What's the use of robusta coffee? Why are Robusta beans notorious?

We often hear that Robusta is just the bad stuff, especially high in caffeine, but very few people actually talk about it. It tastes so unpleasant, why is it so reused? Front Street thinks we need to know about the Lower Robusta breed first.

Caffeine protects Robusta from pests

In addition to Robusta, Arabica and Liberica are widely grown commercially. In terms of fruit size, the Liberica variety is referred to as "large grain coffee," Robusta as "medium grain coffee," and Arabica as "small grain coffee," the smallest fruit. Of the three, Liberica had the lowest caffeine content, Robusta the highest, and Arabica the middle.

In the late 19th century, leaf rust, the natural enemy of coffee trees, caused widespread blight and death of Arabica coffee. At that time, the farmers tried to plant Libilica in order to solve this problem, but the yield was too low, and the flavor was heavy, with a heavy smoke smell, which was not easy to be accepted by the public, so it was not paid much attention. And then we found Robusta.

Robusta originated from Uganda and Congo in Africa. This variety has strong resistance to pests and diseases and adaptability to growing environment, and grows fast. Robusta coffee trees are tolerant to high temperatures, cold, drought, and moisture, have a high survival rate, and have a high caffeine content (1.7% to 3.0%), about twice that of Arabica. Caffeine acts as a natural pesticide for plants, protecting Robusta from most insects. Robusta has a high yield of fruit per plant. The fruit is slightly rounder and smaller than that of Arabica coffee. The bean body is flat and the center pit is straight.

It is precisely because of Robusta's tenacious vitality, high yield, rapid maturity advantages, coupled with strong environmental adaptability, generally planted in low-altitude plains, can be directly used for mechanized unified management and picking. Therefore, Robusta requires lower production costs and is more suitable for commercial mass production. The price is naturally cheaper. Nowadays, it is cultivated in many countries, such as Vietnam, which mainly produces Luo beans.

Does it always taste bad if it's Robusta?

Robusta is unpopular in coffee circles mainly because it tastes bitter and does not have as much fruit acid as Arabica. After analysis, Robusta has a very high chlorogenic acid content and a low sucrose content. Chlorogenic acid is the source of bitter taste in coffee. It usually has a mellow, deeper bitter taste, as well as walnut, peanut, hazelnut, barley tea, grain and other taste spectra. When not handled well, it also has a strong irritating earthy smell and a rubber-like negative taste. And because growers don't invest too much in management costs, mass-produced coffee beans naturally don't get much attention, and are more used as raw materials for commercial blending or instant coffee.

Although people will choose Arabica more at present, it does not mean that Rob is necessarily bad. It only means that Rob's market acceptance is not as high as Arabica. As we all know, the flavor of coffee is not only related to the variety, but also affected by different factors such as climate, altitude and soil in each region, as well as post-processing methods, roasting and brewing, which can change the flavor trend of coffee in our cup. That is to say, under suitable planting treatment, Luo beans can also show positive flavor. India has a Royal Robusta coffee bean, which has been carefully planted to show an extremely clean flavor.

It turns out that Luo beans have many uses.

Because of Robusta's easy to grow and survive characteristics, low cost has become the biggest advantage, suitable for a variety of commercial coffee products. Instant coffee means losing a lot of flavor compared to freshly ground coffee, but it has the advantage of quickly restoring a refreshing cup of coffee for busy people, so Luo beans are perfect.

Deeply roasted Robusta beans accumulate a lot of gas, which releases rich fat foam when extracted into espresso coffee, and the solid flavor spectrum also provides more mellow taste for coffee. We all know that traditional coffee tastes bitter and mellow, and there is not too much acid, which is also in line with the flavor characteristics of deep-roasted beans, which is why beans still survive in the current era of fine coffee. For example, Italians will add a certain proportion of Robusta beans to make espresso coffee, which will aggravate its "coffee flavor".

Front Street hopes that one of the Italian blends will be concentrated to present rich coffee fat, so it adds 10% washed Robusta coffee beans. Combine with Colombia washed coffee beans (30%)+ Brazilian semi-sun coffee (60%) to form Front Street Commercial Blends. Espresso coffee has a rich golden yellow oil, nutty aroma. When tasting, there will be a burnt coffee bitter, but accompanied by more creamy full taste, and after swallowing, the bitter taste will also dissipate, lips and teeth fragrance.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange More coffee bean information Please pay attention to coffee workshop (Weixin Official Accounts cafe_style)

More fine coffee beans, please add private WeChat Qianjie Coffee, WeChat: qjcoffeex