval shape, and appear thin when viewed from the side. Even when cultivated at different altitudes, the thickness variation on the side of the green beans remains minimal.

Genetic Mutations - Typica Variants

Typica Variant - FrontStreet Coffee Indonesia Sumatra Mandheling

Indonesia's main coffee producing regions include Sumatra Island, Java Island, and Sulawesi Island, with "Mandheling" from Sumatra Island being the most famous.

Mandheling is also known as "Sumatra Coffee." Coffee from Lake Tawar in the north can be called Aceh Coffee or Lake Tawar Coffee, while Lintong and Lake Toba areas can be called Mandheling.

FrontStreet Coffee Mandheling has a strong flavor with rich body and vibrant, lively characteristics. It's neither astringent nor acidic, with its body and bitterness fully expressed. FrontStreet Coffee Mandheling coffee beans may have the ugliest appearance, but coffee enthusiasts say that the less attractive Sumatra coffee beans look, the better, richer, and smoother their taste.

We've collected four types of Mandheling:

FrontStreet Coffee Gold Mandheling

FrontStreet Coffee Ma Mian Mandheling (Timtim Mandheling long berry) Sumatra Island, Mandheling Longberry, Timtim Belangele

FrontStreet Coffee Lintong Mandheling Grade-1

FrontStreet Coffee Emerald Mandheling (Sumatra Aceh)

Green bean photos

Above: FrontStreet Coffee Gold Mandheling semi-washed green beans

Above: FrontStreet Coffee Ma Mian Mandheling full natural sun-dried green beans, a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta, called Timor, known as timtim variety in Indonesia.

TimTim -

This is Timor Hybrid, which translates to Timor hybrid, meaning a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta. The familiar Catimor variety is created by further hybridization with it.

Tim Tim - FrontStreet Coffee Ma Mian Mandheling longberry

Tim Tim is a bean from Indonesia. Due to its long shape, many people call it horse face bean, while others call it long Mandheling. In fact, Tim Tim is not a pure variety but a natural hybrid of Arabica and Robusta coffee trees. This variety was discovered on Timor Island in the 1940s and was cultivated due to its natural disease resistance. In America, this variety is called Hybrido de Timor, abbreviated as Tim Tim. In Indonesia, this variety is also known as Bor Bor.

Above: FrontStreet Coffee Lintong Mandheling G1, although Grade-1, still retains the characteristic high defect rate of Indonesian beans, with about 8% defective beans

Above: FrontStreet Coffee Emerald Mandheling (Sumatra Aceh), 19 screen+, green beans are plump, crystal clear, like emeralds

Typica Variant - FrontStreet Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain

FrontStreet Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain: Globally popular, the hard-to-find Blue Mountain comes from the Typica family.

The history of Jamaican coffee can be traced back to the 18th century when the British introduced coffee trees to Jamaica and planted them in the Blue Mountain range. These are further divided into high-altitude Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Coffee, and Jamaica Coffee, with different grades determining different prices.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

(Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee) - Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are each divided into four grades. From top to bottom by quality: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB (PB stands for Peaberry). According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters altitude is called Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee;

Jamaica High Mountain Coffee

(Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans) - Coffee produced below 666 meters in the Blue Mountain region is called High Mountain Coffee. It's second only to Blue Mountain Coffee in quality and is known in the industry as the brother variety to Blue Mountain Coffee. Due to the extremely limited production of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Coffee is your best choice if you want to taste Jamaican-style coffee.

Jamaica Coffee

(Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans) - Coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain range is called Jamaica Coffee. Originally, Chinese coffee professionals had a misconception that only coffee grown above 1800 meters in the Blue Mountain area could be called Blue Mountain Coffee. In fact, on the mountain crown above 1800 meters of the Blue Mountain range, there is only one estate: Amber, owned by a person of Chinese descent with the surname Lyn (Lin), whose ancestors came from Guangdong, China. The estate has only 30 hectares of land with very limited production. Blue Mountain Coffee is mainly distributed in five mountainous areas: John Crow, St. John's Peak, Mossman's Peak, High Peak, and Blue Mountain Peak.

