Flavor Profile Introduction to Hand-Poured Robusta Coffee Beans: Characteristics of Robusta vs Arabica

Recently, some friends have asked FrontStreet Coffee if they have Robusta beans, as they wanted to try them. They had come across flavor descriptions about Robusta beans in coffee books and found them quite interesting, so they wanted to give them a try.

FrontStreet Coffee certainly has Robusta beans, but they don't often bring them out, because according to their rule, every time they serve Robusta beans, they lose a customer (just kidding).

What Are Robusta Beans?

FrontStreet Coffee will first briefly explain what Robusta beans are. Robusta beans, along with Arabica beans, account for almost all of people's coffee consumption. However, in the specialty coffee field, Arabica dominates, and you'll hardly see Robusta beans. Therefore, if you want to try 100% Robusta beans in a shop that sells pour-over coffee, the probability is very low.

Robusta is not considered a precious coffee variety. In the futures market, its price is only about half that of Arabica coffee beans. However, because it's quite rare in coffee shops, it becomes a novel coffee bean for friends who enjoy specialty coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Robusta Experience

For this reason, FrontStreet Coffee decided to brew Robusta beans using the pour-over method and share their flavor descriptions with everyone. FrontStreet Coffee's Robusta beans come from Vietnam, which is the world's largest Robusta-producing country, accounting for about 20% of global coffee bean production.

Characteristics of Robusta Beans

First, let's observe the characteristics of Robusta beans in appearance. The center line of Robusta beans appears as a "1-shaped" line. After roasting, the beans expand and become full, resembling small steamed buns. The dry aroma typically features notes of spices, roasted nuts, and baked bread.

Brewing Method

FrontStreet Coffee's Robusta beans use a dark roast, so the pour-over parameters follow the brewing method for dark roast coffee beans.

Dripper: Kono dripper
Dose: 15g
Grind size: Medium-coarse (70% passing through #20 sieve)
Ratio: 1:15
Water temperature: 87°C

The pouring method is divided into three stages. First, inject 30ml of water for a 30-second bloom. The blooming effect of this bean is excellent.

In the second stage, pour 100ml in a clockwise circular motion, trying to raise the coffee bed as much as possible. Then, after the water level drops slightly, continue with the third stage, pouring 95ml in a clockwise circular motion to reach a total of 225ml. Wait for the coffee to finish dripping from the dripper, then end the extraction. The total time is 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

Tasting Notes

First, smelling the wet aroma, the fragrance is not very obvious, with some hazelnut and caramel notes. When tasting, the first impression is that there isn't much flavor - it's not very bitter or burnt, but the grainy taste is very strong, somewhat like very concentrated barley tea. The flavor is quite intense, and the mouthfeel is rather thick. The flavor performance at this stage is not outstanding, but not unpleasant either - just mediocre!

When tasting the coffee again at medium to low temperatures, the first thing that hits you is a rubbery aroma, followed by even stronger grainy notes. The cleanliness is low, and the aftertaste has earthy and bitter flavors.

Understanding Robusta's Flavor Profile

The flavor of Robusta coffee beans is not particularly appealing because the sources of bitterness in Robusta, such as chlorogenic acid and caffeine, are higher than in Arabica. This also makes Robusta inherently more bitter than Arabica. Moreover, Robusta is commonly grown at altitudes below 800 meters, so in terms of cleanliness and flavor expression, it naturally cannot compare to Arabica grown at high altitudes.

Of course, there are also higher-quality Robusta beans, and these varieties have cleaner flavors, but the main notes are still peanut butter, walnut, hazelnut, wheat, and caramel.

Advantages and Uses of Robusta

Naturally, Robusta has its advantages, such as higher caffeine content and rich oils that can provide a mellow mouthfeel. When used alone, Robusta may not deliver the desired flavor profile, so FrontStreet Coffee's Robusta is used for blending with Arabica. This coffee bean is FrontStreet Coffee's espresso commercial blend, using 10% Robusta blended with Arabica from Brazil and Colombia to create an espresso that enriches the oily mouthfeel without losing flavor.

Final Thoughts

Finally, if you really want to try 100% Robusta beans, you can visit some department stores with international sections, where you'll find imported coffee beans on the shelves. FrontStreet Coffee purchased a bag of Vietnam's Trung Nguyên Robusta beans some years ago. When opened, the beans were shiny and emitted a milky aroma (later discovered that condensed milk and sugar were added during roasting), which was very pleasant. The extracted espresso had very thick and fine crema - everything seemed perfect until taking a big sip... the experience was shocking and hit right at the soul... you must try it for yourselves.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473