Pacamara's Male Parent - What is Maragogipe's Origin? What Does Elephant Bean Mean? What Are the Three Major Varieties of the Coffee Genus?

The Coffee Genus and Its Main Varieties

In the biological classification of the coffee genus, 130 different species have been confirmed to date. Among these species, the three most common varieties we know in the market are: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. It's important to note that these three major types are merely collective nouns, with thousands of varieties under each. Based on the average characteristics of these varieties' fruits, people have given them aliases according to size: small-grained Arabica, medium-grained Robusta, and large-grained Liberica.

The Remarkable Exception: Maragogipe

From such naming conventions, we can understand the average size of coffee distributed under these categories. However, there are always exceptions! Among the three major varieties, the smallest - small-grained Arabica - has such a variety that is large and full-bodied, directly exceeding the average size of the large-grained Liberica! And this is the variety known as the "Elephant Bean" - Maragogipe!

Discovery and Classification

Maragogipe was first discovered in 1870 in the Maragogipe region of eastern Bahia, Brazil, and people named this bean after the region. Maragogipe is extremely large, three times the size of regular Arabica varieties, once exceeding Liberica. Coincidentally, during the era of its discovery, Arabica was suffering from coffee leaf rust, and Liberica was planted by some coffee farmers as a substitute. Therefore, people at that time thought it was a Liberica variety.

(Image from the internet) As a result, genetic testing revealed its true classification. It is a mutant variety of Typica under the Arabica genus. That is to say, it is an Arabica variety! Through comparison, it was found that its size is larger than most Liberica beans, hence the tongue-twisting title of this article! Although Maragogipe is large in size, its flavor performance is not inferior to regular Arabica varieties: the sweetness of berries, bright citrus acidity, thick and smooth texture, making it far from having an undeserved reputation.

Challenges in Cultivation

Maragogipe is not just large in terms of beans and fruits - its plant trunks and leaves are also larger than regular coffee plants. Therefore, it requires more space, nutrients, and resources than conventional varieties. In contrast, the number of fruits produced is less than that of regular varieties, making the cost and income somewhat disproportionate!

However, those visible costs are insignificant! The biggest cost of growing Maragogipe is time! The fruit maturity period is much longer than regular Arabica varieties - a long time that most coffee farmers cannot afford to wait. Even if they can wait, the unpredictable weather cannot guarantee that it won't affect cultivation. Therefore, with such sunk costs, no coffee farmer would specifically choose to grow Maragogipe. Those who grow it are mostly coffee estates that already have large amounts of space and a high tolerance for error. Currently, Maragogipe cultivation is mainly distributed in Central and South American countries.

The Elephant Bean Distinction

Finally, FrontStreet Coffee would like to point out one thing to note: Maragogipe's alias "Elephant Bean"! Elephant Bean refers to this bean's size exceeding that of regular beans, as large as an elephant. The point to note is that Elephant Bean is not just a variety name; some countries that classify bean grades by size have an "Elephant Bean" grade. Beans larger than 20 mesh are all sold with the Elephant Bean grade designation. So friends should be careful to distinguish between the Elephant Bean variety and the Elephant Bean grade.

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