Robusta Coffee Beans: Flavor, Taste, and Aroma Characteristics - Why Robusta Beans Have Their Notorious Reputation

Coffee Bean Varieties: Understanding the Three Main Types

Coffee beans are primarily divided into three main varieties: Arabica (small-grain), Robusta (medium-grain), and Liberica (large-grain). However, the most commonly encountered varieties are Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica varieties are often considered specialty coffees, with more demanding growing requirements such as shade trees and high altitudes. However, they have poor disease resistance and relatively low yields. In contrast, Robusta varieties have lower environmental requirements and strong disease resistance. As we know, high-altitude coffee beans naturally offer better flavors—for example, Geisha coffee from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda differs significantly from Ethiopian Geisha. Robusta varieties grow at lower altitudes and naturally don't taste as good as Arabica, so they're more often used in commercial blends, espresso, or instant coffee.

Arabica coffee trees have a relatively clear shrub form with oval green leaves, naturally growing to heights of 5-6 meters. The lifespan of Arabica coffee trees is 20-30 years, but each tree has a relatively low yield, producing about 75% of the world's coffee beans. Robusta coffee trees belong to a relatively robust shrub form, suitable for cultivation in tropical or subtropical regions at altitudes of 200-800 meters. They have vigorous growth vitality, low environmental requirements, strong adaptability, low planting costs, and high yields.

Arabica

Small-grain Arabica coffee originates from the Ethiopian highlands. Due to its excellent flavor quality, it is now widely cultivated, accounting for 70% of global coffee production. Varieties like Typica, Bourbon, and Geisha, which we commonly hear about, all belong to the Arabica coffee species.

Arabica varieties are very sensitive to growing environment requirements, so areas suitable for Arabica coffee tree growth are mostly located in coffee belts with high mountain terrain between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Arabica requires growing altitudes between 800-2000 meters—the higher the altitude, the better the coffee quality. Arabica is currently the most widespread coffee variety, cultivated in Asia, Central and South America, and Africa. Countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil are all famous Arabica coffee-producing nations.

Robusta

Medium-grain Robusta coffee species should actually be called Canephora. Robusta is a widely cultivated subspecies of the Canephora species, so Robusta has almost completely replaced Canephora as the representative name for this species. Robusta originated in the Congo Basin region of West Africa and is widely cultivated due to its low growing altitude, high yield, and ease of cultivation. Its coffee production accounts for 20%-30% of global coffee production.

Appearance of Robusta Coffee Beans

Robusta coffee beans are one bean per fruit. Robusta beans are rounder in shape and C-shaped; the center line appears as a "1" shape, and the raw beans display a yellowish-brown color.

Due to Robusta's extremely strong environmental adaptability, it can grow luxuriantly even at altitudes of 0-800 meters. Robusta has higher chlorogenic acid content, about 7% to 10%, making it less susceptible to pests and climate impacts. It's generally planted at lower altitudes, producing many fruits quickly. Currently, the main coffee producing areas are Vietnam, Hainan, and Indonesia. FrontStreet Coffee's Robusta includes Vietnamese beans, mainly used in FrontStreet Coffee's commercial blends.

Liberica

Large-grain Liberica coffee originally grew in the low-altitude forests of Liberia on the West African coast, hence its name. Due to its poor flavor profile combined with tall trees that make harvesting difficult, its current cultivation scale is relatively small, accounting for about 2%-5% of global production.

Liberica coffee trees are much taller than Arabica or Robusta varieties, reaching heights of 6-20 meters. The coffee fruits produced by Liberica are also larger than those of the other two coffee species, which is why Liberica is also called the large-grain variety. Currently, cultivation is mainly distributed in Southeast Asia, with the Philippines being the largest producer of Liberica coffee.

Is Robusta Considered Specialty Coffee?

Due to Robusta's high caffeine content and rich oils, during the period when espresso became popular worldwide, Robusta was often used in espresso bean formulations. At that time, a significant reason people loved drinking coffee was to obtain caffeine. Its caffeine content is much higher than Arabica varieties, approximately 3.2%.

However, with the introduction of the specialty coffee concept, people began to emphasize regional flavors. The inherent bitterness of Robusta, along with flavors of walnut, peanut, hazelnut, and smokiness, are considered undesirable characteristics in coffee. Most importantly, its counterpart Arabica, after regional systematization, shows flavor profiles that far surpass Robusta. This can be considered an inherent issue—Robusta's flavor performance is far less appealing than Arabica, which is why people tend to prefer Arabica when making choices.

Some Arabica varieties have low yields but balanced flavors and are very expensive, while others have high yields with average flavors and relatively moderate prices. Although Arabica is superior, not all Arabica variety coffees are good coffees.

Therefore, most coffees on the market are Arabica varieties, especially specialty coffees which are almost exclusively Arabica. Although Arabica varieties have good flavors, brewing a delicious cup of coffee still requires attention to coffee bean freshness. FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that coffee bean freshness greatly affects coffee flavor, so FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee. The coffee resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at peak flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee offers a gentle reminder: once coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the packaging also helps develop the coffee's flavor, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, as it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate relatively rapidly, diminishing its quality. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding them fresh before brewing to better appreciate the coffee's flavor.

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