Most Popular Types of Coffee Beans

Do you know how many types of coffee beans are? There are over 100 coffee species, but the three most popular or main ones are Coffea Arabica, Coffea Robusta (also called Coffea Canephora) and Peaberry. The bean varietal where it grows and how is process will impact will impact your coffee cup.

Arabica Coffee:

Coffea Arabica also known as the Arabian coffee, "coffee shrub of  Arabia", "mountain coffee", or "arabica coffee" are native from Yemen. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to be cultivated, and is the dominant cultivar, representing some 60% of global production. These beans are regarded as the higher quality gourmet beans, delivering a more subtle flavor and possessing more pleasing aromatic properties than the Robusta. 

Arabica coffee will only grow at high altitudes and this affects the flavor. High grown beans mature more slowly due to the adverse conditions up in the mountains. This slower growth means beans are denser and richer in flavor. And because coffee is graded on density, Arabica naturally comes out with the best grades. Coffee produced from the less acidic, more bitter, and more highly caffeinated bean that makes up the preponderance of the balance.

Robusta Coffee:

Robusta has its origins in central and western sub-Saharan Africa. Robusta coffeere presents approximately 37% to 40% of global coffee production. It is mostly grown in Vietnam where French colonists introduced it in the late 19th century, though it is also grown in India, Africa and Brasil. Robusta beans are lower grade than Arabica and typically grown at a low level. They are easier to grow, more resistant to diseasses and produce a higher yield, making them a sound choice for farmers looking for quantity over quality. Robusta is easier to care for and has a greater crop yield, so is cheaper to produce. They contain twice the caffeine of Arabica beans, so they are most commonly used to put kick, body and crema into a espresso blends or to add body to instant coffee. Roasted robusta beans produce a strong, full-bodied coffee with a distinctive, earthy flavour, but usually with more bitterness than arabica due to their pyrazine content. Robusta is also used as a stimulant, diuretic, antioxidant, and antipyretic, and relieves spasmodic asthma. Also Robusta coffee goes extremely well with coffee lovers who likes an aggressive and pungent cup.

Peaberry Coffee Bean:

Peaberry, known in Spanish as caracolillo, is a type of coffee bean.  Normally the fruit ("cherry") of the coffee plant contains two seeds ("beans") that develop with flattened facing sides, but sometimes only one of the two seeds is fertilized, and the single seed develops with nothing to flatten it. This oval (or pea shape) bean is known as peaberry. Typically around 5% of all coffee beans harvested have experienced this small mutation. Peaberry beans are widely reputed to roast better than flat berries, being said to roast more evenly, because their rounder shape minimizes sharp edges and allows the berries to roll about the roasting chamber more easily, as well as because the alleged higher bean density may improve heat transfer in the roasting process. Peaberry coffee tastes different than coffee from normal beans from the same crop. Peaberry coffees are particularly associated with Tanzanian coffee, although the peaberry variety of Kona coffee has also become quite prominent.