What Are the Coffee Varieties? The Difference Between Arabica and Robusta, and Liberian Coffee

Coffee Varieties

Specialty coffee has gradually moved from a niche market to the mainstream, attracting numerous coffee enthusiasts. The world of coffee varieties is complex, and many coffee beginners often feel overwhelmed when faced with the intricate array of coffee species. FrontStreet Coffee will provide a simple introduction to coffee varieties. In plant taxonomy, coffee belongs to the Coffea genus of the Rubiaceae family, which includes at least one hundred different coffee species.

The well-known Arabica variety, with its elegant flavor, is the cornerstone of specialty coffee. Arabica beans are characterized by rich, delicate flavors, aromatic aromas, higher acidity, and smooth texture, rarely exhibiting bitterness. Alongside Arabica are Robusta and Liberica varieties; Robusta has a coarser flavor profile, while Liberica is rarely cultivated for commercial use due to its minimal production. Arabica beans account for approximately 70% of global coffee production, while Robusta beans make up about 30%. Arabica is typically cultivated at altitudes above 800 meters and has strict growing requirements, with weak resistance to pests and diseases. Robusta grows at altitudes below 800 meters, demonstrating strong adaptability and robust resistance to pests and diseases. Robusta beans contain approximately twice as much caffeine as Arabica beans.

Arabica Varieties

Among Arabica varieties, Bourbon and Typica are prominent. Typica is the variety most closely related to the original Arabica species. Bourbon, alongside Typica, represents an ancient and superior variety, having emerged as a mutation of Typica.

Genetic Mutation Varieties

Among the numerous coffee varieties, there are genetic mutation types:

Kenya SL28, SL34 (Bourbon lineage)

These were selected and cultivated from Bourbon lineage by French and British missionaries and researchers in Kenya during the early 20th century, possessing a mixed heritage of French Mission, Mocha, and Yemen Typica. High sweetness, refined balance, prominent citrus and plum flavors, intense and rich fruit acidity, full body, and beautiful balance are the distinctive coffee flavor characteristics of Kenya SL28.

Geisha

Geisha is cultivated in many regions worldwide and has become the new king of specialty coffee, with particularly high quality and prices in Latin American countries such as Panama, Guatemala, and Colombia. The increasingly popular Panama Geisha actually made a quiet journey in 1931 from Geisha Mountain in southwestern Ethiopia to Kenya, then through Tanzania and Costa Rica, before finally being transplanted to Panama in the 1960s. After half a century, it suddenly gained fame, defeating established champions like Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and Typica.

Yellow Bourbon

A Bourbon variety with yellow skin discovered in São Paulo state, Brazil. While typical coffee cherries turn red when ripe, Yellow Bourbon remains orange-yellow when mature, hence its name.

Caturra

Caturra is a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety. It was discovered between 1915 and 1918 in a plantation in Minas Gerais, Brazil. A group of Bourbon plants growing in the plantation experienced genetic mutations, causing the plants to grow smaller (similar to dwarfism). This new coffee variety, expressed through a different biological form, was called "Caturra" by locals in the Guaraní language, meaning "small." Sometimes it is also referred to as "Nanico."

Pacas

A Bourbon variety discovered in El Salvador. In 1935, Salvadoran coffee farmer Pacas selected high-yield San Ramón Bourbon, and the variety was introduced to the farm for cultivation. It was identified as a genetic mutation in 1956.

Villa Sarchi

A Bourbon variety first discovered in Costa Rica in the 1960s.

Maragogipe (Elephant Bean)

At least three times larger than Arabica beans, it is the largest in the world, hence its name.

Arabica Intracross Varieties

Mundo Novo

A natural hybrid of Bourbon and Sumatra Typica, both Arabica varieties, first discovered in Brazil.

Catuai

An Arabica hybrid variety, a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra.

Pacamara

A hybrid variety of Maragogipe (Typica mutation) and Pacas (Bourbon mutation).

Kent

A Typica hybrid discovered in India, known for high yield and strong disease resistance.

Arabica and Robusta Hybrids

Timor, Catimor, Icatu, Ruiru 11, and Jeng Chengi Ji Li

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