What is the H1 Variety? Introduction to Main Coffee Varieties Grown in Costa Rica, Central America

Located in Central America, Costa Rica is the world's 14th largest coffee-producing country. Despite its small land area, it boasts vast forests and fertile volcanic soil, making it an ideal place for coffee cultivation. As early as the early 19th century, coffee was introduced to Costa Rica, and the government has strongly supported coffee cultivation. In 1933, the Institute for the Defence of Coffee was established to protect small coffee farmers from exploitation. Later, in 1948, this organization became the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE), which continues to operate today.

In our usual impression, coffee varieties grown in American coffee-producing regions are generally Caturra, Catuai, and Bourbon. However, in recent years, coffee research centers in many producing countries have emerged, and through hybridization of some varieties, more and more new varieties have appeared in these regions. Currently, besides the common Caturra, Catuai, and Bourbon, Costa Rica also has many rare new varieties on the market. FrontStreet Coffee will introduce them to you one by one below.

Bourbon

Bourbon is a variant of early Yemeni Typica, which was introduced by the French from Yemen to Bourbon Island (Réunion Island) on the east coast of Africa in the 18th century. After a long period, around the 1860s, Bourbon coffee was finally introduced to Brazil and then spread to various countries in Central and South America for cultivation. Although the yield is not high, compared to the weak Typica variety, Bourbon has better resistance to leaf rust disease. Bourbon coffee grown at high altitudes has a rich and delicate flavor, fragrant aroma, and smooth acidity. In many Central American coffee competitions, Bourbon is a frequent winner.

Caturra

Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. The plant is relatively small and not very disease-resistant, but due to its ability to be densely planted and higher fruit-bearing rate, its yield exceeds varieties like Bourbon. It is widely cultivated in Central and South American countries. In terms of flavor, Caturra has bright acidity and a taste filled with fruit notes. After medium-dark roasting, it presents chocolate and nutty sweetness, making it a frequent champion in many coffee competitions.

FrontStreet Coffee's bean list contains many coffee beans that include the Caturra variety. If you want to understand the flavor characteristics of this variety, FrontStreet Coffee here recommends Colombian daily coffee beans, which are selected from washed Caturra varieties with extremely high cleanliness. FrontStreet Coffee hopes to highlight the classic Colombian coffee flavor, using medium-dark roasting to present the aroma of nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel.

Catuai

Catuai is a variety obtained through artificial hybridization of Mundo Novo and Yellow Caturra by the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) in São Paulo State, Brazil, initially called "H-2077". Mundo Novo is the result of natural hybridization between Bourbon and Typica, first discovered in 1943 in Titimineros, São Paulo, Brazil.

Catuai inherits the high yield, strong disease resistance, and excellent cupping quality of Mundo Novo, while also retaining the advantages of Caturra's small plant size, elegant acidity, and ability to be exposed to direct sunlight. Therefore, it has strong resistance to natural disasters, especially strong winds and heavy rain. Additionally, due to its small plant size, farmers can adopt dense planting. The only drawback is that Catuai is susceptible to leaf rust disease.

Villa Sarchi

Villa Sarchi, also known as La Luisa or Villalobos Bourbon in the industry. It was first discovered in the 1950s in Sarchi, Costa Rica, and was selected through pedigree selection, which involves selecting individual plants through successive generations. Villa Sarchi is mainly cultivated in Costa Rica but has not been widely planted. In 1974, the Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE) introduced it to Honduras.

Villa Sarchi is a natural mutation of Bourbon, belonging to the dwarf plant type (dwarfism). It has strong wind resistance and good adaptability to high-altitude areas, but lower tolerance to common coffee diseases such as coffee leaf rust, coffee berry disease, and root-knot nematodes. The top leaves of Villa Sarchi coffee trees are green, with an angle of about 45° between lateral branches and the main trunk. The intervals between fruit clusters are small, and the fruits are resistant to wind and rain and not easily fallen. In terms of flavor, Villa Sarchi often exhibits bright and delicate citrus acidity and complex fruity aromas.

Venecia

Venecia was discovered in the San Carlos region of Costa Rica's Central Valley. It is a natural mutation of Caturra and was released by the Costa Rican Coffee Research Institute (ICAFE). In 1991, ICAFE began researching and selecting coffee beans of this variety in the Turrialba, Coto Brus, and Perez Zeledon regions of Costa Rica. After years of research, the Venecia variety in the Perez Zeledon region not only has richer flavors but also excellent yield and disease resistance. Like Caturra, Venecia coffee plants are small, with advantages such as high yield, strong rain resistance, and disease resistance. Venecia is a late-maturing variety, and coffee trees generally take 3 years to begin bearing fruit. The fresh fruit size is relatively large, and the fruit core is hard.

H1

H1 comes from the Sebaco laboratory in Nicaragua. Its full name is Centroamericano, which is a hybrid of T-5296 (Geisha) and Sudan Rume from the F1 first-generation hybrid series. Sudan Rume was discovered in the Rume Valley of the Boma Plateau in Sudan, hence its name. This coffee has good quality and excellent flavor but poor disease resistance. However, its offspring obtained through hybridization can well inherit its excellent flavor genes.

In terms of coffee tree yield, H1 is 22-47% higher than other traditional American varieties. The leaf tips of the plant are green, with strong resistance to rust disease, medium resistance to coffee berry disease, but is susceptible to nematode attacks. Currently, FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rican Mozart is the H1 variety, using raisin honey processing. It has complex floral aromas and fermented sauce flavors upon entry, with starfruit and berry acidity, along with raisin-like sweetness and aftertaste of dried fruit.

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