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

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

Botanically, the coffee tree belongs to the phylum Angiospermae, class Dicotyledoneae, order Rubiales, family Rubiaceae, and genus Coffea. Quite a mouthful, isn't it! The Coffea genus holds roughly 70 species, but only two are commercially viable: the ones we commonly call Arabica and Robusta. Pay attention — "species" here means tree species, not varieties. The correct hierarchy runs: species → variety → cultivar (or "subspecies," found only in specific growing regions).

Subspecies abound. Sometimes simply changing where a plant grows, or breeding it deliberately, creates what is called a new subspecies. The concept is a bit like Corgis and Shiba Inus — they look different, but both are dogs. Anyone can name a dozen dog breeds, and coffee works the same way. Under Arabica, the two largest branches are Typica and Bourbon.

Typica is the most common coffee variety: its new leaves are reddish-brown, it is susceptible to disease, and its yield is very low. Bourbon, by contrast, has green new leaves and smaller fruits than Typica — typically red, but sometimes orange or yellow, hence Red Bourbon, Orange Bourbon, and Yellow Bourbon.

Caturra is a natural mutation of Arabica Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. The plant is shorter and more compact than Bourbon. Having inherited Bourbon's lineage, its disease resistance is relatively weak, but it yields more. Although it was discovered in Brazil, Caturra never really suited Brazilian conditions and was never planted there on a large scale; instead, it became hugely popular across Central and South America, with Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua cultivating it extensively.

Caturra grows well anywhere from 700 meters to 1,700 meters, showing strong altitude adaptability. The higher the altitude, the better the flavor — though productivity drops accordingly; that is the destiny of specialty coffee. Some academics call Caturra "a dense, sun-exposed version of Bourbon," which is quite apt. Central and South America also produced a Yellow Caturra (Caturra Amarello) mutation, but its reputation never matched that of Yellow Bourbon.

Lightly roasted, Caturra shows distinct acidic aromas and overall brightness, and with good processing its sweetness can be expressed remarkably well. Compared with Bourbon, however, its body is lighter and the mouthfeel somewhat less clean.

Knowledge Point

Its strong adaptability lets Caturra grow without shade trees, thriving in direct, intense sunlight — hence the nickname "Sun Coffee." It tolerates high-density planting but demands more fertilizer, which raises costs; for that reason, farmers were slow to accept it at first.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Caturra's story leaves you curious about Brazilian varieties, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a classic starting point. Cerrado is one of Brazil's best-known coffee regions, and this Red Bourbon lot, roasted medium, pours out aromas of creamed peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut — a round, non-sour cup with just a touch of pleasant bitterness, at home in a pour-over, moka pot, espresso, siphon, or French press.

And to taste the mutation family tree in the cup, add FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon. From Mogiana's fertile red volcanic soil, this rare golden-fruit mutation of red Bourbon offers sugarcane sweetness alongside fruit and chocolate notes — clean, mellow, and smooth, and a lovely point of comparison against the Red Bourbon's nuttier profile.