Arabica Coffee Bean Varieties: Blue Mountain Coffee Belongs to Arabica

Arabica varieties account for 70% of all coffee production and are the most important commercial coffee beans. Arabica reached Europe through the Arab world, and by its route of introduction it divides into the Typica and Bourbon subspecies. Through further genetic mutation and hybridization, it has branched into many more varieties.

Native Varieties

Ethiopian Heirloom

Ethiopia is said to hold over 3,000 native coffee varieties, from which a number have been selected and cultivated. The varieties of the Yirgacheffe region are especially distinctive, with exceptionally rich floral and fruity aromas — among the highest-grade coffee varieties anywhere.

Yemeni Variety

The Yemeni coffee tree is thought to have originated in Ethiopia, but it has been cultivated in Yemen since ancient times and is considered a coffee variety inherent to the region. Yemeni coffee has rich fruit aromas, complex and varied flavors, and a distinct spicy character.

Geisha Variety

Geisha was first discovered near the Geisha forest in Ethiopia and later transmitted to Central America via Costa Rica. Its telltale trait is the wide spacing between the lateral branches along the main trunk. The coffee it produces is known for rich floral and fruity aromas and complex flavors.

Typica Variety

Typica — also known as the Blue Mountain variety — was transplanted from Martinique Island. Its main production areas today are Jamaica, Kona in Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and parts of Colombia, with small amounts also grown in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The tree stands 4–5 meters tall, with horizontal lateral branches, bronze-colored young leaves, and a long lifespan. The world-famous Jamaican Blue Mountain is Typica.

Knowledge Point: Coffee belongs to the Rubiaceae family of plants. So far 103 coffee species have been discovered, but only three major categories have commercial value and are widely cultivated.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste Ethiopia's heirloom heritage at its best, start with FrontStreet's washed Yirgacheffe everyday coffee — white jasmine florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like finish at an everyday price, the classic first bean for specialty-coffee newcomers. Yirgacheffe is a small town in Ethiopia's Sidamo province at roughly 1,700–2,100 meters, with coffee grown above 1,800 meters — some of the highest coffee land in the world; its fame grew so great that in 2010 the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange separated it from Sidamo as its own appellation. For more character, try the FrontStreet Guodingding (Worka) Cooperative coffee from southeastern Yirgacheffe — traditionally washed, with no classic bitterness, just clean citrus and lemon acidity and jasmine fragrance — or the FrontStreet Red Cherry natural, made from fully ripe cherries sun-dried on raised beds for three to five weeks (turned every 2–3 hours early on), combining classic Yirgacheffe character with tropical fruit: citrus acidity, berry juice, honeyed sweetness, and creamy smoothness. Brewing suggestion: V60 dripper, 90–91°C water, 15g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio, ground to EK43s setting 10 (80% pass on a #20 sieve); bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, pour to 125g within about a minute, then add the remaining 100g at the two-thirds drawdown for a total extraction of about 2 minutes to 2 minutes 10 seconds.