Differences Between Coffee Varieties: Characteristics and Flavor Profiles of Typica and Bourbon Coffee

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Common Coffee Varieties

There are over 500 species of coffee trees and 6,000 varieties, most of which are tropical trees and shrubs. There are four main types of coffee trees in the world, but only two have significant commercial value and are widely cultivated. The coffee beans produced by these two varieties are superior to those from other coffee tree species.

Typica

The oldest native variety from Ethiopia, all Arabica varieties are derived from Typica. Typica has bronze-colored young leaves, and the beans are oval or slender and pointed in shape. It offers elegant flavor but has weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and low fruit yield. Excellent estate beans such as Jamaican Blue Mountain, Sumatra Mandheling, and Hawaiian Kona all belong to the Typica family. The bronze-colored young leaves are one of its distinguishing features.

Bourbon

A variant of Typica after it was transplanted to Yemen in early coffee history, with the bean shape changing from slender and pointed to rounded. In 1715, France transplanted the rounded Yemen Mocha beans to Bourbon Island on the east coast of Africa (renamed Réunion Island after the French Revolution), and it was named Bourbon. The rounded Bourbon beans were辗转传到巴西和中南美洲 in 1727, and in 1732, Britain transplanted Yemen Mocha to St. Helena Island (where Napoleon was later imprisoned), which were also rounded Bourbon beans. Bourbon is the frequent champion in American specialty coffee cupping competitions.

Genetic Mutations

Bourbon Pointu

Discovered on Bourbon Island in 1810, the bean shape changed from rounded to pointed, with only half the caffeine content. However, it has low yield and weak constitution, making it extremely precious (mostly cultivated in laboratories).

Maragogype (Elephant Bean)

The most well-known variant of Typica, first discovered in 1870 in the Maragogype coffee-producing region of Bahia state in northeastern Brazil. The beans are at least three times larger than regular Arabica beans, hence the name. Maragogype has poor flavor at low altitudes, but offers better flavor, mild acidity, and pleasant sweet aroma at high altitudes. (The image on the right shows Maragogype beans)

Geisha

Belongs to the Typica family of derived varieties, exported from Ethiopia's Geisha Mountain in 1931 (Geisha has the same pronunciation as the Japanese word for "geisha"). It remained obscure in many countries until it was transplanted to Panama in the 1960s, and began frequently winning cupping competitions starting in 2005.

Kenya's "SL28" and "SL34"

DIRECT descendants of Bourbon selected and cultivated by French and British missionaries and researchers in Kenya in the early 20th century. Over the past century, they have adapted to Kenya's high-phosphate soil, nurturing the characteristic acidic fragrance of Kenyan coffee. Top-quality Kenyan coffees all come from these two varieties, but they lose their distinctive character when transplanted elsewhere.

Bourbon Amarello (Yellow Bourbon)

A Bourbon variety unique to São Paulo state, Brazil, where the coffee cherries don't turn red when ripe, but remain orange-yellow. It was later discovered that other Bourbon-derived varieties in the region also have yellow fruit skin.

Caturra

A single-gene variant of Bourbon discovered in Brazil in the 1950s. It has better yield capacity and disease resistance than Bourbon, with shorter plants that facilitate harvesting. Unfortunately, it shares the same problem as Bourbon—fruiting one year and resting the next. Its flavor is comparable to or slightly inferior to Bourbon beans.

However, it has stronger adaptability and can be cultivated at high density without shade trees, thriving even when directly exposed to strong sunlight. Therefore, it's also called "Sun Coffee."

Caturra is suitable for low altitudes of 700 meters up to high altitudes of 1700 meters, but the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, though the yield decreases accordingly. There are also yellow Caturra variants in Central and South America, but their reputation doesn't match that of Yellow Bourbon.

Pacas

A Bourbon variety discovered in El Salvador. In 1935, Salvadoran coffee farmer "Don Alberto Pacas" selected high-yield San Remo Bourbon varieties for cultivation on his farm. In 1956, his coffee trees produced higher yields than other trees of the same type. University of Florida professor "Dr. William Cogwill" confirmed that this was a genetic mutation of Bourbon and named it "Pacas."

Pacas has high yield and excellent quality, making it quite popular in Central America. Currently, 68% of coffee in El Salvador belongs to Bourbon varieties, with Pacas accounting for 29%.

Villa Sarchi

A Bourbon variety first discovered in Costa Rica in the 1960s, frequently appearing in excellent cupping rankings in recent years, making it a dark horse with promising prospects. This is a rare variety bred through hybridization of red Bourbon trees. It resists strong winds, prefers high-altitude environments, and possesses excellent acidity and various fruit notes. It has high sweetness, bright and delicate citrus acidity, along with deeper raisin and nut aromas, with high complexity and excellent balance.

Kona

Although cultivated at altitudes of several hundred meters, Kona from Hawaii's Big Island enjoys gentle sea breezes and fertile volcanic soil, possessing exceptionally clean acidity and sweetness. Compared to the higher-altitude Blue Mountain, it's arguably superior.

Blue Mountain

Globally popular and hard to obtain, Blue Mountain comes from the Typica family. Why is Blue Mountain so expensive?! Mostly because it's largely contracted by the "royal army" (a reference to Japan's exclusive purchase contracts), and partly because it doesn't adapt well when leaving Jamaica, performing poorly outside its native environment. After 200 years of domestication, Blue Mountain has successfully evolved in Jamaica, with better resistance to coffee berry disease than typical Typica.

Arabica Intraspecific Hybrids

Catuai

Catuai is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, making it a second-generation hybrid. It inherits the advantage of Caturra's short plant height and compensates for the fragile fruit characteristic of Arabica. The fruits are solid and don't easily fall off when exposed to strong winds. The biggest regret is that its overall flavor is somewhat monotonous compared to Caturra.

Catuai also comes in red and yellow fruit varieties, with the red fruit variety winning awards more frequently than the yellow one. Catuai, Caturra, Mundo Novo, and Bourbon are the four main coffee varieties in Brazil.

Pacamara

A hybrid of Pacas and Maragogype, with beans second only in size to Maragogype. It's an excellent variety developed in El Salvador in the 1950s, with impressive cupping results in recent years.

Knowledge Point

Coffee beans are the form that best preserves the complete flavor of coffee, ensuring freshness and original taste.

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a dedicated coffee research hall that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three coffee events with significant discounts 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 six years!

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