What Are the Varieties of Coffee Beans - An Introduction to the Three Major Types

FrontStreet Coffee Varieties and Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Variety Introduction

Arabica Varieties

If you judge by variety, Arabica is the first choice. Names like Mandheling or Mocha actually denote origin, not species: Mandheling comes from the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, while Mocha is a product of Yemen—and coffee from either name may be Arabica or Robusta.

The Arabica varieties that matter most grow on hillside slopes above a thousand meters; the higher the altitude, the better the bean. The beans are smaller and oval-shaped, the fruit matures late, and cherries on the same branch ripen unevenly, so everything is picked by hand. Yet thanks to their unique aroma and abundant market demand, Arabica coffees hold more than 70% of market share. Most are washed after harvest, leaving few defects and an excellent appearance—ideal for single-origin brewing.

Robusta Varieties

Robusta is a product of low-altitude slopes, with oval beans. Its caffeine content is more than twice that of Arabica. The body is thin, the bitterness heavy, and most of it ends up as instant coffee or in inexpensive blends. Because Robusta survives easily and is simple to cultivate, procurement costs drop dramatically.

Coffee trees typically flower and fruit at 3-4 years of age. A single tree can bear about 2000 cherry-like fruits weighing roughly 4 kilograms in total, but the fruit takes about half a year to fully mature. After harvest, once skin and pulp are removed, less than 1 kilogram of green coffee beans remains.

Liberica Varieties

The quality and yield of Liberica varieties are both poor.

FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Coffee Variety Introduction

Blue Mountain is a derivative of Arabica: Typica. Typica's new top leaves are bronze, and the beans are oval or slender and pointed. The tree is tall and graceful, with branches inclined at angles of 50-70 degrees. The flavor is elegant, but the tree is delicate, disease-prone, and yields very little fruit per tree.

Typica has one telltale trait: reddish-brown leaf tips, which earned it the nickname "red-topped coffee." The opposite leaves are long-oval with smooth surfaces; the terminal branches are long with few laterals; the flowers are white, blooming at the joint where the petiole meets the branch. Ripe cherries look like bright red cherries.

Blue Mountain Coffee Flavor

The taste is immaculately clean, and Blue Mountain is among the sweetest coffees in the world. Jim Reynolds of Peet's Coffee and Tea described it this way: "The best example of Jamaica's Blue Mountain coffee is its aromatic, smooth richness. It gives me the feeling of gem-like quality. It is as precious as a gemstone. It is complex, but very gentle. It is sweet, and it has very strong body. You must taste it to know what I'm talking about."

Unique growing conditions and meticulous care at every production step made Jamaica Blue Mountain famous. The cup is rich and mellow, with perfect balance among coffee's sweet, sour, and bitter dimensions—no harsh bitterness at all, just moderate, polished acidity and a persistent fruity aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To experience a premium Arabica at an accessible price, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling—pure Arabica from the highlands of Aceh and North Sumatra—is a superb example. Screened above size 18, held to fewer than 3 defects per 300-gram sample for the G1 grade, and hand-sorted three times, this wet-hulled coffee offers a thick, low-acid cup with herbal and black chocolate notes, a faint touch of earth, and rich, layered depth—perfect for drinkers who prize body over brightness.

Brew it with 87-88°C water, 15 grams of coffee, a 1:15 ratio, and a coarse-sugar grind in three pours (30g bloom, 100g, then 95g), and it yields a full, caramel-sweet cup; run through an espresso machine, it produces abundant crema and strong caramel fragrance.