What is Arabica Coffee? An Introduction to Arabica Coffee Bean Flavor, Taste, Growing Altitude, and More

When purchasing coffee products, you've likely seen labels marked "Arabica." What does Arabica mean exactly? Why do merchants emphasize that their coffee is of the Arabica variety? In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce you to the characteristics of this coffee variety.

Arabica Coffee Originates from Ethiopia

Although the name "Coffee Arabica" originated from Arabia, it actually comes from coffee's homeland—Ethiopia. Initially, after discovering coffee, Ethiopians would pick coffee leaves to chew for stimulation, and the fruits were also used as medicine. Later, through research by Arab scholars, people cultivated the habit of roasting and drinking it. In the sixteenth century, Arabs spread it worldwide through trade, gradually developing it into the popular beverage we know today. Many of the specialty coffee beans we're familiar with belong to the Arabica variety, such as Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, Panama Geisha coffee, Ethiopia Yirgacheffe coffee, and more.

Ethiopia is Africa's largest coffee-producing country, where Arabica alone has more than 2,500 sub-varieties. Coffee is not only an important source of income for the Ethiopian people but has also integrated into their entire national culture and life. Besides being used for export sales, a large portion of coffee produced in Ethiopia is consumed domestically. Here, regardless of wealth, every household has a set of tools for making coffee. For Ethiopians, drinking coffee is a very ceremonial and important social activity.

Due to its mild and elegant flavor and lower caffeine content (approximately 0.9%-1.5% of coffee bean weight), Arabica has higher commercial value and is the main species in today's coffee industry, accounting for 60%-70% of global coffee production and sales. Besides Arabica, there's another variety on the market with production second only to Arabica—Robusta. So why don't people choose Robusta but prioritize Arabica instead?

Comparison Between Arabica and Robusta

As the two most common varieties on the market, Arabica belongs to the small-bean variety, while Robusta belongs to the medium-bean variety. Compared to Robusta coffee beans with 22 chromosomes, Arabica has 44 chromosomes (22 pairs). Having double the chromosomes not only makes Arabica coffee aroma superior but also brings it rich and unique sweet and sour flavors, making it taste better than Robusta.

To exhibit diverse flavors, Arabica needs to be grown at high altitudes of 800-2200 meters without frost. The higher the altitude, the more significant the temperature difference, which slows down the maturation of coffee fruits and facilitates better accumulation of flavor substances, leading to fuller aroma development. The microclimates of various coffee-producing regions provide diverse growing conditions for Arabica, forming unique flavor profiles. Meanwhile, higher altitudes make coffee more susceptible to pests and climate effects. Generally, coffee planted at higher altitudes yields fewer fruits and matures more slowly. High-quality Arabica coffee requires more manual management and harvesting, resulting in higher production costs.

For the "delicate" Arabica, Robusta's caffeine content is 2.7%-4%, double that of Arabica. As a natural pesticide for plants, caffeine can protect against most insect damage, making it easier to grow and cheaper. Additionally, with higher amino acid and chlorogenic acid content, it has a mellow, deeper bitterness, with flavors of walnut, peanut, hazelnut, wheat, and grains. When not processed properly, it can also have an earthy taste, making it less popular and often used in formulas for dark-roasted espresso beans or instant coffee.

In the past, people drank coffee seeking only rich, mellow bitterness. With the continuous promotion of specialty coffee culture, everyone has higher requirements for coffee's taste, texture, and quality. Therefore, Arabica beans with diverse aromas are more suited to the current high demand of the specialty coffee market than Robusta. Many single-origin pour-over coffee beans on FrontStreet Coffee's menu belong to the Arabica variety, showing that compared to Robusta, people prefer pure-flavored Arabica.

Specialty Arabica Coffee Bean Recommendations

On FrontStreet Coffee's bean shelf, there's a cost-effective daily coffee series, featuring 7 excellent classic coffee-producing regions, covering multiple common Arabica varieties. So-called daily coffee beans, as the name suggests, are varieties that can be drunk every day without burden, with both price and flavor being approachable. FrontStreet Coffee has selected several "flagship representatives" to let everyone recognize the basic flavors of major producing regions. Including Ethiopia's washed Yirgacheffe, Guatemala's washed Huehuetenango, Colombia's washed Huila, Brazil's semi-washed Cerrado, Costa Rica's washed Tarrazú, Indonesia's wet-hulled Lintong Mandheling, and China's Yunnan washed Baoshan.

Each daily coffee bean is suitable for extraction methods such as pour-over, cold brew, French press, etc. If you want to taste the most original aroma of coffee, FrontStreet Coffee suggests black coffee is best. Regardless of the extraction method used, FrontStreet Coffee believes the freshness of coffee beans is very important. If the roast date exceeds two months, the coffee's aroma has likely dissipated, and even the best extraction techniques can hardly restore the aroma in the cup. To let everyone experience coffee's best tasting period, FrontStreet Coffee only ships beans roasted fresh within 5 days, so you can start brewing right when you receive them.

Making Rich Espresso with Arabica

If you want to use Arabica coffee to make rich, mellow espresso, FrontStreet Coffee recommends choosing espresso-specific blended coffee beans. Since espresso is extracted through fine grinding, high water temperature, and high pressure, the concentrated coffee gathers multiple flavors, with various flavor compounds impacting our taste buds exponentially. If we use lightly roasted single-origin coffee beans for extraction, the taste might be too strong and mask the coffee's aroma. As an agricultural product, coffee changes with climate, soil, etc. Even from the same place, each batch of coffee beans will have different flavors. Blended coffee beans use the approach of complementing strengths and weaknesses, ensuring that every batch of coffee beans can exhibit balanced and stable aroma and taste.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends their own roasted "Sunflower Warmth Blend Coffee Beans," made from Ethiopia natural Red Cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduras Sherry Cask coffee beans (70%). When extracted as espresso, it presents Sherry whiskey, vanilla, and cream flavors paired with Red Cherry's tropical fruits and fermentation notes, making the coffee in the cup rich in aroma with a smooth texture. Diluting the espresso with a certain proportion of water creates a refreshing and delicious Americano, while adding milk makes a dense and silky latte, presenting a vanilla chocolate milk taste.

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