Typica Variant - FrontStreet Coffee Hawaii Kona

Kona: Although grown at several hundred meters altitude, Kona from the Big Island of Hawaii enjoys gentle sea breezes and fertile volcanic soil, possessing exceptionally clean acidity and sweetness. It even surpasses the higher altitude FrontStreet Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.

Typica Variant - Maragogype

Maragogype: A mutant of Typica, with very large and long fruits, somewhat twisted, and plants with long internodes and large leaves. Relatively low yield.

First discovered in 1870 in the Maragogype coffee producing area of Bahia state, northeastern Brazil. The beans are at least three times larger than regular Arabica, hence the name. Maragogype has poor flavor at low altitudes but better flavor at high altitudes, with mild acidity and pleasant sweet aroma. (Maragogype shown on the left)

Typica Variant - Pacamara

Pacamara: A hybrid of Pacas and Maragogype, with beans second only in size to Maragogype. It's an excellent variety developed in El Salvador in the 1950s and has achieved good cupping scores in recent years.

Typica Variant - Kent

Kent: A Typica hybrid discovered in India with high yield and strong disease resistance, but has never achieved good cupping scores.

Bourbon Coffee

Bourbon: An early (pre-coffee history) variant of Typica after being transplanted to Yemen, with bean shape changing from slender-pointed to round. In 1715, after the French transplanted round beans from Yemen Mocha to Bourbon Island on the east coast of Africa (renamed Reunion Island after the French Revolution), it was named Bourbon. Bourbon round beans were辗转传到 Brazil and Central and South America in 1727. In 1732, the British also transplanted Yemen Mocha to St. Helena Island (later where Napoleon was imprisoned), which was also Bourbon round beans. Bourbon is the perennial champion in American specialty coffee cupping competitions.

Bourbon variety is a subspecies produced by Typica mutation, belonging to the oldest existing coffee varieties along with Typica. When green fruits mature, they turn bright red.

Genetic Mutations - Bourbon Variants

Bourbon Coffee - Red Bourbon

After general coffee trees flower and fruit, the color change of coffee fruits is: green > slight yellow > slight orange > mature red > darker red when fully ripe, hence some call it "Red Bourbon." In fact, Red Bourbon is what we generally call Bourbon variety. Bourbon grown at high altitudes usually has better aroma, brighter acidity, and even flavors similar to red wine when tasted.

Simply put, Bourbon is a coffee tree variety belonging to a branch of the Arabica variety. It generally produces red fruits, called Red Bourbon. Besides this, there are also Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yields but better quality.

Bourbon Coffee - Yellow Bourbon

Yellow Bourbon is a hybrid of Bourbon with other varieties. 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 characteristics and has become more common in recent years. Yellow Bourbon, with yellow fruits when ripe, was first discovered in Brazil and now mainly grows there. It's generally believed to be a mutation from hybridization between red-fruited Bourbon and a Typica variant called "Amerelo de Botocatu" that produces yellow fruits.

[FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate Semi-washed Yellow Bourbon] Flavor characteristics: Sweet and smooth fruit sweetness, obvious nutty flavors, balanced and gentle acidity, weak and clean bitterness, with rich chocolate aroma and nutty flavors, bright and refreshing mouthfeel.

Bourbon Coffee - Pink Bourbon

Pink Bourbon, as its name suggests, has romantic pink coffee cherries when ripe. It's a very rare new variety, cultivated by hybridizing Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon. The reason Pink Bourbon is considered rare is mainly because maintaining this beautiful pink color is extremely difficult. Sometimes orange Bourbon is harvested because the final color of coffee fruits is determined by recessive genes in pollen grains. Among the selected pollen grains for hybridization, there are both yellow genes leaning toward Yellow Bourbon and red genes leaning toward Red Bourbon, and these are all recessive genes that easily interfere with each other.

