What Kind of Coffee Variety is Elephant Bean? Why is Maragogype So Large?

In the biological classification of the coffee genus, 130 different species have been confirmed to date. Among these species, the most common are the three major varieties we know on the market: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. It's important to know that these three major varieties are merely collective terms, with thousands of cultivars under each. People have given them aliases based on the average characteristics of their fruits by size: small-bean Arabica, medium-bean Robusta, and large-bean Liberica.

From such naming, we can know the average size of coffee under this species distribution. However, nothing is without exceptions! Among the three major varieties, the smallest small-bean Arabica has a cultivar that is exceptionally large and full, directly exceeding the average size of the large-bean Liberica! And it is the one known as the "Elephant Bean"—Maragogipe!

Maragogipe

Maragogipe was first discovered in 1870 in the Maragogipe region of eastern Bahia state, Brazil, and was named after this region. Maragogipe beans are exceptionally large, three times the size of regular Arabica beans, once exceeding Liberica in size. Coincidentally, during the era it was discovered, Arabica was suffering from leaf rust disease, and Liberica was being planted by some coffee farmers as a substitute. Therefore, people at the time thought it was a Liberica variety.

(Image from internet) As a result, under genetic testing, its classification was revealed. 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, thus leading to the tongue-twisting title of this article! Although Maragogipe is exceptionally large in size, its flavor performance is in no way inferior to regular Arabica varieties: the sweet fragrance of berries, bright citrus acidity, thick and smooth mouthfeel—the reputation of being flashy but unsubstantial is far from its reality. However, through market observation, we can find that Maragogipe is not a common bean, for a very simple reason: it is extremely difficult to cultivate.

Cultivation Challenges

Maragogipe is not just large in bean and fruit size—its plant trunks and leaves are also larger than regular coffee plants. Therefore, it requires more land space, nutrients, and resources than conventional varieties. Conversely, the quantity of fruit produced is less than regular varieties, making the cost and return somewhat disproportionate!

However, those aforementioned costs are visible ones and hardly worth mentioning! The biggest cost of cultivating Maragogipe is time! The fruit maturation period is much longer than regular Arabica varieties—a long wait that most coffee farmers cannot endure. Even if they can afford to wait, unpredictable weather cannot guarantee it won't affect cultivation. Therefore, with such sunk costs, no coffee farmer would specifically cultivate Maragogipe. Those who grow it are mostly coffee estates that already have ample space and high fault tolerance. Currently, Maragogipe cultivation is mainly distributed in Central and South American countries.

The Elephant Bean

Finally, let me mention one point to note about Maragogipe's alias "Elephant Bean"! Elephant Bean refers to the fact that this bean's size exceeds 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 above 20 screen size are all sold under the Elephant Bean grade. So friends should pay attention to distinguish between the Elephant Bean variety and the Elephant Bean grade.

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