Coffee Beans Arabica and Robusta
Types of Coffee Beans
Coffee beans are not actually beans, but are seeds of the fruit from a coffee tree which grow in subtropical climates from sea level to around 6000 feet and
they are called coffee cherries, which turn a bright red when they are ripe and ready to pick.
The main coffee species grown today in coffee producing countries are: Arabica and Robusta. Several subtypes have been created from them. The most predominate coffee bean is Arabica with more than three-quarters of the coffee beans sold in the world being Arabica, while the the remainder is Robusta, which is also known as Coffea canephora.
The name Arabica has its roots from the Arabian Peninsula, one of the areas where the plant was originally cultivated. It is one of the most widely produced coffee varieties in the world, and is generally agreed to be superior in taste and quality to coffee made with Robusta coffee beans. Robusta coffee beans were discovered in the Congo and this hardy species is widely spread wherever the climate is unsuitable for Coffea Arabica. Robusta, is higher in caffeine and tastes far bitterer and more acidic. Due to the fact that environmental factors such as altitude of growth, soil, etc., deeply affect the flavor of coffee, the coffee bean types and blends are more usually identified by geographic location rather than coffee bean type and many people shop for their coffee by using the country of export as their way of choosing such as Columbian coffee or Jamaican Blue, etc.
The main coffee species grown today in coffee producing countries are: Arabica and Robusta. Several subtypes have been created from them. The most predominate coffee bean is Arabica with more than three-quarters of the coffee beans sold in the world being Arabica, while the the remainder is Robusta, which is also known as Coffea canephora.
The name Arabica has its roots from the Arabian Peninsula, one of the areas where the plant was originally cultivated. It is one of the most widely produced coffee varieties in the world, and is generally agreed to be superior in taste and quality to coffee made with Robusta coffee beans. Robusta coffee beans were discovered in the Congo and this hardy species is widely spread wherever the climate is unsuitable for Coffea Arabica. Robusta, is higher in caffeine and tastes far bitterer and more acidic. Due to the fact that environmental factors such as altitude of growth, soil, etc., deeply affect the flavor of coffee, the coffee bean types and blends are more usually identified by geographic location rather than coffee bean type and many people shop for their coffee by using the country of export as their way of choosing such as Columbian coffee or Jamaican Blue, etc.
