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Is Catimor Arabica or Robusta? How Does Its "Devil's Aftertaste" Develop? What Are the Characteristics of Catimor?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, As the two most commercially valuable coffee genera, Arabica and Robusta each have their own advantages and disadvantages. For instance, Arabica offers excellent flavor profiles but most varieties have relatively weak disease resistance, while Robusta demonstrates strong disease resistance but the vast majority lacks desirable flavor characteristics. Before the 20th century, coffee varieties worldwide

Arabica and Robusta: Two Major Coffee Species

Arabica and Robusta, as the two most commercially valuable coffee species, each have their own advantages and disadvantages. For example, Arabica offers excellent flavor but generally has weaker disease resistance, while Robusta has strong disease resistance but most varieties have poor flavor.

The Birth of Catimor in an Era of Disease

Before the 20th century, coffee cultivation worldwide primarily focused on Arabica. However, from the late 19th century, coffee berry disease and leaf rust outbreaks occurred successively. The disease-resistant weak Arabica plants fell one after another, causing many coffee-producing countries to decline significantly. Consequently, people began researching coffee varieties with disease resistance capabilities. Catimor emerged as a completely new product during this rampant era of disease.

The Origin and Development of Catimor

In 1957, the Coffee Leaf Rust Research Center (CIFC) in Portugal conducted over a decade of research and breeding of hybrid varieties. Eventually, they selected three varieties with extremely strong disease resistance and high yields (Timor) and distributed them to various countries for variety improvement, with identification numbers CIFC832/1, CIFC832/2, and CIFC1343. Among these, CIFC832/1 was hybridized with Caturra, cultivating the protagonist of this article - Catimor!

"Catimor," as mentioned above, is a variety born from the hybridization of Caturra and Timor. Caturra is a variant of Bourbon under the Arabica species, while Timor is a hybrid of Robusta and Arabica. Therefore, Catimor, with three-quarters Arabica heritage, is naturally classified as an Arabica variety. It can be said that Catimor's bean appearance perfectly inherits the respective characteristics of its parent varieties. Caturra beans are round and slender, while Timor beans are thick and large. The Catimor born from their union is long, thick, and large, with slightly raised ends.

Moreover, Catimor also inherits some advantages from both major species - decent flavor and strong disease resistance. Consequently, with the promotion of various diseases, Catimor spread widely.

Characteristics of Catimor Plants

The terminal buds at the top of Catimor plants are emerald green, while the entire coffee tree's leaf color is dark green! It features short internodes, many branches, wide adaptability, strong drought resistance, and some cold resistance capability.

It is shorter than other traditional Arabica plants, but its growth ability is extremely vigorous. Because the gaps between branch nodes are shorter, it can produce more coffee fruits.

Additionally, the small size is another major advantage! By reducing occupied space, it can cultivate more coffee trees in the same environment. Therefore, the two characteristics of high yield and small size allow it to produce significantly higher yields than conventional Arabica varieties.

Catimor's Flavor Profile

Due to the presence of Robusta genes, Catimor gains higher disease resistance and reproductive capability. However, this genetic heritage also brings negative effects to Catimor's flavor. Although Arabica heritage gives Catimor decent flavor performance, the Robusta genes provide undesirable aftertaste: a more prominent earthy taste. Another point is that Catimor's maturation time is shorter than traditional Arabica varieties, unable to accumulate nutrients for extended periods. Therefore, when the altitude exceeds 1200 meters, Catimor's flavor performance at the same height will be weaker than traditional Arabica varieties.

Catimor coffee beans altitude comparison

Secondly, high yield also poses certain obstacles to flavor formation, as high yields lead to nutrient dispersion. It's like cutting the same cake into eight pieces versus four pieces - eight pieces will be more numerous, but the four pieces will be larger. Therefore, when various factors叠加 (superimpose), they dilute excellent flavors while amplifying Catimor's undesirable aftertaste, ultimately creating what Mr. Han Huaizong wrote in his book: "devil's aftertaste" (complex aftertaste with earthy flavors).

However, although the flavor may be weaker than other varieties, Catimor still has significant demand. As mentioned at the beginning, many regions have continued their coffee industry because of Catimor. These producing areas primarily growing Catimor are also continuously improving. By continuously crossing Catimor with Arabica varieties to dilute Robusta genes, and treating it with more refined cultivation and processing methods, its flavor performance can be improved and the devil's aftertaste weakened. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that one day, Catimor will impress our taste buds with its excellent flavor performance, even though this waiting period may not be short.