What Grade are Arabica Coffee Beans - Understanding Geisha Coffee's Arabica Classification and Flavor Characteristics

Understanding Coffee Varieties: The World of Arabica

All plants and animals in the world involve questions of species and varieties, and coffee is no exception. Currently, there are three main categories of coffee varieties used for commercial cultivation: Arabica (small-grained coffee), Robusta (medium-grained coffee), and Liberica (large-grained coffee), with Arabica and Robusta being the most common.

Robusta, with its deep, heavy coffee flavor after roasting and high caffeine content, is often used in espresso blends and instant coffee production. The small-grained Arabica coffee originated from Ethiopia in Africa and is widely popular for its pure flavor and rich, elegant aroma. All the dozens of coffee beans on FrontStreet Coffee's daily menu belong to the Arabica species.

Cultivation of Arabica Coffee

Arabica coffee varieties have high requirements for their growing environment, needing to grow at elevations between 800-2000 meters in frost-free highlands, mostly located within the coffee belt between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The higher the altitude, the better the quality of Arabica coffee produced. Countries we often hear about like Ethiopia, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil are famous Arabica coffee-producing regions.

We can notice that Robusta is mainly produced in coffee regions that pursue high yields, such as Indonesia and Vietnam. Robusta itself contains higher levels of chlorogenic acid, making it less susceptible to pests and climate impacts. It's generally grown in low-altitude environments with high yields and rapid fruit maturation. The "picky" Arabica variety has weaker plant disease resistance and relatively low yield per plant. The high-altitude environment creates significant temperature differences between day and night, slowing the maturation process of coffee cherries, allowing them to absorb more nutrients and develop richer aromas. The microclimates in various coffee regions provide diverse growing conditions for Arabica, creating unique flavor profiles.

Correspondingly, growing Arabica coffee at high altitudes also increases the difficulty of management and harvesting, significantly raising production costs. High-quality Arabica coffee requires multiple steps including manual picking, selection, and processing to produce superior quality beans with delicate flavors. For example, the well-known Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, Panama Geisha coffee, and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee are all extremely high-quality Arabica coffees.

What are the Arabica Varieties?

Arabica has many subspecies, all derived from the ancient Typica and Bourbon varieties. Below, FrontStreet Coffee will briefly introduce several of the most common Arabica varieties and their representative coffee flavor profiles.

Typica

The oldest native variety from Ethiopia, all Arabica coffees derive from Typica. Typica has bronze-colored top leaves and oval or slender-pointed beans. Typica possesses elegant acidity and aroma, but the plant is relatively weak and susceptible to leaf rust disease, with low fruit yield. The world-famous Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is a Typica variety.

Typica was introduced to Blue Mountain for cultivation in the 18th century and has been there for over two hundred years. The Blue Mountain Typica has adapted to the local island-type terroir, evolving better disease resistance, particularly stronger resistance to coffee berry disease compared to typical Typica. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the delicate and clean flavor of Blue Mountain is inseparable from Jamaica's commitment to careful cultivation of the Typica variety.

FrontStreet Coffee: Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 Coffee Beans

Region: Jamaica Blue Mountain

Altitude: 1310m

Processing: Washed

Variety: Typica

Flavor: Chocolate, Nuts, Cream, Cocoa

Bourbon

Bourbon originated from a natural mutation of Typica, with the slender-pointed bean shape becoming round-bodied. It was first discovered on Bourbon Island (now Réunion) on the east coast of Africa. It was named Bourbon in 1715 after the French transplanted round-bodied Yemen Mocha coffee to Bourbon Island on the east coast of Africa (renamed Réunion after the French Revolution). The round-bodied Bourbon was introduced to Brazil for cultivation in 1727. Since the plants can be densely planted and bear relatively more fruit, the yield is 20-30% higher than Typica varieties.

Most Brazilian coffees have lower acidity, combined with the mellow aroma of coffee, making them extremely smooth on the palate with a refreshing aftertaste. FrontStreet Coffee has selected a semi-dry processed Red Bourbon coffee as Brazil's representative, with distinct nutty and chocolate flavors, moderate caramel sweetness, smooth texture, and overall balance. FrontStreet Coffee has added it to the daily bean series. FrontStreet Coffee's daily beans are the face of each major producing region, presenting the basic flavors of the region. Coffee beginners can understand the basic flavors of the region and then choose to explore different types of regions according to their preferences.

FrontStreet Coffee: Brazil Cerrado Coffee Beans

Region: Cerrado Region, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Altitude: 1000 meters

Variety: Red Bourbon

Processing: Semi-dry

Flavor: Nuts, Chocolate, Cream, Peanut, Caramel

Geisha

Friends who often drink pour-over coffee must have heard of Panama's Geisha coffee, which has become one of the symbols of contemporary specialty coffee due to its stunning aroma. The Geisha variety is derived from Typica and also originates from Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Unlike other coffee varieties, Geisha coffee trees have very thin leaf systems, meaning photosynthesis efficiency is very low. The root system is also fragile, with slow absorption of water and nutrients, resulting in very low coffee yields. Combined with high-altitude growing environments, fruit maturation time is also relatively late.

Currently, Geisha is grown in many regions worldwide and is the new king of specialty coffee, with higher quality in Latin American countries such as Panama, Guatemala, and Colombia. Panama Geisha is particularly outstanding among specialty coffees. When talking about Geisha coffee, the most popular on FrontStreet Coffee's menu is of course the world-famous Geisha coffee produced by Hacienda La Esmeralda, which is divided into Red Label Geisha, Green Label Geisha, and Volcanic Geisha according to different characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee: Red Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Region: Boquete Region

Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda, Cañas Verdes

Altitude: 1700+ meters

Variety: Geisha

Processing: Natural Processing

Flavor: Citrus, Complex Fruits, Rose Tea, Honey

Caturra

Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. The tree shape is relatively small, with not high disease resistance, but due to the possibility of intensive planting and higher fruit-bearing rates, the yield is higher than Bourbon and other varieties. Caturra is widely planted in Central American countries. Caturra has bright acidity, with a palate full of fruit flavors. After medium-dark roasting, it presents chocolate and nutty sweetness, making it a frequent champion in many coffee competitions. There are quite a few coffee beans on FrontStreet Coffee's menu that contain the Caturra variety. If you want to understand the flavor characteristics of this variety, FrontStreet Coffee recommends Colombian daily beans, which are selected from washed processed Caturra varieties with extremely high cleanliness.

FrontStreet Coffee: Colombian Huila Coffee Beans

Region: Huila, Colombia

Altitude: 1500-1800 meters

Variety: Caturra

Processing: Washed Processing

Flavor: Nuts, Dark Chocolate, Caramel, Gentle Fruity Acidity

There are numerous excellent Arabica varieties, and FrontStreet Coffee cannot list them all. In addition to the most common varieties mentioned above, there are Catuai, Mundo Novo, Pacas, SL28, SL34... all are Arabica varieties with diverse flavors. Now Arabica coffee varieties are widely planted throughout the world. Arabica coffee is considered the highest quality coffee beans, and we can also notice that the quality of Arabica variety coffees on the current market will continue to improve.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473