Coffee Varieties

Typica is often treated as the foundational commercial Arabica variety, the line from which many others were later selected or compared. It is capable of excellent cup quality, though its yields are relatively modest, which is one reason growers later sought more productive alternatives.

Bourbon arose as a natural mutation of Typica on Reunion, formerly known as Bourbon. It became admired for sweetness and quality, but in many producing countries it was later displaced by varieties offering greater yield. Its story captures one of coffee's recurring tensions: the market does not always reward what tastes best.

Mundo Novo is a natural hybrid of Typica and Bourbon discovered in Brazil in the twentieth century. Growers valued it for productivity, strength, and disease resistance, especially at the moderate elevations common in Brazil. It represents the practical logic of breeding as much as the sensory one.

Caturra is a Bourbon mutation discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its compact stature makes picking and management easier, though it can overbear if the farm is not managed carefully. Cup quality is generally considered strong, especially at altitude, which helps explain its spread through Colombia and Central America.

Catuai was developed in Brazil by crossing Caturra with Mundo Novo. It combines compact growth with the strength and yield of its parent lines, which made it attractive to growers seeking practical reliability as well as solid cup potential.

Maragogype is one of the easiest varieties to recognize because of its unusually large leaves, fruit, and beans. First discovered in Brazil as a Typica mutation, it is often called Elephant Bean coffee. Its striking size has always been part of its appeal, even if its yields are less impressive.

SL-28, selected in Kenya by Scott Laboratories in the 1930s, is celebrated for drought tolerance and for the vivid fruit character many tasters associate with classic Kenyan coffee. It remains highly respected despite vulnerability to leaf rust.

SL-34 descends from French Mission Bourbon material that moved from Reunion back into East Africa. It can produce excellent cups, often with pronounced fruit character, though it is usually considered slightly less distinguished than SL-28. Like SL-28, it is susceptible to leaf rust.

Whether one prefers Geisha or Gesha as the spelling, the variety's modern significance is beyond dispute. Though associated today with Panama, it is widely believed to be Ethiopian in origin and became famous for its exceptionally floral and aromatic cups. Its rise transformed auction prices and encouraged producers across the Americas to plant it in pursuit of extraordinary premiums.

Pacas was discovered in El Salvador in 1949 by the Pacas family. It is compact, easy to pick, and often considered similar to Bourbon in cup quality. It offers a good example of a variety valued for combining manageability with desirable sensory potential.

Villa Sarchi, named after the town in Costa Rica where it was identified, is another Bourbon mutation with dwarf characteristics. It has been bred for strong yields and is capable of excellent cup quality, which makes it useful both agronomically and sensorially.

Pacamara, created in El Salvador by crossing Pacas with Maragogype, combines compact lineage with very large fruit and beans. It can produce memorable cups, sometimes chocolatey and fruity, though not always harmoniously. Like many dramatic varieties, it is capable of both brilliance and awkwardness.

Kent was developed in India in the early twentieth century for resistance to coffee leaf rust. Its history reminds us that breeding in coffee is often driven by the need to keep farms alive rather than simply to improve flavour.

S795, also developed in India, descends from Kent and other rust-resistant material. It became widely planted in India and Indonesia, though its resistance has weakened over time. Even so, its continued importance shows how long agricultural choices can outlast their original breeding promise.

Many Ethiopian trees are not tightly defined cultivars at all, but indigenous heirloom populations shaped by long histories of crossing and adaptation. They may hold some of the most important genetic diversity in the Arabica world, yet they remain less fully catalogued than their scientific and commercial significance deserves.