Is Caturra Coffee Bean an Arabica Variety? Introduction to Caturra Variety Characteristics

Coffee enthusiasts often develop the habit of understanding the stories behind their coffee. As specialty coffee advances, more people focus on information related to coffee's origins, terroir, processing methods, and varieties. As a foundational knowledge framework for specialty coffee, we know that coffee varieties can be broadly divided into Arabica and Robusta types, yet few people deliberately explore the differences and characteristics between them. Today, let FrontStreet Coffee guide you into the fascinating world of coffee varieties!

Understanding Coffee Varieties

Arabica has better flavor than Robusta, so it typically appears as specialty coffee; while Robusta doesn't taste as good, so it often appears in the form of espresso coffee. In China, the Arabica variety is commonly known as the small-seeded coffee species, and Chinese coffee cultivation is concentrated in Yunnan, thus also called Yunnan small-seeded coffee. Early Yunnan primarily cultivated pure Arabica—Typica, but due to leaf rust damage, weak disease resistance, and low yields. In 1992, Nestlé introduced Catimor to Yunnan. Due to its strong disease resistance and high yield, Catimor quickly replaced traditional varieties to become the mainstream of Yunnan's coffee industry. Therefore, what locals call Yunnan small-seeded coffee also changed from Typica to the currently widely planted Catimor. The Yunnan daily coffee beans stocked by FrontStreet Coffee are Catimor produced in Baoshan.

Arabica Species

Ethiopia is the origin of coffee, and the native place of the Arabica species is in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is known as the cradle of humanity and coffee. In mythology, the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit is believed to be surrounded by several major coffee-producing regions in Ethiopia. Initially discovered for its good refreshing and brain-awakening effects, it was consumed as medicine. Later, it was used by Muslims as a secret medicine for treating body and mind and staying alert during evening prayers, spreading from Arabia to the world and becoming a beverage widely loved by people worldwide.

The Arabica species is the earliest discovered variety. Arabica is considered the best among coffee varieties and is currently the most important variety in the world. Arabica is produced in Central and South American countries, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Yemen, Indonesia, and other African countries. Arabica typically grows between 2.5 to 4.5 meters, tolerates low temperatures but cannot frost, has weak drought resistance, larger beans, excellent quality, mellow flavor, with some acidity and slight bitterness, accounting for about 85% of world production. Arabica also has many subspecies, all derived from Ethiopia's oldest Typica and Yemen's Bourbon after being transplanted to Central and South America or Asia and then mutating; there are too many varieties to list. However, specialty coffee mainly refers to carefully cultivated high-altitude Arabica, not all Arabica variety coffees are specialty coffee.

Arabica Subspecies

Ancient Native Varieties

Typica: The oldest native variety from Ethiopia, all Arabica varieties derive from Typica. Typica has bronze-colored top leaves, and the beans are oval or slender and pointed; elegant flavor, but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and low fruit yield. Excellent estate beans such as Jamaican Blue Mountain, Sumatra Mandheling, and Hawaiian Kona all belong to Typica. The bronze color of Typica's top leaves is one of its characteristics.

Bourbon: A variant of early Typica (pre-coffee history) after being transplanted to Yemen, where the bean shape changed from slender and pointed to round. In 1715, France transplanted the round beans from Yemen Mocha to Bourbon Island on the east coast of Africa (renamed Reunion Island after the French Revolution) before naming it Bourbon. The round Bourbon beans were辗转transmitted to Brazil and Central and South America in 1727. In 1732, Britain also transplanted Yemen Mocha to St. Helena Island (later where Napoleon was imprisoned), which was also round Bourbon beans. Bourbon is the perennial champion in American specialty coffee cupping. Examples include FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Yellow Bourbon coffee and FrontStreet Coffee's daily Red Bourbon coffee.

Geisha coffee is Ethiopian coffee with floral, tropical fruit, and intense sweetness flavors. Geisha is cultivated in many regions worldwide and is the new king of specialty coffee, with particularly high quality and prices in Latin American countries such as Panama, Guatemala, and Colombia.

Geisha green beans have a very beautiful blue-green color with a jade-like warm texture. They smell of fresh grass, peach, berries, and the unique milky sweetness of oolong tea that most coffee beans lack. It seems that aroma and flavor require imaginative association, but the faint tea aroma is something we can clearly perceive.

Geisha's dry aroma is very uplifting and bright, with characteristics of rose and jasmine fragrance, also bringing out pomelo and citrus aromas. Light roasting has nutty aroma; the wet aroma also has hazelnut flavor and reveals more floral characteristics.

Caturra is a natural variant of the Arabica Bourbon variety, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its tree is not as tall as Bourbon, being more dwarfed. Due to inheriting Bourbon's lineage, its disease resistance is relatively weak, but its yield is higher than Bourbon. Although discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not suitable for growth in Brazil, so it wasn't cultivated on a large scale there. Instead, it became widely popular in Central and South America, with Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua all cultivating Caturra extensively. FrontStreet Coffee's currently stocked Colombia Huayuene and Colombia Rose Valley coffees are of the Caturra variety.

What are the main characteristics of Caturra coffee?

Caturra plants are dwarfed and easy to harvest; inherit many characteristics from the parent Bourbon variety, with larger leaves and wavy leaf edges; coffee cherries don't easily fall off in wind and rain; stronger pest and disease resistance than the parent variety; higher yield than the parent Bourbon variety; no shade required, strong environmental adaptability. Like Bourbon Whiskey, Caturra adapts to most coffee growing environments, but thrives at altitudes between 1,200 to 2,000 meters with annual rainfall between 2,500 to 3,500 millimeters. At higher altitudes, quality improves but yield decreases.

But in the 1970s when coffee prices soared, farmers switched to Caturra to increase yields, with fruitful results under vigorous promotion by Brazilian and Colombian authorities. Farmers adopting Caturra meant a major transformation in cultivation techniques. Brazil and Colombia switched to high-yield, high-density sun cultivation, and by 1990, one million hectares could harvest 14 million bags of coffee beans, increasing production capacity by 60%. No wonder high-capacity, high-quality Caturra has become the variety relied upon by various producing countries today.

Caturra is suitable for cultivation from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters, with strong altitude adaptability, but higher altitudes yield better flavor with relatively reduced capacity. Some academics describe Caturra as the intensive and sun-grown version of Bourbon, which is quite insightful. Central and South America also has a variant yellow Caturra, but its reputation is not as good as Yellow Bourbon.

In fact, the "Caturra-type" mutation is not unique. Similar mutations produced the Pacas variety (Bourbon) in El Salvador and Villa Sarchi (Bourbon) in Costa Rica. Genetically, in all cases, the mutations are very similar to Bourbon.

Coffee varieties determine coffee flavor, of course, this is not the only factor affecting coffee flavor; there are also growing environments, processing methods, etc. Each producing region has different coffee flavors. FrontStreet Coffee has over fifty different regional coffee beans, and we suggest everyone try more to understand and experience different coffee styles.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Suggestions:

To brew a good cup of coffee, you still need to pay attention to the freshness of the coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans is greatly related to coffee flavor, so FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans within 5 days of roasting. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee. The coffee resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it's at its peak flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee kindly reminds: coffee beans that are ground in advance don't need further resting, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide in the packaging can also make the coffee flavor mellow, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because coffee powder oxidizes quickly after contact with air, meaning the coffee flavor will dissipate relatively quickly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests buying whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better experience the coffee's flavor.

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