The significance of different types of coffee varies depending upon one’s position in the coffee industry.
As a consumer, you may be pondering as to why it is necessary to acquaint yourself with an additional set of labels. Does having different types of coffee outweigh the importance of where it is from, how dark it is roasted, and how it is processed? Why don’t all coffee bags provide information about how important the product is?
The response is that the type of coffee bean used can have an impact on the taste. Some, like Bourbon, are known for their sweet taste. Others, like Geisha, are known for tea-like qualities.
The taste of food is determined not only by the type of food but also by the environment where they are raised, the way they are prepared, and other aspects. The special nature of great-tasting coffee is part of what makes it such an enjoyable experience.
Roasters need to be educated on different types of coffee beans as the flavor characteristics and roasting techniques can vary based on the variety of the bean.
Maragogype beans are much bigger than Mokka beans. The manner in which heat is imparted to the bean is essential since roasting is a physical alteration. Grasping the constitution of your espresso is essential, particularly if you plan to mix them.
And producers, varieties are of critical importance to you. The decision you make will greatly affect the taste and potential evaluation score, the strength of the plant, its resistance to sickness, how much it yields, which altitude and climate it grows in the best, and much more.
It is essential to take into consideration diverse types of Arabica coffee because it has a relatively thin genetic diversity. This means it is more vulnerable to illness and environmental transformation – and in the worst case could be wiped out in the future. Right now, it is essential to either generate or find a greater variety of genes.
SPECIES, VARIETY, CULTIVAR… WHAT DO THESE ALL MEAN?
Let’s take a moment to gain an understanding of what varieties are and why they are so important.
An estimated one hundred varieties exist on the world’s coffee market, as detailed by World Coffee Research (WCR). Of these, the main three categories are Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. Specialty coffee shops generally don’t sell Robusta, due to its unpleasant, strong flavor, but some store owners are arguing that Fine Robustas should be available. Liberica is typically only consumed in the Philippines.
The category below species, when describing plants, is variety. Varieties refer to different variations within the species. As an illustration, Caturra belongs to the Arabica species, and Nganda is a type of Robusta. A cultivar is a type of coffee that has been produced by humans in a farming environment.
Many people are puzzled by the variation between a varietal and a variety. In other words, “variety” is a term used to refer to a noun while “varietal” is a description used to modify an adjective. Nevertheless, linguistic intricacy being similar to the intricacy found in coffee genetics, “varietal” may be employed in a way that stands as a substitute for a noun when talking about the coffee product rather than the plant (a process referred to as nominalisation).
This is about coffee, not grammar: in other words, all that matters about the words “varietal” and “variety” are their grammatical distinctions.
SOME COFFEE VARIETIES YOU SHOULD KNOW
We can’t possibly give a comprehensive overview of all the different kinds of coffee in existence around the world in just one article. Nonetheless, let’s make a brief review of some of the most well-known kinds of Arabica coffee.
Arabica, scientifically known as Coffea Arabica, is a variety of the Coffea plant, which is in the Rubiaceae botanical family.
This shrub has evergreen foliage and can reach heights of up to 20 feet with the proper care and maintenance. This particular coffee plant is sometimes cut back to a height of 6 feet when it has reached the appropriate stature to allow for simple picking.
Despite the different coffee beans that are out there, Arabica has proven to be the best in terms of quantity, price, and taste. This coffee is the most popular variety globally, the best-selling in the market, the most expensive one, and the most frequently enjoyed by customers. Arabica accounts for about 70% of coffee production worldwide.
Here’s a summary of some of the many varieties of Arabica:
1. TYPICA coffee is an established and renowned kind of Arabica coffee. It is thought that Typica originated in Ethiopia, yet it is present in many major coffee-growing countries across the globe.
A Typica plant can reach a maximum height of approximately 5 meters (16.5 feet). In contrast to Bourbon, which commonly has a rounded shape and yellow or orange fruits, Typica often has an elongated shape and deep red cherries.
This type of plant can be recognized easily due to its stature, its broad and extended foliage (usually green but sometimes bronze in color), and its thin trunk and branches which contribute to its physical characteristics.
2. Bourbon is the next most popular type of Arabica grown across the globe. Typica may reach a significant height and girth when fully grown, however typically it is more rounded and bush-like in shape.
A modification of Typica that occurred in nature gave rise to the high-grade, moderate fruit-producing Bourbon variety of coffee, renowned for its pleasing flavor. Despite its drawbacks, this type of plant has very low tolerance when it comes to diseases like leaf rust as well as other pests such as the coffee berry borer. Growth of this crop is seen frequently in Burundi and Rwanda, as well as in various nations of Latin America.
Why should you care about Bourbon? The advantages of familiarity with Typica are evident; it was among the first coffee varieties, and many other varieties have descended from it. This plant is well-known and widely respected for its excellent qualities.
Bourbon has rounded shape cherries. The color can be orange, yellow, or even pink. Regarding its physical features, the leaves generally tend to be wider than those of Typica (normally green, although there are occasions when a bronze color is seen).
3. Caturra is a variation of Bourbon that grows well at greater heights. It’s much shorter and denser than the other varietals.
Caturra is a variation of the typical Bourbon tree and tends to produce a medium amount of coffee, with quality and bean size that tend to be average. In fact, the World Coffee Research organization considers a yield of about the same magnitude as Caturra to be a standard. This material is prone to corrosion and infestations, and is cultivated widely in Brazil and Latin America.
The coffee cherry has a similar circular shape to that of the Bourbon. In this instance, the produce matures to either red or yellow. In terms of physical characteristics, it is similar to Bourbon. The plant has a lot of little offshoots and big leaves that are rimmed and much more vivid in color, making it look bushier than a Typica or Bourbon plant.
