Coffee Bean Characteristics Typica Coffee Bean Flavor Characteristics

FrontStreet Coffee - Typica Variety Introduction

Basic Arabica Varieties

Among Arabica species, Ethiopian Typica and Yemeni Bourbon are the coffee varieties closest to the original species that people have known to date. After being transplanted from their origin to Central and South America and Asia, many Arabica variants have been derived. Most of the small-grain coffee cultivated in Yunnan, China belongs to Catimor, one of the Typica variants, while other regions also have Bourbon variants.

Typica

Typica is the original variety of all Arabica species. Known for its sweetness, Typica is said to have originated in southern Sudan, gradually flourished in Ethiopia, and was finally cultivated in Yemen around the 7th century AD for commercial production. Typica was brought to the East Indies by the Dutch and was the first coffee variety to arrive in the West Indies, planted by Gabriel de Clieu in the French Martinique in 1720. The ripe fruit of Typica is red. This variety has a relatively low yield and extremely poor disease resistance, but its excellent cup quality still makes it popular worldwide.

Includes: Blue Mountain, Kona, Elephant Bean, Sumatra.

In Brief

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Typica is the foundation of the Arabica family, and the most celebrated expression of the variety is FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1, from the historic Clifton Estate in Jamaica's Blue Mountain region. Clifton Farm is the only farm in Jamaica with Rainforest Alliance certification, which can only be earned by meeting the Sustainable Agriculture System Standards, and its wooden barrels carry the rainforest certification logo. With planting and processing areas at an average altitude of 4300 feet (1310.64 meters), the estate enjoys sufficient altitude, gentle afternoon clouds shading the mountain forests, ample sunlight and mineral-rich soil, conditions that lengthen the ripening of the cherries and build the balanced, refined cup the region is known for.

FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is the highest grade of Jamaica Blue Mountain and is medium-dark roasted. It shows cream, caramel, chocolate, nuts and honey with a light fruit lift, a smooth round entry, rich mid-palate sweetness and a clean, long finish, without the strong fruit acidity of some African coffees or the heavy bitterness of a dark roast. FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing it with a Kono dripper, 15g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio and 87-88°C water, with a grind slightly coarser than for light roasts, roughly white sugar size. Use a three-stage pour with a 30-second bloom to 30g, a second pour to 120g, and a final pour to 225g, keeping the cup balanced and clean.