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

Professional coffee knowledge exchange for more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

FrontStreet Coffee - Arabica Variety Introduction

Three Major Native Species of Coffee Beans

Coffee beans have three major native species: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberia. The Liberica species (Coffea Liberica), originally from Liberia in West Africa, is also known as large-grained coffee due to its large fruit. Although this original species has strong vitality, its flavor is inferior to Arabica, and its commercial value was not high in earlier years. However, with the continuous development of coffee, there has been positive news about the Liberica variety in recent years, with improved processing methods and cultivation techniques bringing this coffee closer to specialty coffee standards.

However, today FrontStreet Coffee mainly shares knowledge about Arabica beans to help you understand why Arabica beans are the primary choice for specialty coffee and learn about its derived varieties!

Arabica coffee is one of the most important commercial coffees. From a component perspective, Arabica coffee has lower caffeine content, approximately between 0.9% and 1.2%, with quite rich fat and sugar content. Therefore, it has a gentle, non-irritating aroma with a refreshing and slightly sweet taste, sometimes with a refreshing and pleasant acidity that is loved by the vast majority of coffee enthusiasts. It has excellent aroma and acidity. Therefore, Arabica is mostly used for fresh coffee production.

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

Arabica is a representative variety originating from Ethiopia and is also produced in South Africa, African countries, and Asian nations, accounting for 70%-75% of the world's coffee production. Arabica has relatively weak resistance to pests and diseases, making highland areas more suitable for cultivation, especially Arabica coffee beans produced at altitudes above 1,500 meters, which have the best quality.

Two Ancient Pure Variety Sources of Arabica: Typica and Bourbon

Typica

Typica is the original species of all Arabica varieties. Typica originates from southern Sudan, and its ripe fruits are red. This variety has relatively low yield and extremely poor disease resistance, but its excellent cupping quality still makes it popular worldwide.

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 southwestern Ethiopia. In the 1930s, Geisha seeds were transported to Tanzania, and in the 1950s, they traveled to Costa Rica. In the 1960s, they made their way to Panama, where after nearly half a century, they made a stunning impact, defeating perennial champions like Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and Typica to sweep the first prize in the Panama National Treasure Bean Cupping Competition in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In 2007, Geisha won the championship at the International Famous Bean Cupping Competition hosted by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), with a bidding price of $130 per pound, setting the highest price record for competition beans in history.

Geisha is grown in many regions worldwide and is the new king of specialty coffees, with particularly high quality and prices in Latin American countries such as Panama, Guatemala, and Colombia.

Geisha possesses distinctive tropical fruit flavors, 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 meters above sea level, making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination. Located in a seismic zone, it has fertile volcanic soil, fresh air without pollution, and a humid climate with year-round fog and rain (average rainfall of 1,980 mm and temperature around 27°C). Such climate conditions have created the world-renowned Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee and also the world's second most expensive coffee.

Blue Mountain coffee possesses all the characteristics of premium coffee - not only is it rich and mellow in flavor, but due to the perfect balance of coffee's sweetness, acidity, and bitterness, it has no bitterness at all, only moderate and perfect acidity.

c. Hawaii Kona

Kona is an ancient, pure Arabica Typica variety coffee, produced in the western and southern regions of the Kona district on the island of Hawaii. Coffee trees are scattered across the volcanic slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa, where the altitude ranges from 150 to 750 meters. The volcanic ash soil is highly fertile, and the morning sunshine combined with afternoon cloud cover provides perfect shading conditions. There is no frost throughout the year, making it ideal for coffee growth.

d. Maragogype

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

e. Sumatra Typica (Mandheling)

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

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

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research institution dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Additionally, we hold three low-discount coffee events every month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past 6 years!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473