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How to Identify Catimor Coffee Beans by Appearance Are Catimor Coffee Characteristics Inferior Products of Robusta Genes?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee
Last Updated: 2026/01/27, For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Yunnan Small Bean Coffee Introduction: Catimor is not of pure Arabica bloodline; it is a hybrid of Robusta (Timor) and Bourbon. Compared to older varieties, it lacks rich aroma and flavor, and has relatively shallow grassy notes.

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Catimor is not a pure Arabica variety; it is a hybrid of Robusta (Timor) and Bourbon. Compared to older varieties, it lacks rich aroma and flavor, with relatively noticeable grassy and earthy notes. However, its advantages lie in disease and pest resistance, easy management, and high yield. Its maximum yield can reach 350kg of green beans per mu, more than twice that of older varieties. It has now become the main cultivated variety in Yunnan's coffee-producing regions.

Catimor is a hybrid variety of Timor and Caturra, developed in 1959 by Portugal's Coffee Leaf Rust Research Center (CIFC), with research focused on disease resistance and high yield.

Catimor is high-yielding, with short plants that can be densely planted, and its new leaves are reddish-brown.

The Robusta genes inherited from Timor enable Catimor to better resist coffee berry disease and coffee leaf rust, while also having stronger pest and disease resistance capabilities. However, this is also often criticized in terms of cup quality.

Catimor fruits mature quickly and have high yields, requiring sufficient fertilizer supply and shade. Additionally, Catimor's high yield corresponds to a relatively shorter commercial lifespan, averaging only ten years.

When planted at low altitudes, Catimor's cup quality shows no significant difference from other commercial varieties. When planted above 1,200 meters altitude, Catimor's cup flavor is clearly inferior to Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai.

Catimor was initially developed in 1959 and began to be promoted in Brazil in the 1970s and 1980s. With its disease resistance and high yield, it has secured a place among Central and South American coffee varieties. The periodic outbreaks of coffee leaf rust crises in Central and South America have also promoted the application of Catimor. Catimor beans are oval in shape with a straight center line.

Knowledge point: In 1892, French missionary Father Tian successfully cultivated coffee in a place called Zhukula in Yunnan, where there are still 4 coffee trees over 90 years old.

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