Coffee Varieties and Origins

“The number of different varieties that exist in the world is unknown. Ethiopia alone has more than 10,000 accessions collected and growing.”

Source: Counter Culture Coffee — Coffee Basics: Coffee Varieties – What kinds of coffee varieties are there?

 

Deepen your knowledge of global coffee varieties and places of origin with our curated collection of resources from industry experts and leading publications.

Useful info for farmers, roasters, traders, baristas, and anyone with a desire to know more about the botany and history of coffee.

Comprehensive Reports 

Arabica Coffee Varieties
World Coffee Research

A global catalog of varieties covering: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/

“Information is power. There are dozens of widely cultivated Arabica coffee varieties around the world, and each is unique in its performance and adaptation to local conditions. This catalog brings urgently needed information to coffee farmers to help them decide which coffee is best for their situation. Agronomic data—expected yield, nutrition requirements, optimal altitude, disease and pest resistance, etc—about the widespread array of existing cultivated Arabica coffee varieties has never been available in an open-access format before.”

 

Articles and Research

 

“Because Ethiopia has distinct variations in landscape and altitudes, as well as a huge range of varieties and uncategorised plants known just as heirloom, there is vast diversity in flavour among its coffees. This lack of specificity around variety means that specialty buyers differentiate coffees from Ethiopia by region, altitude, and cupping score, rather than by variety.”

“The country is the sixth largest producer of coffee and it is reported that in 2018, the industry directly and indirectly employed up to 20% of Ethiopia’s 100 million population. In 2017, the nation produced approximately 470,000 tons of green coffee, of which it exported roughly 160,000. This means that Ethiopia exports less than half of the coffee it produces. The rest is consumed within the country.”

Coffee is woven into Ethiopia’s social fabric and has been for centuries. It’s reported that the common phrase that refers to the act of socialising is “buna tetu,” which translates to “drinking coffee” and that one of Ethiopia’s best known proverbs is “buna dabo naw” or “coffee is our bread.”

“Ethiopian coffee is usually produced in a sustainable way, with the majority grown as garden coffee. This means that it is planted by farmers close to their houses and is often intercropped with other plants. It’s also common for producers to grow coffee in a semi-forest system, in which natural forest is modified with slashing of weeds and bushes for shade regulation and coffee seedlings are introduced. Only an estimated 5% of coffee production is on a dedicated plantation in Ethiopia.”

 
 

“At one point in time, almost every coffee drank in Europe was from Yemen. Nowadays, Yemeni coffee exports account for less than 1% of global production. 

“Despite being eclipsed in volume by other coffee-producing countries, Yemen’s impact on coffee culture and the coffee varieties we enjoy today can’t be understated. There’s a chance the coffee you drank this morning could trace its lineage to a plant that grew in Yemen hundreds of years ago.”

“Muslim pilgrim Baba Budan is often credited for breaking the Ottoman stranglehold on coffee production in the 1600s. He allegedly smuggled out seven seeds by taping them to his stomach and then successfully cultivated them in southern India, in the mountains of Mysore (known as Malabar at the time). Soon after, the Dutch began planting coffee on the island of Java in Indonesia, one of their colonial conquests.”

 
 

“Do you know what Geisha/Gesha looks like? How about Bourbon? There are many varieties of coffee and it’s not always clear how they differ. Setting aside variations in flavor and profile, there are clear physical differences among the plants.”

“Typica has distinct characteristics and it might be the easiest variety to identify. The plants have a conical shape with a main vertical trunk and can reach up to 5 m. This height means that there are longer distances between the branches and between nodes on the same branch than in other varieties.”

“Catuai is a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra. Just as Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon, Mundo Novo is a natural mutation of Typica. In Catuai you can spot characteristics passed on from both Typica and Bourbon.”

 
 

“Different beans will have different sizes: Maragogype is famously large, while Mokka is tiny. And since roasting is a physical transformation, how heat is transferred throughout the bean is of key importance. You need to understand the physical makeup of your coffee (especially if you’re blending).”

“Gesha/Geisha originated in the village of Gesha, Ethiopia, but remained under the radar until 2003 in Panama. Since then, Panamanian Geisha has become one of the industry’s most-famous coffees. With most coffee championship finalists using it, and a recent green bean auction price of US $601/lb, it’s become a byword for excellence – and exclusivity.”

“F1 hybrids are a new generation of coffee varieties that have the potential to be high-quality, rust-resistant, and high-yielding. They are typically mass-produced in advanced nurseries. Notable F1 hybrids include Centroamericano, which has seen recent success in the Nicaraguan Cup of Excellence.”