If you’ve ever gone digging through the coffee aisle looking for a new coffee, you may have encountered differences between roasts and specific brands, but you’ll notice how the type of bean is indicated on the packaging. More than how the brand is marketed and equally, if not more, important than the roast is what coffee beans are used.
Dozens of coffee bean types exist, but unfortunately, only a few of these varieties are seen in stores. Here are some of our favourite types of coffee beans.
Where do coffee beans come from?
Coffee beans are taken from coffee plants. Coffee plants produce bunches of cherries. Inside each cherry is two coffee beans. It takes up to 4 years for a coffee plant to begin bearing fruit and then an additional six years before the quality of its beans will be up to a commercial level.
Where are coffee beans grown?
Most coffee plants are grown around the equator in Brazil, Vietnam, Columbia, Indonesia, and Ethiopia. This area is called ‘the bean belt,’ stretching from the tropics of Capricorn to the tropics of Cancer. It has the optimal climate, elevation, and soil type to produce the best coffee beans.
How many types of coffee beans are there?
There are more than 120 types of coffee plants, each with its unique bean. That said, people usually talk about four primary types of coffee beans when discussing different varieties. They are Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsea.
Coffee Bean Type #1: Arabica
Arabica coffee beans are the most common type in the world, making up 60-70% of the coffee produced globally. It’s sweeter, more delicate, and less acidic than many other beans. These beans are often dynamic, sometimes leaning on tones of fruits, florals, chocolate, and nuts.
Arabica beans are farmed at high elevations above sea level, with the world’s largest exporter being Brazil. The cost of the bean can be driven up quite severely depending on product availability as the plant is prone to disease.
Coffee Bean Type #2: Robusta
Robusta is another common type of coffee bean, usually produced in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. By comparison with Arabica, Robusta beans are strong and harsh. They carry an extremely high amount of caffeine, which helps the plant fend off disease and pests worldwide. Robusta beans are not overly popular because they have a reputation for tasting burnt or rubbery.
In cultures where strong coffee is the norm, Robusta is often preferred. In general consumption, Robusta typically finds its way into instant coffees or as a filler in dark roasts. It is also easier to grow and harvest than Arabica.
Coffee Bean Type #3: Liberica
As we go beyond the big two coffee beans, Liberica is a far rarer bean that can only be grown in specific climates. Their aroma resembles fruit and flowers, with a flavour profile and a slightly woodsy taste. Liberica beans were particularly popular at the end of the 1800s when there was a worldwide shortage of Arabica beans.
Since then, however, Liberica beans have not proven popular, and due to the plant’s difficulty in growing, it is impossible to scale operations to create more global production.
Coffee Bean Type #4: Excelsa
Excelsa is technically classified as a subcategory under the Liberica bean. However, its coffee is unique and different. The flavour is much more tart fruitier and has attributes taken from both light and dark roasts. Excelsa is predominantly grown in Southeast Asia and is a fairly rare type of coffee.
Excelsa does have a reputation for being low-quality coffee, though this is more likely because of issues with growing the bean and low-quality processing practices.
Coffee Bean Types #5: Specialty Coffee Beans
Here are other types of coffee beans:
Caturra beans
Caturra beans are a subvariety of Arabica beans, naturally developed from Bourbon Red beans nearly a century ago. Caturra beans are known to be a high-quality coffee and are popular among roasters.
Catimor beans
Catimor beans are a hybrid of Caturra and Timor beans, first developed in Portugal in 1959 to produce a disease-resistant coffee plant. The taste is somewhat sour and astringent, however.
Bourbon beans
Bourbon beans are known for a sweet taste and a hint of caramel, originally discovered by the French over a century ago on the Island of Bourbon.
Geisha beans
Geisha beans are one of the most expensive coffee beans in the world due to the specific conditions in which they need to be grown, coupled with its growing demand among luxury buyers. Geisha beans were first found in Ethiopia in the 1950s.
What is the best type of coffee bean?
There is no ‘best coffee bean’. The only rule is the coffee you have should be something you enjoy. Arabica and Robusta are the most accessible types of beans for most people. To find out what other beans taste like and experiment with your coffee habits, you will likely have to explore coffee specialty stores or shop online to order coffee beans.
