Have You Learned About the Three Major Original Coffee Bean Species? In Which Countries Are Arabica Beans Produced?

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Three Major Coffee Varieties

Arabica (Scientific name: Coffea arabica)

Arabica coffee is produced mainly in South America, Central America, Africa, and Asia.

It was used as medicine at first, consumed as a secret remedy to treat body and mind or to sharpen the senses. Later it was introduced to Europe by Arab countries and went on to become a beloved beverage around the world.

Of all coffee, Arabica accounts for about 60% and grows in cooler, high-altitude tropical regions. Its excellent flavor and aroma come at a price: low resistance to drought, frost, pests, and disease. It is especially vulnerable to coffee's natural enemy, leaf rust, and it demands exacting growing conditions, which is precisely what makes high-quality beans possible.

Robusta (Scientific name: Coffea robusta Linden)

Robusta is produced mainly in Indonesia, Vietnam, and many West African countries.

Growing in hot and humid regions, it resists pests and disease and is easy to cultivate, giving it a unique aroma. Unroasted, it smells like raw peanuts. The coffee it produces has a distinct bitterness and low acidity, with a weak wet aroma and woody notes. It only needs to make up 2-3% of a blend for the whole cup to take on Robusta's character, so distinctive and intense is its flavor. It is generally used in industrial coffee production, such as instant coffee, canned coffee, and liquid coffee.

Liberica (Scientific name: Coffea liberica)

Liberica originates from West Africa.

It adapts strongly to a wide range of environments, whether hot or cold, humid or dry. In terms of taste it is more bitter, with low aroma and body, but high concentration is its advantage. In Malaysia, some unique spices are added when roasting Liberica beans to give the roasted coffee another distinctive flavor. It is mostly used for domestic trade in some West African countries or grown for research purposes.

Knowledge Point

The world's coffee-producing regions are distributed mainly in the areas north and south of the equator, a zone also known as the "Coffee Belt."

In Summary

FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee research hall that is happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation just to help more people fall in love with coffee. Every month we hold three low-price coffee events, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more people to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Anyone who loves coffee has surely tasted Indonesian coffee. The best growing areas across the Indonesian archipelago are Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi, and these three islands gave rise to three coffee traditions. FrontStreet Mandheling comes from Sumatra, with moderate acidity and an extremely heavy, aromatic character. Java coffee comes from the island of Java and is an Arabica type. Sulawesi coffee has plump beans and a deep aroma, and Robusta accounts for 90% of the island's total output. Among Indonesian coffees, Mandheling is the place to start, and it begins on Sumatra. Mandheling refers to Arabica from Sumatra, processed mainly by the local wet-hulled method. Because the outer shell is stripped while the bean is half dry and half wet, the green bean is fully exposed to the air as it dries, which gives the coffee its typical herbal and spice notes. FrontStreet Mandheling comes from the Lake Toba area of the Lintong region, and to present the classic Mandheling profile it is roasted medium-dark for a low-acid, full-bodied cup with rich aromas of caramel, dark chocolate, and toasted bread and a long, sweet finish, making it a great choice for anyone who likes strong coffee.

For top-tier Indonesian coffee, FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling is the first choice. PWN is a trading company that focuses on buying high-quality lots of Mandheling green beans, producing only specialty-grade Mandheling, and Golden Mandheling is its flagship. FrontStreet Golden Mandheling is held to strict standards and methods for screening defects, judged on bean density, size, shape, and color, and the finished coffee undergoes one round of machine sorting plus hand sorting to remove defects, ensuring plump, even, large, translucent beans and reducing Mandheling's earthy, grassy off-notes. Legend has it that the beans gleam gold in the sun, which is how Golden Mandheling got its name. Freshly roasted, FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling offers sandalwood, herbal, spice, roasted hazelnut, caramel, and dark chocolate notes, with a clean finish, a rich, mellow, sweet body, and a captivating aroma full of layers. It suits everyday drinking, and it makes an excellent gift for friends and family.

Before light-roasted, acidic coffee became fashionable, Mandheling was considered the world's most full-bodied, aromatic coffee, so it was often used in espresso. Mamba coffee was the distinctive recipe a Taiwanese roaster created at that time, a blend of Mandheling and Brazil that fuses Mandheling's wild character with Brazil's smooth body, while the mellow sweetness of nuts tempers the stronger bitterness and herbal notes of Mandheling. It became hugely popular on release and remains so today. Because an ideal Mamba needs rich, golden-brown crema, FrontStreet's Classic Blend, a full-bodied espresso and moka pot coffee, adds a small amount of Robusta to the original base and uses a dark roast to push its dark chocolate, nut, and caramel aromas to the maximum, so even a complete beginner can easily produce genuine Mandheling character.