Introduction to Robusta, Timor, Catimor, Castillo Varieties and Yunnan Small Bean Catimor

In today's coffee market, coffee can be divided into three main varieties: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. Currently, the most famous commercially cultivated coffee tree varieties are Arabica and Robusta.

Robusta

Robusta originated in the Congo region of West Africa. People often compare Robusta with Arabica, but they are actually two different tree species in terms of genetic sequence comparison. Robusta actually belongs to the Canephora species, also known as the Congo species. However, within the Canephora species, only the Robusta variety can be commercialized and is well-known, so now Robusta has replaced Canephora as the representative name for this species.

Coffee cultivation worldwide occurs in the equatorial zone between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, and Robusta is no exception. However, Robusta's growing conditions are not as demanding as Arabica's. Robusta can be cultivated and bear fruit at lower altitudes, can adapt to high-temperature environments, and possesses good disease resistance. Robusta grows faster and has higher tolerance to extreme weather conditions. Currently, Robusta is widely cultivated in countries such as Vietnam, Brazil, and India.

Robusta contains between 2.7-4% caffeine, which is twice that of Arabica. Caffeine also serves as a natural insect repellent for plants, protecting them from certain insect pests. Robusta is cross-pollinated, while Arabica is self-pollinated, and pollination involves genetic issues.

Typically, cross-pollinated plant varieties are more robust. The offspring produced through cross-pollination possess genetic characteristics from both parent plants, potentially generating new traits that can help it thrive in changing environments. Meanwhile, self-pollinated Arabica is more vulnerable because its genes become increasingly uniform through continuous reproduction. Therefore, when viruses appear (such as leaf rust, berry disease, etc.), they could potentially wipe out coffee plants with uniform genes. Thus, Robusta's strength lies in its ability to adapt to environments through continuous genetic changes.

Robusta has higher caffeine, amino acid, and chlorogenic acid content than Arabica, and chlorogenic acid is the source of bitterness. Therefore, Robusta offers a richer, deeper mouthfeel with flavors leaning more toward walnuts, nuts, and grains. Consequently, Robusta is not typically used for specialty coffee but is mostly used in blends or instant coffee.

However, with the development of the coffee industry, coffee varieties have undergone continuous transplantation, mutation, and cross-breeding, giving rise to many new varieties. Robusta can also be used to hybridize with Arabica, enabling it to inherit Robusta's resistance genes. Examples include Timor (known as Tim Tim in Indonesia), Catimor, Castillo, and others.

In 1920, the Timor Hybrid appeared on the island of East Timor. This is a natural hybrid of Arabica and Robusta, belonging to the Arabica coffee plant family but possessing Robusta's disease-resistant genes. Therefore, the Timor variety was crossbred with Caturra, resulting in the first generation F1 hybrid variety group, which is today's Catimor. In 1961, the Colombian Coffee Research Center began studying varieties resistant to leaf rust, such as Caturra and Timor Hybrid. After 23 years of research, they developed six varieties including Castillo, which began widespread cultivation in 2005.

FrontStreet Coffee also offers a Yunnan small-bean Catimor coffee, which is washed processed. It tastes fruity with hints of plum acidity and cocoa flavor, with a mouthfeel similar to black tea and overall balance.

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