Which Coffee Bean Varieties Are Most Expensive | Coffee Bean Types - Premium Arabica Coffee Beans with Pleasant Flavor

FrontStreet Coffee - Arabica Variety Introduction

Three Major Native Species of Coffee Beans

Coffee has three major native species: Arabica, Robusta and Liberica. The Liberica species, Coffea liberica, originally from Liberia in West Africa, is also known as large-grained coffee because of its sizeable fruit. Although this original species is remarkably vigorous, its flavour is inferior to Arabica and its commercial value was limited in the early years. As coffee has developed, however, there has been encouraging news about Liberica in recent years, with improved processing methods and cultivation techniques bringing it closer to specialty standards.

Today, though, FrontStreet Coffee will focus on Arabica, so you can understand why it is the first choice for specialty coffee and get to know the varieties derived from it.

Arabica is one of the most important commercial coffees. In terms of composition it contains less caffeine, roughly 0.9% to 1.2%, alongside a fairly generous amount of fat and sugar. As a result it has a gentle, non-irritating aroma with a refreshing, faintly sweet taste and, at times, a bright and pleasant acidity that most coffee lovers adore. Its aroma and acidity are excellent, which is why Arabica is mostly used for fresh coffee production.

Arabica: Premium Coffee Beans with First-Class Flavour and Aroma

Arabica is a representative variety originating in Ethiopia, and it is also grown in South Africa, other African countries and Asian nations, accounting for 70% to 75% of world coffee production. Arabica has relatively weak resistance to pests and disease, which makes highland areas more suitable for cultivation; Arabica beans produced above 1,500 metres are considered the finest.

Two Ancient Pure Variety Sources of Arabica: Typica and Bourbon

Typica

Typica is the original species from which all Arabica varieties descend. It originates in southern Sudan, and its ripe fruit is red. The variety has a relatively low yield and extremely poor disease resistance, yet its outstanding cupping quality still keeps it popular around the world.

Typica Coffee Varieties: Geisha, Jamaica Blue Mountain, Hawaii Kona, Maragogype, Sumatra Typica (Mandheling)

a. Geisha

A genetic mutation of Typica, originally from the Geisha forest in south-western Ethiopia. In the 1930s Geisha seeds were carried to Tanzania, in the 1950s they reached Costa Rica, and in the 1960s they arrived in Panama, where after nearly half a century they made a stunning impact, defeating long-standing champions such as Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai and Typica to sweep first prize at the Panama National Treasure Bean Cupping Competition in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2007 Geisha took the championship at the international famous-bean cupping competition hosted by the Specialty Coffee Association of America, with a bidding price of $130 per pound, setting the highest price record for competition beans in history.

Geisha is now grown in many regions 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 possesses distinctive tropical fruit flavours, floral notes, citrus characteristics and tea-like qualities.

b. Blue Mountain

Produced from Typica varieties in the Blue Mountain range of eastern Jamaica. Blue Mountain's highest peak reaches 2,256 metres above sea level, making it the highest point in the Caribbean and a famous tourist destination. Sitting in a seismic zone, it has fertile volcanic soil, fresh unpolluted air and a humid climate with year-round fog and rain, averaging 1,980 mm of rainfall and a temperature of around 27 degrees Celsius. These conditions created the world-renowned Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, and also the world's second most expensive coffee.

Blue Mountain coffee possesses every characteristic of a premium cup. It is not only rich and mellow in flavour but, thanks to a perfect balance of sweetness, acidity and bitterness, it carries no bitterness at all, only a moderate and impeccably judged acidity.

c. Hawaii Kona

Kona is an ancient, pure Arabica Typica variety, produced in the western and southern parts of the Kona district on the island of Hawaii. The coffee trees are scattered across the volcanic slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa, where the altitude ranges from 150 to 750 metres. The volcanic ash soil is highly fertile, and morning sunshine combined with afternoon cloud cover provides ideal shading. There is no frost throughout the year, which makes it very well suited to coffee.

d. Maragogype

The most famous variant of Typica, first discovered in 1870 in the Maragogype production area of Bahia state in north-eastern Brazil. The beans are at least three times larger than typical Arabica beans, hence the name. Maragogype has poor flavour at low altitudes but much better flavour at high altitudes, with a mild acidity and a pleasant sweet aroma.

e. Sumatra Typica (Mandheling)

Mandheling is produced in Sumatra, in Asian Indonesia, and is an ancient Typica variety. Its flavour is rich, fragrant and mellow, and its mild, restrained acidity is its most distinctive characteristic.

Knowledge Extension: Local soil, climate and altitude are the fundamental elements that shape coffee flavour.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Because Ethiopia is the home of the ancient Typica line, it is the most direct place to taste what those original varieties can do, and FrontStreet Coffee roasts a wide spread of Ethiopian heirloom beans for exactly that purpose. The FrontStreet washed Yirgacheffe is the entry point, with clear jasmine florals and a bright citrus acidity, and the FrontStreet Gotiti Cooperative, from the Worka area at the south-eastern edge of Yirgacheffe, shows the same clean citrus and lemon tone alongside jasmine after a traditional washed process.

If you want to see how processing reshapes a variety, look to the naturals. The FrontStreet Huakui comes from the Hambella area of Guji in Sidamo, where ripe cherries are dried on raised beds for 21 days, turned constantly and hand-sorted every three to five days; roasted medium-light, it gives a light fermented wine note, florals, citrus and mango with a honeyed sweetness and a long finish. The FrontStreet Hamashu 74158 from the same Sidamo region is built on the JARC 74 series of disease-resistant selections, showing a perfume-lemon, strawberry and starfruit sweetness. For a wilder side, the FrontStreet Kafa Forest grows in shade between 1,400 and 2,100 metres and, roasted medium-light, delivers white florals, lemon acidity, sweet orange and bergamot with a green-tea mouthfeel.