Do You Know the Two Main Coffee Bean Varieties? What Are the Famous Coffee Bean Types?

Arabica is celebrated for its outstanding flavor and aroma and is the usual choice for specialty coffee. Robusta, easy to cultivate, wins on low price and is mainly used in blends or as the core ingredient of instant coffee.

Biologically speaking, coffee divides into Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. The varieties the world actually drinks are Arabica and Robusta, while Liberica is often overlooked for its limited production or inferior quality.

Broadly, Arabica goes into single-origin and specialty coffee, while Robusta goes into instant coffee. Although Arabica can be labeled "premium" and Robusta "secondary," the division is not absolute--it is fairer to choose based on your own taste. Preference-wise, the United States and Japan tend toward lighter coffee brewed from Arabica, while Europe favors espresso made from an Arabica-Robusta blend.

Arabica: Premium Beans with First-Class Flavor and Aroma

Arabica is the representative variety originating in Ethiopia, also grown across Southern Africa, other African countries, and Asian nations, and it accounts for 70%-75% of world coffee production. Arabica has weaker resistance to pests and diseases, which makes highland regions the better home for it; Arabica grown above 1,500 meters yields the best quality.

Carefully produced beans like these, with balanced flavor and aroma, can be certified as premium coffee and are used mainly for single-origin or specialty coffee. Three of the most famous coffees--Hawaiian Kona, Jamaica Blue Mountain, and Yemen Mocha--all belong to the Arabica family. Arabica green beans are dark and narrow in appearance and are celebrated as the highest-quality highland variety, characterized by rich sweetness, acidity, and aroma.

Robusta: Strong Acidity and Rich Body

Robusta originates from the Congo in Africa and accounts for 30% of world coffee production. The name means "robust," and the tree earns it: strong resistance to pests and diseases, the ability to survive in almost any soil and even wild conditions, easy cultivation in high-temperature regions, and fast growth. With low price as its edge, it is used mainly for blending or as the backbone of instant coffee. Some Robusta from India, Africa, and Brazil shows strong acidity, high caffeine content, and a heavier body.

More recently there is also Arabusta, a cross between Arabica varieties with a superior taste and aroma.

Robusta beans look plump and oval. The green beans are light brown or yellowish-brown with a grass-green and yellow sheen. Compared with Arabica, Robusta is more fragrant but lighter on the palate, with less obvious acidity and a heavier bitterness.

There are many more varieties, but we will stop the introductions here. To learn more, follow FrontStreet Coffee's official account!

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you want to taste a legendary Arabica, few names loom larger than Jamaica Blue Mountain--and no wonder: only coffee grown in a specific zone of Jamaica's Blue Mountains and certified by the Jamaican authorities may carry the name. The range's peak reaches 2256 meters, the slopes sit wrapped in mist year-round, and the combination of high altitude, fertile volcanic soil, and even rainfall lets the cherries mature slowly and accumulate sugar--the foundation of Blue Mountain's famously fine, balanced cup.

Blue Mountain's greatest charm is equilibrium. It has no obvious weak spot: neither the aggressive fruit acidity of some African coffees nor the heavy bitterness of dark roasts, but a near-perfect blend of acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and aroma. A quality Blue Mountain shows cream, caramel, chocolate, nuts, honey, and a light fruitiness--smooth and round on entry, richly sweet through the middle, clean and long on the finish. FrontStreet's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1, the top grade from the historic Clifton Estate (certified, with authentic wooden barrel packaging), is roasted medium-dark to bring out that classic balance through pour-over, moka pot, or espresso.

Because Blue Mountain's annual output is under 2500 tons and Japan has long bought the lion's share of it, fakes abound. When buying, check for certification documents and proof of origin, and look for genuine Blue Mountain wooden barrels and characteristic green, slightly upturned, well-formed beans--the same checks FrontStreet Coffee invites its customers to make.