How to drink Robusta coffee? introduction to the origin of Robusta coffee beans.

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Robusta was once rated as worse than the lowest Brazilian Santos coffee, although it cannot be drunk directly, but if mixed with a small amount of Arabica beans, it can increase the thickness of caffeine after extraction. at the same time, it does not obscure the pleasant flavor of Arabica.

Although the sour and sweet taste of Robusta is inferior to that of Arabica, its high concentration and strong bitterness are indispensable varieties of coffee for the above-mentioned industries. Moreover, Robusta also has strong disease resistance, strong resistance to leaf rust, the archenemy of coffee, and the yield is also very high, so it is often used in variety hybridization and instant coffee production.

Some boutique Robusta coffee beans are used in the blending of espresso beans to increase the mellow thickness and richness of the coffee.

The main producing area of Robusta coffee beans & annual output

Robusta accounts for 30% to 40% of the world's coffee bean production and is mainly grown in Vietnam, Indonesia, C ô te d'Ivoire and Brazil. In recent years, Brazil has been committed to the production of Robusta, which accounts for 30% of the total production. Unexpectedly, Brazil has become a major producer competing with Vietnam for the first place.

These areas usually have low elevations and sultry climates, which not only make coffee trees carefree to grow and bear fruit, but also germs and pests. For Arabica varieties with weak disease resistance and insect resistance, it is impossible to grow healthily in these environments.

Robusta coffee is a natural variety in West Africa and can be spoken in areas with lower elevations and higher temperatures. At the same time, it has strong adaptability, can resist bad climate, resist the invasion of diseases and insect pests, and does not need much manual care during soil preparation, weeding and pruning. It can be allowed to grow in the wild. It is a kind of coffee tree that is easy to cultivate.

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It has good disease resistance and insect resistance because Robusta contains a lot of chlorogenic acid, which is characterized by its bitter taste, so no pest germs want to come into contact with this taste, which is why Robusta coffee beans are so much more bitter than Arabica coffee beans. Also because of the large amount of chlorogenic acid, some pleasant coffee flavors can not be formed more.

Why does Robusta taste so bitter?

Although we have learned that there is a big difference between Arabica and Robusta, what is the difference between the iron pickup of Arabica and Bourbon? Qianjie after consulting the data, whether in terms of genetic level or composition, there is almost no difference between the two.

However, the composition and structure of the two original regenerated beans are different, which will have a great influence on the flavor of baked beans. However, the difference is not as significant as that of Arabica and Robusta. Arabica and Robusta are academically different, like Wenzhou oranges and grapefruit. There are also great differences in composition balance, so it is only natural that there are great differences between the two.

According to the research and analysis of scholars, the main sources of Robusta's bitterness are:

① caffeine, refreshing is one of the bitter ingredients

② chlorogenic acid, the source of mellow, bitter and astringent taste of coffee.

③ proteins and amino acids are sources of strong bitterness such as dark beer and chocolate.

The fructose content of ④ is low. Fructose is originally the source of sour taste, can bring diversity to the bitter taste, resulting in a soft, mellow flavor, but the content in the Robbins tower is very small. In other words, there is almost no sour taste, which leads to the lack of softness of Robusta's bitterness, and the intense bitterness outweighs the astringency. Form a monotonous taste with only bitter taste.

Robusta boutique coffee

Although Robusta sells cheaply and doesn't taste good, it doesn't mean that all beans must be of low quality.

As a matter of fact, competitions and auctions are also held in India, Indonesia and Vietnam to select boutique coffee from the Robbins Tower. What is active on this stage is not Q (Quality Gradiy), but R (Robusta Gradiy, Robusta). Incidentally, Q Review is a coffee bean appraiser approved by the American Fine Coffee Association (SCAA), and its Robusta version is R Review.

In recent years, Liberian coffee from the Philippines and Malaysia has been on the market in Japan. There are two opinions of pros and cons in taste evaluation, which can be said to be a kind of personality coffee.

Some robusta coffee that has been better cultivated and treated can retain the characteristics of high mellow and low acidity while showing pleasing flavors such as mugi-cha, nuts and caramel. In the 2022 World Barista Competition, Japanese contestant Guizhi Ishiya used Panamanian Hartmann Rose Summer to match the Vietnamese boutique Robusta, subverting the definition of boutique coffee by a new generation of coffee lovers.

Although Robusta is not as good as Arabica coffee beans in flavor, it has a very strong mellow thickness and can bring a very solid and mellow taste to the coffee. If you brew directly, it may not taste good, but if used for matching, boutique Robusta can be said to be a good "partner".

At present, Qianjie Coffee sells a "commercial mix" of Italian coffee beans, with 60% Brazilian Arabica beans + 30% Colombian Arabica beans + 10% Robbosa beans in Vietnam. The mixed nutty flavor of coffee beans in Brazil provides the main tone. The berry and caramel flavor of coffee beans in Colombia enriches the coffee, while a small amount of Robusta in Vietnam increases the mellow thickness of the coffee.