Currently, Pink Bourbon can be found in Colombia and Guatemala. Taking this batch of FrontStreet Coffee Colombia Pink Bourbon as an example, there are about 1,800 coffee trees, with each tree producing approximately 1.8kg of fresh fruits per harvest season. After pulp removal processing, about 0.36kg of coffee beans is obtained. In a normal harvest season, the total production of this coffee is less than 650kg.

[FrontStreet Coffee Colombia Pink Bourbon] Flavor characteristics: Sweet orange, sugarcane sweetness, pleasant juice sensation, small tomato

Bourbon Variant - Bourbon Pointu

Bourbon Pointu: Discovered on Bourbon Island in 1810, with bean shape changing from round to pointed, and caffeine content only half that of regular coffee. However, production is low and plants are weak, making it extremely precious (mostly cultivated in laboratories).

Bourbon Pointu also has two other names: Laurina and Leroy, but neither is as well-known as Bourbon Pointu. It's called Pointu Bourbon because the beans are narrow and long with pointed ends, while the original Bourbon (sometimes called Round Bourbon) has shorter beans with slightly oval outlines.

Due to its good flavor and low caffeine content (less impact on sleep), Bourbon Pointu was favored by people as early as the 18th century. Many celebrities, including French King Louis XV and novelist Balzac, were its "fans." During the two hundred years from the 18th to 19th century, Bourbon Pointu was widely cultivated on Bourbon Island, reaching a peak production of 4,000 metric tons annually in 1800. However, a series of disasters followed—hurricanes, fire ants, leaf rust disease—leading to gradual reduction in cultivation. Finally, in 1942, the last batch shipped back to France was only a pitiful 200 kilograms, and since then, Bourbon Pointu disappeared without a trace, even official documents no longer mentioned it. After the 1950s, no one cultivated coffee on Reunion Island, and the island's agriculture completely shifted to other crops like sugarcane. Coffee was no longer associated with Reunion Island, and Bourbon Pointu was recognized by the coffee industry as "extinct."

Given that this bean disappeared for half a century until it reappeared 8 years ago, in the international market, Bourbon Pointu from its origin in La Reunion Island sells for over 500 yuan per 100 grams. Afterward, Colombia also began cultivating this bean, and only Camilo Merizalde, source of beans for multiple WBC champions, dared to take on the transplantation of this bean. Therefore, this coffee bean with global annual production of only a few tons commands a premium price.

Flavor description from archives: Bright acidity, blueberry and vanilla notes, velvety smoothness

Bourbon Variant - SL28, SL34

Kenya "SL28" and "SL34": Direct descendants of Bourbon screened and cultivated by French, British missionaries and researchers in Kenya in the early 20th century. Over a century, they have adapted to Kenya's high-phosphate soil, nurturing Kenya's characteristic acidic aroma spirits. Top-grade FrontStreet Coffee Kenya coffees all come from these two varieties, but they lose their distinctive character when transplanted elsewhere.

Kenya coffee grades are divided into seven levels based on bean size, and into six levels based on taste from top to bottom. Kenya's best coffee grade is Peaberry (PB), followed by AA++, AA+, AA, AB, etc., in order. Premium coffee has bright luster, delicious taste with a slight wine aroma. In terms of flavor, "Kenya AA" is particularly well-regarded.

Grading based on bean size:

Kenya's best coffee grade is Peaberry (PB), followed by AA, AB, etc., in order.

PB (Peaberry): This is a grading for small round beans. This refers to coffee fruits with only one seed nucleus instead of the usual two.

AA: This is a more common grade with larger coffee beans, size above 18 screen or 7.22 millimeters. These beans usually command the highest prices.

