Varieties of coffee beans

Several main coffee varieties and their characteristics are introduced here.

Typica is also known as Tibica Tibika.

This is the closest Arabica species to the original species, and almost all Arabica species originated here. Used to be widely cultivated in Central and South America, the bean shape is long and has excellent aroma and sour taste, but it is not resistant to leaf rust and requires a considerable number of shading trees, resulting in low production (the same as bourbon, which can only be harvested every two years). Originally, all varieties of Tibica were grown in Colombia until 1967, but now 80-90% of them have switched to the high-yielding and sun-resistant Kaddura (caturrra), or the variant Colombia (variedad Colombia). At present, there are very few pure Tibica on the Colombian market.

Bourbon (Bourbon)

Tibica is the best secondary species closest to the original species of Arabica, while bourbon is the second species caused by Tibica mutation. These two are the oldest varieties of coffee in existence. Bourbon was transplanted from Yemen to the eastern part of Madagascar in East Africa, to the island of Bourbon in the Indian Ocean (now known as Reunion), and then to Brazil with the French colonists. It is characterized by small and round beans, mostly dense and gregarious, so the central line is S-shaped.

The yield is 20 ~ 30% more than that of Dibica, but it is still too small compared with other high-yield varieties, and it is only harvested once every two years, so it is gradually replaced by other varieties. The mating species, mutants, aroma and alcohol thickness of bourbon, such as mundo Novo and Catuai, are of high quality and have the characteristics of Tibica.

Kaddura (Caturra)

This is a bourbon mutant found in Brazil. The tree is low in height, small in grain size, high in yield and resistant to leaf rust. The disadvantage is that it only bears fruit every other year, that is, it can only be harvested once every two years. Although the quality is very high, the cost of care and fertilization is quite high. It is suitable for cultivation in the mid-highlands with an altitude of 450 ~ 1700 meters and annual rainfall of 2500 ~ 3500 mm. It is characterized by sour taste and slightly stronger astringency.

Mondonovu (Mundo Novo)

The bourbon species found in Brazil are naturally mated with Sumatra species. It has high environmental adaptability and resistance to diseases and insect pests, although it belongs to high-yield varieties, but the growth rate is slow and the beans are too big. The tree height of more than three meters is its disadvantage (this height has exceeded the height that the harvester can reach, so it is not suitable for the area of mechanized coffee harvesting), the top branches and leaves of the coffee tree should be trimmed every year. It began to grow in the whole region of Brazil around 1950 and is now the main variety in Brazil along with Kaddura and Catuai. Mondonovu's sour and bitter taste was well balanced and his taste was close to the original variety, so the first question of the city was widely expected and named it "mundo Novo".

Kaduai (Catuai)

The mating species of mundo Novo and Caturra. The trees are high in yield and adaptable to the environment, and the trees are high and high, making it difficult to harvest, so they are mated with Kaddura, who is high and high. Unlike Kaddura, Kaddura bears fruit year after year. Although it must be fully fertilized, it is resistant to diseases and insect pests, and the fruit is not easy to fall in the face of strong wind and rain. Only the fruit growth harvest life is only about ten years, the life span is too short is its weakness. It is mainly cultivated in the vast area from Colombia to Central America. Kaduai tastes more monotonous and lacks mellow thickness than Mondonovo.

Marago Gippe (Maragogype)

This is a Tibica mutant found in Brazil. Beans are large and need to be filtered with a sieve of more than 19. The taste is poor and the appearance is good, so it is favored by some markets. The height of the tree is too high, so the yield is low.

Kent (Kent)

Indian breed. High yield and strong resistance to diseases, especially leaf rust. It is considered to be a hybrid of Tibica and other varieties.

Amaret O (Amareiio)

Generally speaking, the fruit of coffee appears red when it is ripe, but the fruit of this variety is just as its name (Amareiio comes from the modern Latin Amareiius-, meaning "yellow"), and the fruit is yellow when ripe. The yield is high because of the height of the tree.