4. Catuai is a combination of two types of coffee – Caturra, which is a variation of Bourbon, and Mundo Novo, which is descended from Typica. Essentially, Catuai is a mix of Typica and Bourbon, exhibiting features of both coffee types.
The fruits are close to being round and standard in terms of magnitude. When fully ripe, the cherries usually have a red or yellow hue. The plant is not as tall as Typica and Bourbon, and its form is more spreading like that of an umbrella. The infrequent emergence of enough side branches is responsible for that.
Therefore, it has numerous side offshoots with ridged and lusher foliage, leading to a productive kind. It is widely reported that the Catuai variety is predominantly cultivated in Brazil.
5. PACAMARA – This type of coffee comes from the combination of Pacas (a cultivar derived from Bourbon) and Maragogipe (a variation of the Typica variety) that thrive in El Salvador.
In 1958, the Salvadoran Institute for Coffee Research created the Pacamara variety. Up to the present, the plant is cultivated not only in El Salvador but also in other Central American nations.
The plant has a shape similar to that of Typica and Bourbon, as it is a shrub-like growth. The trunks of these particular plants are denser than most other types, and the branches are bulkier, leading to them being less pliable. Pacamara’s leaves can be identified by their pointed tips and vivid green color. This variety of coffee is known for its profuse yield of large beans, thanks to the Maragogype’s jumbo-sized beans.
The following things make the Pacamara variety distinct and give it its physical look.
6. The origin of coffee stems from Ethiopia, though it is primarily made out of the two Arabica coffee varieties–Typica or Bourbon. Kew Gardens has discovered that 95% of the world’s coffee genetic diversity exists in one nation. If you read “Ethiopian Heirloom” on a coffee bean bag, then it’s likely that it wasplanted in its natural environment of the wild or grown in a small backyard garden.
7. Timor Hybrid is an extremely debated coffee variety due to it being a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans which resulted from a natural cross-breeding. Robusta is a tough species of coffee and is more resistant to coffee leaf rust, although this is accompanied by a lack of appealing flavor and smell.
This distinctive espresso has been utilized in several varieties, specifically Catimors and Sarchimors. Catimors are a combination of Caturra and Timor hybrids, and Sarchimors are made up of Villa Sarchi and Timor Hybrid combinations. Examples of these include Castillo, Colombia, and Marsellesa.
Buyers of specialty coffee may harbor caution around any coffee that has a Timor Hybrid as one of its parents – yet some cultivators, particularly those located at lower elevations where coffee leaf rust is common, think there is an advantage to the potential dip in flavor and lower price even if the risk is still present.
8. Geisha coffee beans are a type originating in Gesha, Ethiopia, which have been planted and grown in Panama. This type of coffee has become well-known in the industry and has seen a surge in its popularity.
It is known far and wide as one of the costliest coffees across the globe. Currently, Geisha coffee is mostly sourced from Hacienda la Esmeralda in Boquete, Panama.
A Geisha plant can be characterized by its thin trunk and branches that are very similar to those of a Typica. Geisa is smaller and has an umbrella-like shape in comparison to the Typica plant. The trunk of the tree can be identified by the inclination of the branches, which is at an angle of between 45 and 50°. The leaves are also longer and smoother, and have a greenish hue with hints of bronze. Once matured, the cherries are long and a dark shade of red, though slightly smaller than the fruit of the Typica variety.
Geisha started in the town of Gesha in Ethiopia, however, it did not become popular until 2003 in Panama. Since its inception, Panamanian Geisha coffee has become a leader in the industry and is now one of the most renowned coffees. Many of the people participating in a coffee competition have been utilizing it, and the cost of its green bean at a current auction was US $601 per pound, making it a symbol of quality and exclusivity.
This tea has a unique flavor to it, very much like tea leaves with a floral smell of jasmine, citrusy scents of orange blossoms and bergamot, and a nice, subtle flowery scent.
The plant will thrive very well in high altitudes (WCR recommend an altitude of above 1,400 m.a.s.l.), but will produce a very small amount of fruit and can be quite fragile. This crop has achieved great financial success when sold at auction, but it has also been known to perish when cultivated away from Panama in locations with questionable climates and soil.
9. F1 HYBRIDS
F1 hybrids are a new breed of coffee plants that are likely to produce coffee of excellent quality, as well as being highly resistant to rust, and offering a high yield. They are typically mass-produced in advanced nurseries. The Nicaraguan Cup of Excellence has seen great triumphs in recent times with the Centroamericano F1 hybrid.
A crucial factor for producers to consider regarding F1 hybrids is their typically high cost and difficulty to obtain. They are reproduced on a large scale in technologically advanced greenhouses with tissue culture laboratories, which means they are cloned, instead of grown from seed. It is essential to do this because the germinated seeds of the second generation may not show the same admirable traits as the original mother plant, meaning that farmers cannot anticipate a predictable output from the crop. Hence, WCR suggests that producers acquire from dependable nurseries exclusively.
This is just the beginning of exploring the amazing range of coffee types. Some other coffee varieties that should be given a closer look include Pacas, Maracaturra, Rume Sudan, Laurina, SL-28, and SL-34. The options are virtually limitless.
Producers, pick your coffee varieties carefully. Examine thoroughly: apprehend the needs of each one and the dangers that go along with it. When introducing a new type of plant, it is advisable to start off gradually by only allocating a tiny area of your land.
Coffee aficionados, sample a variety of blends. Pay attention to how they differ. Examine various cultivars that are produced in the same locale as well as the same type that is harvested from distinctive areas. As your comprehension of the impact of diversity on the flavor of your beverage increases, your respect for coffee will continue to develop.