Ethiopian Coffee Varieties: Introduction to Coffee Bean Origins and Types

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FrontStreet Coffee - Ethiopian Coffee Beans, Varieties and Origins Introduction

Most Ethiopian varieties are named this way because small farmers harvest various coffee varieties from forests and their own backyards and send them to cooperatives for centralized processing. The varieties are extremely numerous, making identification and classification more difficult. Moreover, the Ethiopian government is actually unwilling to disclose these variety details, so these coffee varieties are collectively referred to as Heirloom native varieties.

Ethiopia has numerous tree species, and their flavors are closer to original coffee. To showcase its excellent and diverse complex aromas, most of them you'll see are lightly roasted. (Of course, there are also practices of using Ethiopian beans as espresso blend bases or directly for SOE to enhance flavor complexity.)

Lightly roasted Ethiopian beans have unique citrus notes, uplifting floral aromas, and honey-like sweet scents, with soft fruit acids and the sweetness of tropical fruits, creating a fresh and bright mouthfeel.

Typica

Typica is the original variety of all Arabica varieties. It is said that Typica originated from southern Sudan, gradually flourished in Ethiopia, and was finally cultivated in Yemen around the 7th century AD for commercial production. Typica was brought to the East Indies by the Dutch and was also the first coffee variety to arrive in the West Indies—Gabriel de Clieu planted it in 1720 on the French island of Martinique.

Typica's ripe fruit is red. This variety has relatively low yields and extremely poor disease resistance, but its excellent cupping quality has made it popular worldwide.

Bourbon

Bourbon is the result of a genetic mutation of the native Typica variety on Réunion Island and is the parent or even grandparent variety of many popular Latin American coffee varieties—including Catuaí, Catuai, Pacas, Mundo Novo, and others.

Bourbon remains widely popular in Latin America today and has also traveled across oceans to Africa, taking root in Rwanda and Burundi. Bourbon's ripe fruit is mostly red, though there are also yellow or orange varieties. Bourbon's yield is about 20%-30% higher than Typica; although the flavor is slightly sweeter and sometimes better balanced, these two coffee varieties are generally very similar.

Catimor

Catimor is a hybrid of Caturra and Timor—don't confuse it with Caturra and Catuai. This highly disease-resistant plant has the ability to resist coffee leaf rust, so it was widely planted in Latin American countries in the 1980s. Unfortunately, because Timor (also known as Arabusta) is a natural hybrid of Typica Arabica and Robusta, although the latter can give it disease resistance, the delicate taste of Arabica varieties is lost.

Catuai

Brazil developed Catuai in the 1950s. It is a hybrid of Caturra and Mundo Novo, with strong disease resistance and high yields. Similar to Caturra, Catuai's ripe fruit also naturally divides into red and yellow varieties. Catuai is known for its rich acidity and is a common variety in most Central American countries.

Caturra

In the 1930s, people discovered a genetic mutation of Bourbon near the city of Caturra in Brazil, which was subsequently named Caturra. Caturra has very high yields, and its compact plant form facilitates harvesting. However, if grown in lower altitude environments, this characteristic becomes its own worst enemy—the coffee becomes quite light, so the weight of the fruit itself can crush the plant. If planted in high-altitude environments (above 1200 meters), Caturra's coffee quality and yield can be better guaranteed. Caturra is a common variety in the Central American coffee belt.

Geisha

Geisha, with slightly slender fruits and leaves, is a genetic mutation of Typica and is said to originate from the small town of Geisha in southwestern Ethiopia. In the 1930s, Geisha seeds were transported to Tanzania, and in the 1950s, they traveled to Costa Rica. These two countries are the only important growing countries for Geisha outside of Panama—although Panama is Geisha's best ambassador.

In Panama's high-altitude growing areas, Geisha has proven to the world that it is an undisputed coffee variety with its tropical flavors, citrus and tea characteristics. Good coffee is loved by everyone, and we sincerely hope Geisha can expand to other countries.

Maragogipe

Maragogipe is considered a natural genetic mutation of Typica, first discovered near Maragogipe in Brazil's Bahia region (just one letter different). Maragogipe is famously a large-sized coffee bean and is also the parent variety of Pacamara.

Mundo Novo

Mundo Novo (also known as Mundo Novo) is a hybrid of Bourbon and Typica, first appearing in the 1940s and still widely popular among Latin American coffee-producing countries today. Its disease resistance and yield are both superior to Bourbon and Typica, but at the cost of insufficient flavor complexity.

Pacamara

Pacamara was developed by El Salvador in the late 1950s. It is a hybrid of Pacas and Maragogipe and is now highly sought after. Similar to Maragogipe, although it is large—usually twice the size of standard Bourbon coffee beans—its yield is average. Pacamara's quality is widely praised, with its clean acidity and refreshing floral notes, with advantages increasing at higher planting altitudes.

Pacas

El Salvador discovered Pacas, a natural genetic mutation of Bourbon, in 1949. Its compact plant can withstand relatively low altitude conditions, so people use it to hybridize with Maragogipe, which has opposite characteristics.

SL–28

The "SL" in SL-28 stands for Scott Laboratories, a technology company hired by the Kenyan government from the 1930s to identify the most suitable local coffee varieties for large-scale cultivation. SL-28 has become a benchmark variety in several Kenyan growing regions, partly due to its intense black currant flavor. SL-28 is suitable for cultivation in high-altitude areas.

SL–34

SL-34's quality is slightly inferior to its older sister SL-28 (but by no means bad quality), but it also has prominent acidity and berry flavors. Compared to SL-28, SL-34 performs better in low-altitude areas (although its number is larger). If planted in high-altitude areas, its resistance to heavy rain is also superior, so people mostly choose high-altitude cultivation methods. However, both SL-28 and SL-34 are highly susceptible to coffee leaf rust.

Villa Sarchi

This dwarf variety is a genetic mutation of Bourbon, first discovered by Costa Rica in the city of Sarchi. Its branches form steep angles with the trunk, and among the vast ordinary green leaves, its leaves are interestingly bronze-colored. Villa Sarchi has excellent fruit flavors. Additionally, it has high yields and decent disease resistance.

Knowledge Bonus: Ethiopia is the famous birthplace of Arabica coffee beans, and people still maintain the tradition of harvesting wild coffee beans today. Among Ethiopia's 9 major coffee-producing regions, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe are the most outstanding.

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