What's the difference between Caturra and Catuai coffee? Is Caturra an Arabica variety? What are the characteristics of Catuai coffee?

Caturra and Catuai: Two Remarkable Coffee Varieties

Caturra and Catuai are two varieties within the Arabica species. They may not be as famous as Typica, Bourbon, or Geisha, yet they have become highly sought-after varieties that most coffee farmers compete to grow.

Whether on large estates like Finca Esmeralda and Elida or in smaller producing regions, you can almost always find these two beans. Closer to home, nearly one-third of the products on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list are made up of these two varieties, which is enough to show that both are remarkable and should not be underestimated.

So today, FrontStreet Coffee would like to share just what charm Caturra and Catuai hold that makes coffee farmers so keen on them.

Caturra

Caturra was discovered between 1915 and 1918 on a coffee plantation in Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is a genetic mutation of Bourbon. Because of that mutation, the plant is much smaller than other Bourbon plants. As the size gap with the surrounding plants grew larger, this mutant was soon noticed. Owing to its small stature, locals named the new plant "Caturra." In the Guarani language, Caturra means "small," and it also goes by the alias "Nanico."

It is exactly this small size that gave Caturra an absolute advantage, making it an indispensable giant across Central and South America. In Colombia especially, nearly half of the country's production comes from Caturra.

The advantage that turned Caturra into a "giant" may be more practical than you'd imagine. Its flavor is excellent, but that is secondary. The primary reasons are high yield and ease of cultivation. Because the plant is small, Caturra can be planted more densely than other varieties on the same land. Higher density means higher capacity, and yield rises accordingly.

At the same time, Caturra's secondary branches are closely spaced, which means that in the same space it can produce more fruit; in fact, Caturra branches often break under the weight. Higher planting density together with closer fruiting intervals makes Caturra's yield higher than conventional varieties, and that is why so many coffee farmers are willing to grow it. Compared with taste, for most farmers yield matters more.

Now for Caturra's ease of cultivation. Most Arabica varieties are quite delicate: they do not tolerate sun well and are better suited to shaded environments. Caturra is different. It withstands direct sun and can grow robustly and bear heavily even fully exposed. Compared with most other Arabica varieties, then, Caturra can be planted in more places. Varieties like this that tolerate direct sunlight carry a distinctive name: "Sun Coffee."

Take those two points together, add Caturra's own fine flavor, and you have a variety most coffee farmers are glad to cultivate and one of the main cultivated varieties in Central American producing regions. Because of this, it is often used as a "benchmark" for testing new varieties. Its only real drawback is relatively weak disease resistance, leaving it more prone to disease and wilting.

It is worth mentioning that, like Bourbon, Caturra comes in several colors: red, yellow, and purple. More than a decade after Caturra was discovered, the Instituto Agronomico (IAC) in Campinas, Sao Paulo, began hybridization work to obtain higher-quality coffee varieties, and Caturra was one of the main subjects of that work. After years of research and experimentation, an ideal series of varieties was developed, and that is the other star of this article: Catuai.

Catuai

Catuai is a hybrid of Caturra and Mundo Novo, released in Brazil in 1972. (Mundo Novo is the result of natural hybridization between two ancient varieties, Bourbon and Typica, first discovered in 1943 in Titimiriros, Sao Paulo, Brazil.) At first the variety was numbered "H-2077," and later it was named "Catuai." In the Guarani language, Catuai means "very good," and the facts indeed bear that out.

As a second-generation hybrid, Catuai not only inherited Caturra's excellent traits of small size, high yield, and sun resistance, but also carries relatively higher disease resistance. When Catuai was released in Brazil, then, it was immediately widely cultivated there and became one of the main local varieties.

Subsequently, Catuai spread from Brazil to other places, with related cultivation in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, and elsewhere. The natural process beans from FrontStreet Coffee's Elida Estate on our bean list, for instance, are of the Catuai variety. Like Caturra, Catuai also comes in red and yellow versions.

Flavor Profiles of Caturra and Catuai

Both varieties perform excellently in the cup, but they have certain requirements for growing altitude. Grown at lower altitudes, their flavor is slightly inferior to other Arabica varieties grown at the same altitude. Grown higher up, their flavor can display fully and will outshine most varieties.

That is why the Caturra and Catuai that FrontStreet Coffee cupped, found to have good flavor, and selected for our bean list all come from relatively high altitudes. Examples include FrontStreet Coffee's Elida Estate Catuai, our everyday Colombia Huilan (Caturra), and our Finca Esmeralda Diamond Mountain. Among these, FrontStreet Coffee is especially fond of Diamond Mountain from Finca Esmeralda, a blend of Caturra and Catuai with very soft acidity and the slight fermentation aroma of natural processing.

FrontStreet Coffee: Diamond Mountain, Finca Esmeralda
Country: Panama
Region: Boquete
Altitude: 1500-1600 meters
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai
Processing: Natural
Brewing flavors: Citrus, honey, cocoa, fermentation aroma

In cupping, FrontStreet Coffee tasted round citrus and berry sweet-tart notes from this coffee, a honey-like texture, some cocoa and fermentation aroma, and an oolong tea-like aftertaste. Quite excellent.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Variety shapes flavor, and if Caturra and Catuai have won you over, another celebrated variety is worth exploring. FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Boquete Geisha is an entry-level Geisha that delivers the classic orange-blossom honey character, an oolong tea-like body, and a fine sweet-tart fruit profile with clearly defined layers at a friendly price.

Those ready to go further can try FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Label Geisha, the flag of the Esmeralda line, which grows at 1600-1800 meters, must cup above 90 points, and comes from a single small plot with its own lot number. FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Green Label Geisha blends batches from several plots to express the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character, and its more accessible price makes it excellent value.