AB: This grade combines A (size 16 screen or 6.80 millimeters) with B (size 15 screen or 6.20 millimeters); accounting for about 30% of Kenya's annual coffee production.

Bourbon Variant - Caturra

Caturra: A single-gene mutant of Bourbon discovered in Brazil in the 1950s. Both yield capacity and disease resistance are better than Bourbon. The plant is shorter, making harvesting convenient. Unfortunately, it encounters the same problem as Bourbon—fruiting one year and resting the next. Its flavor is comparable to or slightly inferior to Bourbon beans.

However, it has stronger adaptability and can be cultivated at high density without shade trees, thriving even when directly exposed to intense sunlight, hence it's also called "Sun Coffee."

Caturra is suitable for low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters, but the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, though yield decreases accordingly. There are also yellow Caturra variants in Central and South America, but their reputation is not as good as Yellow Bourbon.

Bourbon Variant - Catuai

Catai: A hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, essentially a second-generation hybrid. It inherits the advantage of Caturra's short plant height and compensates for the fragile fruit of Arabica. The fruits are solid and don't easily fall off when exposed to strong winds. The biggest regret is that its overall flavor is somewhat monotonous compared to Caturra.

Catai also comes in red and yellow fruit varieties, with red fruits winning awards more often than yellow fruits. Catai, Caturra, Mundo Novo, and Bourbon are the four main coffee varieties in Brazil.

Bourbon Variant - Pacas

Pacas: A Bourbon variant discovered in El Salvador. In 1935, Salvadoran coffee farmer "Don Alberto Pacas" selected high-yield San Ramon Bourbon varieties for cultivation on his farm. In 1956, his coffee trees produced higher yields than other trees of the same type. University of Florida professor "Dr. William Cogwill" determined this was a genetic mutation of Bourbon and named it "Pacas."

Pacas has high yield and excellent quality, quite popular in Central America. Currently, 68% of El Salvador's coffee belongs to Bourbon varieties, with Pacas accounting for 29%. It's similar to Brazil's Caturra and Costa Rica's Villa Sarchi. Today, Pacas constitutes about 25% of El Salvador's coffee production. It has high yield and has always been popular. The coffee it produces has high sweetness similar to Bourbon, but with brighter acidity than Bourbon.

Pacas seedlings

Bourbon Variant - Villa Sarchi

Villa Sarchi: A Bourbon variant first discovered in Costa Rica in the 1960s, frequently appearing on cupping excellence lists in recent years, making it a dark horse with promising prospects. This is a precious variety cultivated through hybridization of Red Bourbon trees. It resists strong winds, prefers high-altitude environments, and possesses excellent acidity with various fruit notes. It has high sweetness, bright and delicate citrus acidity with lower raisin and nut aromas, offering high complexity and excellent balance.

It's also a dwarf Bourbon variety, discovered in Sarchi village in Costa Rica's western valleys, suitable for high-altitude organic cultivation. It has lively fruit acidity and obvious caramel flavor.

Hybrid Variants - Mundo Novo

Mundo Novo: A natural hybrid of Bourbon and Sumatra Typica, first discovered in Brazil. It has high yield and disease resistance, was widely cultivated in Brazil in the 1950s, and was hailed as the new hope of Brazil's coffee industry. However, the trees are tall, making harvesting difficult.

Hybrid Variants - Nicaragua Java

This is the Java variety from Nicaragua, a long-bean variety that's now rare even in Java. It was first successfully cultivated in Nicaragua by Limoncillo Estate. The Java variety originates from the Typica lineage. Java's Typica once suffered a severe leaf rust epidemic, nearly wiping out Java's Typica. Limoncillo Estate accidentally obtained a bag of seeds, and after planting and seedling cultivation, they took the young plants to experts for identification, only to discover it was the Java variety. In 2007, Limoncillo first participated in COE with this variety and surprisingly won second place in Nicaragua's COE that year, with the bidding price even exceeding that year's champion.

