In our daily life, we can always hear about two major categories of coffee varieties: Arabica and Robusta. Compared with the Arabica variety that everyone loves, it seems that it is difficult to find Robusta on the market. Why is Robusta so unpopular? This article will help you compare the differences between these two varieties.
Two coffee varieties grown commercially
Coffee is a tree species of the Rubiaceae family that blooms and bears fruit. Because the fruit is usually red or purple and resembles a cherry fruit, it is also called coffee cherry. Our most common coffee beans refer to the seeds after the pulp has been removed. There are usually two coffee seeds in each fruit. A coffee tree can produce about 0.9kg of green beans per year. There are hundreds of coffee varieties in the world. Today, only Arabica and Robusta are widely cultivated for commercial purposes, of which Arabica accounts for 70%.
As a tropical cash crop, coffee is mostly grown in the coffee belt between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Cancer. It requires relatively high and stable temperatures, abundant annual rainfall and sunshine, and well-drained fertile soil. These are all suitable conditions for the production of high-quality coffee. Today, the “Coffee Belt” covers more than 70 countries and regions. Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Indonesia, and Yunnan and Hainan in China are also in the Coffee Belt. Each coffee producing area has a unique planting environment and microclimate, which provides diverse growing conditions for coffee trees, forming a unique flavor and taste.
Advantages of Robusta and Arabica
Arabica is the most popular variety on the market. Various sub-varieties will form a unique and rich aroma and sweet and sour flavor according to the terroir conditions of the growing environment, especially high altitude, volcanic soil, and microclimate. The soft taste is more acceptable. When we analyze the substances contained in Robusta and Arabica, we can find that the sucrose content of Arabica is almost twice that of Roman. The sucrose is converted into aromatic substances during the roasting process, allowing the coffee to exude a more diverse and sweet aroma.
In the past, everyone only wanted a rich and mellow bitterness when drinking coffee. With the continuous promotion of specialty coffee culture, people have higher requirements for the taste, texture and quality of coffee. Therefore, Arabica beans with diverse aromas are more in line with the current high demand for specialty coffee than Robusta. For example, Panama's Geisha coffee on Front Street has a unique aroma of tangerine and honey, making tasters feel like they are drinking a cup of fruit tea.
Compared with Arabica, the caffeine content of Robusta varieties is higher, about 2.7%-4%, which is twice that of Arabica. Caffeine acts as a natural pesticide for plants, protecting it from most insects. From a planting perspective, Robusta coffee trees are resistant to high temperatures, cold, drought, and humidity. In addition, the yield of a single Robusta plant is also very high, and it has strong adaptability to the environment. Generally, it can be planted in low-altitude plains. It can be directly managed and picked using machines, and the price is naturally cheaper. Therefore, the production cost of inputs required for Robusta cultivation is lower and it is more suitable for commercial mass production.
Both Robusta and Arabica also have disadvantages
Robusta is not popular in coffee circles mainly because its taste is not as pleasant as Arabica. Robusta has a very high chlorogenic acid content. Chlorogenic acid is the source of the bitterness in coffee. It usually has a mellow, deeper bitterness, as well as flavors such as walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, wheat, and cereals. If not processed well, it will also have an earthy smell, so it is often used in the recipe of dark roasted Italian beans or as a raw material for instant coffee.
Although Arabica is liked by more people, it does not mean that it does not have shortcomings. Arabica plants are very picky about the growing environment. Since Arabica has low caffeine content, it is more susceptible to insect pests, so it needs to be planted at a height of more than 800 meters without frost. The higher the altitude, the greater the temperature difference, which is more conducive to the accumulation of flavor substances in the coffee fruits and the development of the aroma will be fuller.
If you want to express a variety of positive flavors, in addition to high altitude, you also need a unique microclimate. Many well-known specialty coffees are produced in microclimates. The terrain at high altitudes is often uneven, making planting, management, and picking more difficult. Therefore, high-quality Arabica coffee requires more production costs.
Which to choose, Arabica or Robusta?
I believe that after reading the above comparison on Front Street, we don’t have to judge Arabica and Robusta, we just need to choose the coffee beans that suit us. Among the dozens of types of coffee beans sold on the front street, in addition to the mainstream Arabica, Robusta also appears in the Italian blended coffee beans.
The bean rack on Qian Street has a cost-effective series of grain beans, which selects 7 excellent classic coffee production areas, covering many representative production areas, varieties, and natural processing methods. The so-called ration beans, as the name suggests, are varieties that are easy to drink on a daily basis, and the price and flavor are very close to the people. Front Street has selected a number of "facade representatives" so that everyone can identify the basic flavors of each major production area.
These include Ethiopia’s Front Street Yirgacheffe, Colombia’s Front Street Whelan, Brazil’s Front Street Half-Sun Cerato, Costa Rica’s Front Street Tarazhu, Indonesia’s Front Street Mantini, and China’s Yunnan Baoshan Arabica Coffee. Each coffee bean is suitable for extraction by hand brewing, cold brewing, French press, etc. If you want to taste the most original aroma of coffee, Front Street recommends black coffee as the best form.
Because dark roasted Robusta yields rich oils during extraction. Therefore, Front Street hopes to launch a formula suitable for coffee shops, so they designed a combination of Brazil + Colombia + a small amount of Robusta, and named it Front Street Commercial Blend. The concentrate it produces can present rich and fragrant coffee oils and the aroma of roasted nuts. When tasting, there will be a burnt coffee taste, but it will be accompanied by a more creamy and full mouthfeel. After swallowing, the bitterness will also dissipate, leaving a fragrant fragrance on the lips and teeth.
Another Italian bean that is very popular among home coffee lovers, the Front Street classic blend uses the combination of Brazilian + Mandheling + Robusta, which gives the coffee a rich aroma of nuts, toasted bread, a mellow taste, and beautiful coffee crema, making it very suitable for beginners.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
