What kinds of coffee do you have? What do the varieties and cultivars represent? Which coffee variety has the best quality?

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But people don't know much about the variety of coffee. You may also know "Rose Summer" coffee, but do you know the difference between "bourbon" and "Tibica"? Or why are these coffee varieties so important?

This article takes you to learn about coffee varieties, why they are important, what they actually represent, and the major coffee varieties you need to know.

The importance of the coffee variety depends on your role: coffee farmer, barista, bean baker, consumer. Is the variety really so important compared with the country of production, the area of production, the degree of baking and the method of treatment? If it's so important, why only part of the coffee packaging will tell you the variety?

To put it simply, the variety of coffee affects the flavor, and some varieties, such as bourbon, are famous for their sweetness. Others, such as the "rose summer seed", are famous for their tea quality. However, the flavor of coffee is not only affected by varieties, but also by growth conditions, treatment and so on. And the uniqueness of high-quality coffee is also the beauty of a cup of coffee.

The bean baker must know the variety of coffee, because it not only affects the flavor characteristics, but also affects how you bake the bean. Different beans have different sizes, such as "elephant beans" are very large, while "mocha" is very small. And because baked beans are physical changes, how to transfer the heat completely to the beans is the key. You need to understand the physical composition of coffee (especially when it comes to making beans).

Variety is very important to coffee growers. The variety you choose will affect not only the flavor characteristics and the raw bean cup score of the coffee, but also the cold resistance, disease resistance and productivity of the coffee tree. The altitude and temperature of the planting place are all related to these.

Another reason to understand varieties is that Arabica coffee has low genetic diversity, which means it is more vulnerable to disease and climate change, and may even theoretically become extinct in the future. The most important thing now is to combine or find more genetic varieties.

At present, there are more than 100 kinds of coffee in the world, of which two of the most common are Arabica and Robusta/Canephora. These two kinds of coffee are very different in taste, composition and growing conditions. We will compare the differences between them below.

Let me show you some varieties of Arabica worth writing down.

1. Typica Tibica

"Tibica" coffee is the earliest and most important coffee variety, which has existed for centuries and extends to many varieties. Notable "Tibica" varieties include "Java", "elephant bean" and "Timo" hybrid (this hybrid will be mentioned at the end of the article).

You will find that this variety is grown in Central America, Jamaica and Asia. The World Coffee Research Institute defines this variety as low-productivity, high-quality coffee that is vulnerable to leaf rust and insect pests. It is also often described as clean and sweet-and-sour coffee.

2. Bourbon bourbon

From the natural variation of "Tibica", "bourbon" has high quality, medium production capacity and high sweetness of coffee. However, this variety has low resistance to leaf rust, coffee beetles and other diseases and pests. It is usually grown in Burundi, Rwanda and South America.

Why do you want to know about the bourbon? This is for the same reason as Tibica: because it is the first coffee tree to be discovered, and bourbon extends to many other varieties.

3. Ethiopian Heirloom Ethiopian native species

Although most coffee varieties come from "Tibika" or "bourbon", coffee comes from Ethiopia at first, and the Royal Botanical Garden has confirmed that 95% of coffee genes come from Ethiopia. When you see the coffee bag marked "Ethiopian native species", it means that the coffee may be wild or come from farmland with little human intervention.

Timor Hybrid "Timo" hybrid

Timo hybrid is a controversial coffee because it is a natural hybrid of Arabica and Robsta, and it has a high proportion of Robusta, which gives Timo cold resistance and resistance to leaf rust. The price is its poor flavor and aroma.

For this reason, this unique coffee is used to graft many breeds, especially "Katimo" and "Satchmo". In classification, "Katimo" belongs to the hybrid of "Kaddura" and "Timo", while "Sachimo" belongs to the hybrid of "Vera Saatchi" and "Timo". Examples of these varieties include "Casteo", "Colombia" and "Masayesa".

Buyers of boutique coffee often avoid coffee related to Timo hybrids, but some producers, especially in low-altitude areas where leaf rust is more prone, believe that reducing the risk of the disease is more important than the quality and price of coffee.

4. Gesha/Geisha Rose Summer

The "Rose Summer" variety originated in the Ethiopian village of Rose Summer, but did not shine in Panama until 2003, and since then, the Panamanian "Rose Summer" has become the best-known coffee variety in the coffee industry. The coffee is used by most finalists in coffee competitions, and the price of raw beans has recently reached US $601 a pound (about NT $18000). "Rose Summer" has become synonymous with excellence and uniqueness.

5. F1 Hybrids "F1 hybrid"

The "F1" hybrid is a new coffee variety with high quality flavor, strong resistance to leaf rust and high productivity. It is usually only cultivated in high-end nurseries. It is worth noting that the "F1" hybrid includes the variety Centroamericano, which only recently won the Outstanding Cup competition in Nicaragua.

6. Caturra Kaddura

A natural variety of "bourbon", the "Kaddura" species is small, with ordinary production capacity, ordinary quality and ordinary bean size. In fact, the World Coffee Research Institute describes the adjective "Kaddura-like" as "ordinary production capacity" and "ordinary production capacity". It is easily affected by leaf rust and pests, and it is often seen in Brazil and South America. It is really common.

Catuai Kaduai