Coffee Bean Varieties You've Heard of But Don't Understand: Are Caturra Coffee Beans Slightly Inferior?

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Coffee Bean Subspecies and Caturra Coffee Varieties

Coffee trees belong to the Angiospermae phylum, Dicotyledoneae class, Rubiales order, Rubiaceae family, and Coffea genus in botanical classification. Quite a mouthful, isn't it! There are approximately 70 species in the Coffea genus, but currently only two are commercially viable: what people commonly call "Arabica" and "Robusta." Pay attention! What we're referring to here as "species" are tree species, or simply "species," not varieties. The correct hierarchical order should be: species → variety → cultivar (or "subspecies" found only in specific growing regions).

There are numerous types of subspecies. Sometimes changing the growing location or artificial breeding can create what is called a new subspecies. The concept of subspecies is somewhat like Corgis and Shiba Inus - although they look somewhat different, they are both dogs. I believe everyone can easily name more than a dozen different dog breeds, so the same applies to coffee. Under Arabica, the largest classifications are Typica and Bourbon.

Typica is the most common coffee variety. Its new leaves are reddish-brown, it's susceptible to diseases, and its yield is very low. The Bourbon variety, on the other hand, has green new leaves and smaller fruits than Typica. They are typically red, but some are orange and yellow, hence they are called Red Bourbon, Orange Bourbon, or Yellow Bourbon.

Caturra is a natural mutation of the Arabica Bourbon variety, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its plant is not as tall as Bourbon, being more compact. Due to inheriting Bourbon's lineage, it has relatively weak disease resistance, but its yield is higher than Bourbon. Although discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not well-suited for growing there and therefore was not cultivated on a large scale in Brazil. Instead, it became widely popular in Central and South America, with countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua extensively cultivating Caturra.

Caturra is suitable for cultivation from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters, demonstrating strong altitude adaptability. The higher the altitude, the better the flavor, though productivity decreases relatively - this is the destiny of specialty coffee beans. Some academics refer to Caturra as a "dense and sun-exposed version of Bourbon," which is quite apt. In Central and South America, there is also a Yellow Caturra (Caturra Amarello) mutation, but its reputation is not as good as Yellow Bourbon.

When lightly roasted, Caturra exhibits distinct acidic aromas and overall brightness. With proper processing, its sweetness can be remarkably well-expressed. However, compared to Bourbon, its body is relatively lighter, and its mouthfeel lacks some cleanliness.

Knowledge Point

Its strong adaptability allows it to grow without shade trees, thriving directly under intense sunlight, earning it the name "Sun Coffee." It can adapt to high-density cultivation but requires more fertilizer, increasing costs. Consequently, coffee farmers initially had low acceptance of this variety.

In Summary

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