Robusta Coffee Bean Flavor Profile: Are Composition Characteristics the Main Cause of Poor Taste?

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Robusta Coffee Beans

Let me give you a simple introduction to Robusta. Robusta is commonly known as "Robo bean," and it's a medium-grain coffee bean (Arabica is small-grain).

It has low requirements for its growing environment, has good resistance to pests and diseases, and is physically robust. However, its flavor is not good, often described as: woody, like leather soles!

Robusta is widely used in the industrial and instant coffee industry. Not many coffee shops use Robusta, mostly in European countries, with Italy being the most prominent. Italy is famously known for its strong flavors, and Robusta can certainly be considered strong-flavored. Its caffeine content is about 3 times that of Arabica.

Robusta Varieties

Robusta varieties are products of low-altitude hillside cultivation, with oval-shaped beans. The caffeine content is more than twice that of Arabica varieties, with poor body and strong bitterness. It's mostly used to make instant coffee powder or blended into affordable coffee blends. Because of its strong survival ability and ease of cultivation, procurement costs are significantly reduced.

Typically, coffee trees that are 3-4 years old can flower and bear fruit. Each tree can produce about 2,000 cherry-like fruits, weighing approximately 4 kilograms, but it takes about half a year for them to fully mature. After harvesting and removing the fruit skin and pulp, less than 1 kilogram of unroasted raw coffee beans can be obtained.

In fact, Robusta also has many categories and cannot be generalized or blindly pursued for price. Among major coffee-producing countries, the major Robusta producers include Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia, India, and others. Similar to Arabica, Robusta from each country also has corresponding grade classifications. Based on different grades, you can see the general quality standards of the raw beans.

Knowledge Point

Most coffee grows in the equatorial zone between 25° north and south of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The coffee growing belt and country of origin will have a huge impact on its flavor.

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research house dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation simply to help more friends fall in love with coffee, and we hold low-discount coffee activities three times a month. This is because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest price, which has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past 6 years!

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