Hybrid Variants - Maracaturra

A hybrid variety cultivated in Guatemala from Maragogype × Caturra, gaining higher recognition after winning first place in Nicaragua's COE in 2009. It combines the rich fruit flavors of Maragogype with the elegant acidity of Caturra, high body, full floral aromas, and high sweetness.

Arabica Variety - Geisha

Geisha: A derivative variety of the Typica family, exported from Geisha Mountain in southern Ethiopia in 1931 (Geisha has the same pronunciation as the Japanese word "geisha"). It remained obscure in many countries until transplanted to Panama in the 1960s, when it began frequently winning cupping competitions starting in 2005.

| Geisha, also called Gesha

Geisha is pronounced the same as the Japanese word "geisha," hence it's also called Geisha coffee. Because the tree is taller than general coffee trees, it was originally planted in a small area within the estate and used as a windbreak.

| Geisha, is a variety

First, the Geisha variety was discovered in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia in 1931 and later sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya. It was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936; Costa Rica introduced it in 1953.

| Red Label, Green Label, Blue Label

Only Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda has the distinction of [Red Label, Green Label, Blue Label]:

Red Label (Special-Geisha): Brings together the top batches from Hacienda La Esmeralda, all grown above 1,600 meters altitude (even higher than 1,900 meters), with cupping scores above 90 points;

Green Label (Private Collection-Geisha): Geisha from different plots within Hacienda La Esmeralda estates, grown at altitudes of 1,600-1,800 meters;

Blue Label (Geisha 1500): Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda estates, grown above 1,500 meters altitude;

| Geisha, unique floral and fruit aromas

Among many coffees, floral aroma and intense tropical fruit sweetness are consistent characteristics of Geisha.

Image source: aroma

Arabica and Robusta Hybrids (Interspecific Hybrid)

Hybrid Variants - Timor

Timor: A natural hybrid variety discovered in Timor-Leste, an island nation at the eastern end of the Nusa Tenggara archipelago. With 44 chromosomes, it's closer to Arabica. However, its flavor is unremarkable. Timor has low acidity and lacks distinctive characteristics. Taiwan often uses it as a cost-reducing component in blended beans. However, Timor-Leste also has high-altitude pure Typica with washed processing. Before purchasing, be sure to clarify whether it's a hybrid or pure Typica washed beans—their quality differs significantly, with the former being mediocre and the latter impressive.

Hybrid Variants - Catimor

Catimor: In 1959, the Portuguese hybridized Brazil's Caturra with Timor, cultivating the second-generation hybrid Catimor with super-strong disease resistance and yield capacity. However, its flavor is also inferior, making it an important commercial variety today. To improve the poor reputation of Catimor in cupping, botanists from various countries have recently returned to multiple cross-breeding between Arabica and Catimor, attempting to reduce the Robusta lineage.

Hybrid Variants - Icatu

Icatu: A multi-generational hybrid improved variety from Brazil that has made it to the top ten of Brazil's "Cup of Excellence." In the past, Arabusta, a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta, improved yield and disease resistance but coffee flavor remained poor. Scientists then multi-generation hybridized Arabusta with Arabica varieties like Caturra, Mundo Novo, and Bourbon, gradually reducing the undesirable flavors of Robusta while enhancing the aroma and richness of Arabica, thus giving birth to the excellent multi-generational hybrid—Icatu.

Hybrid Variants - Ruiru 11

Ruiru 11: A hybrid variety developed by Kenya in 1985 that emphasizes yield over quality. A hybrid of Arabica and Robusta, to date it cannot be considered specialty coffee. Therefore, many suppliers specializing in fresh-roasted specialty coffee, such as Fresh, do not carry these varieties. However, even some imported premium coffee suppliers mix this hybrid into blended coffee (Blend) to reduce costs. From the above genetic mutants (whether natural or research products), their flavors are greatly related to specific regional conditions.

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