How Good is the Taste of Arabica Coffee Beans: Correct Methods and Flavor Characteristics for Pour-Over Single-Origin Coffee

Introduction to the Three Major Coffee Varieties

There are numerous coffee varieties in the world, primarily divided into three major coffee species: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. Essentially, specialty coffee shops generally use Arabica beans, just like FrontStreet Coffee's beans are basically all Arabica beans.

Arabica beans account for seventy percent of the world's total coffee production. The oldest variety of Arabica is Typica, which spread from Ethiopia to the entire world. Robusta coffee is generally used for instant coffee, while Liberica coffee is very rare. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee will focus on introducing Arabica coffee today. Arabica coffee is a classification with many subcategories beneath it. For example, Typica is a coffee variety within Arabica coffee. Bourbon is a variant of Typica, and Caturra is a variant of Bourbon. The Catuai we often mention is a hybrid breeding of Caturra and Mundo Novo. All these varieties mentioned above belong to the Arabica species.

Arabica coffee beans are also called small-grained coffee beans. Although their yield per unit area is not high, they are widely cultivated commercially due to their excellent flavor characteristics, currently accounting for 70% of global coffee production. Arabica coffee is suitable for growing in areas above 800 meters altitude, but generally, Arabica coffee beans grown above 1200 meters altitude can exhibit their excellent flavor characteristics. Currently, the oldest cultivated Arabica varieties are Typica and Bourbon coffee.

Common Arabica Varieties

Typica

The first common Arabica variety is Typica. Typica beans generally呈现 an oval shape, slender, flat, and full, with a very standard appearance. The flavor is elegant, but the plant is relatively weak with poor disease resistance, susceptible to leaf rust disease, and has low fruit yield. The most obvious characteristic is that its young leaves display a brownish-red color, hence it is also called copper-top coffee. Currently, pure Typica coffees include Blue Mountain coffee, Yunnan Typica...

Bourbon

The second is the ancient variant of Typica - the Bourbon variety. Generally, Bourbon refers to the common Red Bourbon, where coffee cherries turn wine-red when mature. Bourbon is suitable for cultivation in high-altitude areas because high altitude is conducive to forming rich aromas and bright acidity, with flavors similar to red wine.

However, in 1930, a Yellow Bourbon variety was discovered in Brazil. FrontStreet Coffee understands that Yellow Bourbon may have originated from a mutation of Red Bourbon and a Typica that produces yellow fruits. However, experiments found that this Yellow Bourbon variety has low yield and is not resistant to wind and rain, which are the main reasons why it cannot be widely cultivated among Arabica varieties. For example, the Yellow Bourbon from Brazil's Queen Estate, available at FrontStreet Coffee, carries fruity sweetness and distinct nutty flavors.

A new Bourbon variety was cultivated through hybridizing Yellow Bourbon and Red Bourbon, displaying a beautiful pink color. It is also called Pink Bourbon. The color of its coffee cherries is determined by recessive genes in the pollen grains. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Pink Bourbon was first cultivated in the Huila region of Colombia. Its rich flavors during cupping made Pink Bourbon famous. The fame of Pink Bourbon led FrontStreet Coffee to also feature a Pink Bourbon from the Huila region, called Isabella coffee, which offers flavors of citrus, berries, and cherry tomatoes.

Caturra

The second common Arabica coffee variety is Caturra. Compared to Bourbon, Caturra plants are shorter, making them easier to harvest, with very strong adaptability. Most importantly, they do not require other shade trees. People generally call this sun-grown coffee. Now, Caturra variety coffee is widely cultivated in Colombia. Caturra coffee has a very smooth mouthfeel with berry-like acidity, which has also made Colombian coffee known as the gentleman of coffees.

Catuai

The third Arabica variety is Catuai, a coffee variety hybridized from Caturra and Mundo Novo. Compared to Caturra, Catuai has a smaller plant size and superior acidity. Moreover, it has extremely high yield and very strong disease resistance. Catuai is also widely cultivated in areas such as Brazil, Costa Rica, and others. For example, the Honduras Sweet Orange Estate and Panama's Mariposa 30% non-Geisha variety featured by FrontStreet Coffee belong to the Catuai variety.

Other Coffee Varieties

Robusta

Additionally, Robusta, one of the three major coffee varieties, has very strong adaptability and can grow in extreme weather conditions. Robusta coffee is widely cultivated in countries such as Vietnam, Brazil, and India. Hainan, China, also cultivates Robusta coffee, but it is not very famous.

The main reason why Robusta coffee is not widely cultivated is its limited aroma and sometimes earthy flavors, which is a major taboo for specialty coffee. Therefore, it is generally used for blended beans or instant coffee. However, according to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, the poor flavor of Robusta is not absolute. The emergence of India's Royal Specialty Robusta has broken the stereotypical impression of Robusta coffee. The Royal grade Robusta's flavor surprised everyone - it is quite clean, without the expected earthy notes, and even carries a thicker, more stable mouthfeel. Somewhat similar to peanut, hazelnut, and wheat flavors.

Liberica

Liberica coffee is generally called large-grained coffee beans. It has very strong vitality, but compared to the three original coffee species, its flavor and disease resistance are relatively poor. It has basically been withdrawn from the market and is only preserved in scientific research laboratories.

Conclusion

Nowadays, Arabica coffee varieties are widely cultivated around the world. Arabica coffee is considered the highest quality coffee bean. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the widespread cultivation of Arabica coffee indicates that people's requirements for coffee bean quality are increasingly high, and they are paying more attention to coffee quality. This is a very positive phenomenon for the specialty coffee industry.

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