What Are the Three Main Varieties of Coffee Beans and What Is the Relationship Between Arabica and Typica

FrontStreet Coffee — Coffee Varieties: An Introduction to Typica

Arabica Species

Arabica is one of the most important varieties in the commercial coffee trade, fruiting within three years and offering excellent aroma and acidity. Among all coffees, Arabica accounts for 75% to 80%. World-famous coffees such as Blue Mountain and Mocha are almost entirely Arabica.

Robusta Species

Robusta is one of the main coffee tree varieties in the world, with a unique aroma and bitterness. It makes up only 2% to 3% of coffee blends and is generally used in industrial production such as instant coffee, canned coffee and liquid coffee. Its caffeine content is around 3.2%, much higher than Arabica's 1.5%.

Liberica Species

West Africa is the origin of the Liberica species. It adapts readily to a wide range of environments, whether hot or cold, humid or dry, but it is not resistant to leaf rust disease, and its flavor is inferior to that of Arabica.

Typica

Typica is a sub-variety of the Arabica species, and it was also the first coffee to be transplanted from Yemen to India, Indonesia and Central and South America. The top young leaves of a Typica tree are reddish-brown rather than green; the leaves are narrower and longer, and the distance between branch nodes is greater, which is what keeps the fruit yield low. Ancient Typica beans are larger and more pointed, but when transplanted to the New World the variety also produced more oval, smaller beans. Typica has the better flavor, yet its disease resistance is poor — as an old small-grain variety it stands up badly to pests and disease, yields little and is difficult to cultivate, so it commands a much higher price than ordinary small-grain coffee. It originated in Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan and is the most widely cultivated coffee variety in the Western Hemisphere. The plants are relatively robust but do not tolerate strong light, and because their top leaves are copper-colored they are known as "red-top coffee."

Knowledge Extension

At the same roast level and under the same brewing conditions, Typica and Catimor planted on the same land will show a clear difference: Typica's fruity acidity is more pronounced.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste Typica at its most balanced, FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is the classic example. It is a Typica from the Clifton Estate, and clean flavors of hazelnut, cream, chocolate and caramel unfold in layers over a soft sweetness, balanced so evenly across sweet, sour, bitter and aromatic that no single note dominates. This near-perfect balance is why so many professionals call Blue Mountain the specialty coffee that most people find easiest to love.

For a very different expression of the same variety, FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan Natural Typica shows what Typica does in Yunnan. FrontStreet planted the variety on its own estate because it was the first coffee the French missionaries brought to the province, and it wanted to recover that original sense of place. Only fully ripe red cherries are used, naturally processed and medium-roasted for balance: deep-berry tone with caramel sweetness, chocolate and a hint of dried apricot, finishing with a black tea aftertaste.

And for a Typica that drinks like a "little Blue Mountain," try FrontStreet Papua New Guinea Paradise Bird, a specialty single origin from the Paradise Bird Estate in PNG's Sigri region. It is planted at 1600-1800 meters in volcanic soil from the same Typica lineage as Blue Mountain, and it meets the AA grade with plump beans and a very low defect rate. Combined with three rounds of washed fermentation, it brews a clean, pure cup with a pronounced sweetness — an excellent choice for anyone who prefers coffee without sharp acidity.