What is the Typica Variety and How Does It Taste? Is Typica an Arabica Subspecies?

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FrontStreet Coffee - Typica Variety Introduction

What is Arabica?

Arabica is the most special among the 103 species in the Coffea genus. Currently known, Arabica is the only tetraploid plant (with four sets of chromosomes) in the Coffea genus, and it is self-pollinating, characterized by lower caffeine content and a clean flavor profile. The remaining 102 coffee species are all diploid plants (with two sets of chromosomes) and are cross-pollinating. Therefore, Arabica is the most precious species in the Coffea genus.

Arabica is actually one of the main coffee tree species in the world. Among all coffee beans worldwide, Arabica varieties account for about 65%-80%. In a certain sense, many coffee beans are Arabica varieties, such as Blue Mountain Typica, Brazilian Bourbon, and Panama Geisha. The so-called 100% Arabica can only represent the bean variety.

Typica is relatively delicate and susceptible to rust disease (a common coffee disease), with lower yields, but its flavor is excellent, making it one of the best specialty coffee bean varieties. Its descendants also shine in the coffee world, with the famous "one king and one queen" - Jamaica Blue Mountain and Hawaii Kona - both being Typica varieties.

Typica Coffee

Typica is a sub-variety of Arabica coffee. The Typica variety originally grew in Martinique, and its current main coffee growing areas include Central America, Jamaica, Hawaii's Kona region, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor. To obtain more coffee yield from high-quality Typica, Typica coffee varieties are usually cross-bred with other species. Typica coffee is famous for its sweetness, and some of the world's best coffees come from the Typica coffee variety series, including Blue Mountain, Sumatra, and Kona.

Typica green beans have slightly upturned ends and an oval shape. From the side, the bean body appears flat and thin. Even if grown at different altitudes, the thickness difference on the side of the green beans won't vary significantly.

Unlike other bean varieties, Typica coffee fruits are conical. Typica coffee quality is extremely high, making it very popular among plantations worldwide. When properly cultivated, Typica coffee has high sweetness, pure taste, and pleasant acidity.

Knowledge Point: Ethiopia holds an ancestral position in the coffee world as the birthplace of Arabica beans and is currently Africa's largest Arabica-producing country. The Kaffa Forest in Ethiopia is known as the "coffee gene pool."

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