Exploring Coffee Bean Variety

At some point you’ve probably picked up a bag of whole bean coffee or a freshly brewed to-go cup and seen the label “100% Arabica Beans.” Ever wondered what that label even means? We promise, it’s not a secret code for coffee experts, and knowing a bit about coffee types can help you make educated choices about the best whole bean coffee for your tastes. 

We’re diving deep into three different types of coffee beans and sharing some facts worth knowing—from flavor profiles to caffeine content and costs. So grab a mug and get ready to dive deep into the three main coffee bean varieties! 

Arabica makes up 60 to 70 percent of the beans on the market, so chances are good that you’ve savored many cups brewed with Arabica beans, which come from the Coffea arabica species. Arabica beans are prized for their complex flavors and delicate nature. However, Coffea arabica is also more susceptible to disease and requires specific growing conditions.

Key Attributes:

• Flavor Profile: Smooth, sweet, with bright acidity and hints of fruit, chocolate, and nuts. Specific flavors vary by origin and roast.
• Caffeine Content: Moderate (around 160mg per cup)
• Origin: Originally from Ethiopia, now cultivated in many tropical regions.
• Cost: Generally affordable

Other: One of the things that makes Arabica beans so popular in the coffee world is that their naturally delicate flavor profile allows them to reflect the environments in which they’re grown; they develop subtly unique aromas and flavors associated with different regions. They also make a beautiful canvas for highlighting the nuances of different roast profiles, and the moderate caffeine content and bright acidity make for smooth, balanced

Robusta beans are the second most common type of coffee on the market, accounting for about 30 to 40 percent of global sales. Robusta beans are the product of the Coffea canefora, a species that’s notably hardier than Coffea arabica. In addition to being more disease and pest resistant, Coffea canefora also is less finicky when it comes to growing conditions and produces greater yields more quickly than Coffea arabica plants.

Key Attributes:

• Flavor Profile: Bold, intense, with characteristic bitterness. Earthy, woody, chocolaty, nutty notes. 
• Caffeine Content: High (around 220mg per cup)
• Origin: Central and West Africa (though today Vietnam is the largest exporter of Robusta beans)
• Cost: Generally less expensive than Arabica because of its hardiness, although recently, for a number of reasons, Robusta prices have been trending upward and are tracking closer to the price of Arabica beans
• Other: Robusta beans are known for their high caffeine content. While the bold, sometimes bitter flavor can be a turn-off for some, these beans shine in certain coffee drinks. For example, those robust notes are less likely to be overpowered by milk and sweeteners, allowing the coffee’s flavor profile to shine through in sweetened coffee drinks, and it can work especially well for espresso, where its greater solubility works beautifully for the quick brewing process and creates a creamier mouthfeel.

While Liberica, which is the product of the Coffea liberica species, currently accounts for less than 2 percent of global coffee production, there’s been an increasing interest in this type of coffee. Coffea liberica is known for being a relatively hardy species and is less particular about growing conditions than Coffea arabica. Its trees produce high yields of cherries, although the fruits take longer to mature than Arabica and Robusta, and because the fruit is larger than those other species, it takes more work to yield an equivalent amount of beans.

Key Attributes:

• Flavor Profile: Complex, smoky, woody with hints of dark chocolate, fruit, and even floral notes.
• Caffeine Content: Moderate (around 120mg per cup)
• Origin: West and Central Africa (though today it’s grown primarily in southern and southeast Asia)
• Cost: Generally more expensive due to rarity and more labor-intensive cultivation
• Other: While Coffea liberica is indigenous to Africa, many people associate it with southern and southeast Asia. In the 1870s, those regions were hit an outbreak of coffee rust, a parasite that devastated Arabica crops. Liberica, which is more resistant to coffee rust, was introduced to these regions as a potential replacement for Arabica, and around the turn of the 20th century, its sales were comparable to those of Arabica. But because Liberica presents challenges in harvesting (Liberica grows as tall trees that need to be pruned) and processing (Liberica cherries have a naturally thick pulp), and because its unique flavor profile hasn’t been in high demand, Liberica has become a relatively rare species on coffee farms, though its popularity is on the rise.

Maybe you’ve read some other posts and articles that identify 4 types of coffee beans and include Excelsa on their lists, and you’re wondering why we didn’t include Excelsa on ours. The answer is a bit complicated…

For about 100 years, Excelsa was believed to be its own species of Coffea, but in 2006, it was recategorized as a variety of Liberica. Its scientific name is Coffea liberica var. dewevrei. Excelsa’s distinct flavors, which are tart and fruit-forward, are so different from other Liberica varieties, though, that some people still categorize them as separate from Liberica.

As a variant of Liberica, Excelsa plants grow into tall trees, which need to be pruned frequently, and the fruits mature slowly, making Excelsa expensive to produce. That said, its unique properties, like being naturally lower in caffeine than other types of beans and able to thrive at lower altitudes, have caught the attention of specialty coffee producers, and its distinctive flavors have captured the attention of some specialty coffee roasters as a unique addition to blends.

As climate change continues to impact global coffee production, we may start to see more beans from different Coffea species coming to market. In fact, in 2020, French research group CIRAD brought together 15 coffee experts to cup three wild Coffea species with the hope of encouraging greater biodiversity and long-term sustainability in coffee agriculture. In 2021, Hugh Kelly, the third-place winner at the World Barista Championship, brewed up a Liberica blend, and in 2023, Maya Crowley became the first competitor at the US Barista Championship to brew up a Robusta. 

So, there you have it! Armed with this knowledge you’re no longer at the mercy of buzz words on packaging and can make more informed choices when it comes to choosing whole bean coffee to try. Experiment and enjoy!

Cheers to you for diving deep into the world of coffee with us! U3 Coffee exists to create the most meaningful coffee experience for millions of mindful, motivated humans like you. Let’s learn, empower, and celebrate the journey from bean to cup. Because here, we’re United by Coffee.