Cartimo (Catimor)

Born in Portugal in 1959, ​​ mated Timor (the mating of Arabica and Robsta) with the bourbon mutant Kaddura. Among the commercial varieties with high yield, it has the best growth length and the highest yield. The height of the tree is low, and the fruits and seeds of coffee (raw beans) are on the large side. There are quite a number of new varieties derived from Cartimo. Generally speaking, the varieties of the Cartimo series are strong, environmentally adaptable and productive. Only in terms of taste, the low-real estate Cartimo is not far different from other commercial varieties, but the Katimo produced in the highlands above 1200 meters above sea level is obviously at a disadvantage compared with Bourbon, Kaddura, Kaduai, and so on.

Mutant Columbia (Variedad Colombia)

A variety with high disease resistance was produced by mating between Cartimo and Kaddura. Resistant to direct sunlight, and can be short-term harvest. Colombia began to grow widely in the 1980 s, replacing the previous inherent variety Tibica as the main variety. Generally speaking, Arakabi coffee trees, such as Tibica, must be shaded by shading trees, but the mutant Colombian coffee trees with 1/4 Robusta pedigree do not need shelter trees and can be harvested all year round. However, in recent years, coffee beans may emit Phenol (odor similar to iodine) due to the influence of pesticides or chemical fertilizers. The difference with the inherent variety Tibica can be seen at a glance through Deep City Bakery (Full-city roasting). Generally speaking, coffee becomes sour and bitter after roasting in deep cities, while the bitterness of mutant Colombian coffee increases sharply after the second bursting period.

Excerpt (Coffee Collection) Guard Taguchi. Author & Wikipedia

There are mainly two kinds of coffee on the market: Coffea Arabica and Coffea R ​​ obusta. Each of them can be subdivided into more variety branches. Most of the coffee beans in circulation on the market are distinguished by their origin.

The following is a list of some major producing countries and their famous coffee:

Ethiopia: Haramoka, Yegashafi (Yirgacheffe)

Yemen: Yemen Mocha

Kenya: Kenya AA

Tanshania: Kilimanjaro

Indonesia: Mantenin, Java

India: Malaba

Papua New Guinea

Brazil: Santos

Jamaica: blue Mountains

Colombia

Costa Rica: Tarazu (Tarrazu)

Guatemala: Antigua (Antigua), Vivetna fruit (Huehuetenango)

Mexico

Puerto Rico: selected by Yukot (Yauco Selecto)

Panama

Cuba: Crystal Mountain

United States: Kona

Arabica coffee is generally thought to be native to the Abyssinia Plateau of Ethiopia and widely distributed in the tropics. Many varieties have been derived from repeated mutations or mating. Now, it is said that there are more than 70 varieties of Arabica coffee alone.

The so-called "planting" rice is the difference between long rice of Induca and short rice of Japonica, that is, the difference between Thai rice and Japanese rice. This may be easier to understand. Then look at the "subspecies, varieties, varieties" derived from "species"; the variety here refers to Yueguang rice. There are as many varieties of coffee as rice.

Of course, coffee is the same as rice in variety improvement, which constantly seeks to improve disease resistance, production and environmental adaptability. in addition, rice also pursues variety improvement in taste. On the contrary, coffee not only pays less attention to this point, but also has the suspicion of "changing evil". In order to pursue production efficiency, the improvement of coffee taste quality has become a secondary consideration.

This tendency can be seen from the recent trends in the world coffee market. The market has paid more attention to high-quality coffee, that is, high-quality coffee, and coffee producers and consumers are eager to introduce new evaluation criteria. Coffee is highly rated and can be bought and sold at a high price, mostly inherent varieties of Arabica species (or "old trees"), such as Tibica, bourbon, Kaddura (bourbon mutants), etc.

Among today's varieties, the traditional varieties have the lowest yield and disease resistance, but their rich flavor is irreplaceable.

I am by no means a believer in Tibica or bourbon coffee, nor am I a variety supremacist, but there is no denying that variety is an important factor in the taste of coffee, and more and more people are paying attention to it.