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Coffea arabica, also called the Arabian coffee tree, is the most cultivated coffee species in the world. It represents 56% of the world's coffee production compared to Coffea Canephora, the robusta coffee. If the two species have common origins, there are major differences in terms of caffeine content, taste and production method. The cultivation of Arabica is more delicate, because it requires very specific climatic conditions. For example, it prefers high altitude land, located between 900 and 2,000 meters, and it fears high temperatures as well as frost. The shade allows a slow maturation of the cherries, which have time to gorge themselves with the sugar necessary for the development of its aromas.
A tropical climate is therefore the most suitable for its cultivation. The main producing countries are located in the latitude known as the "coffee belt", between the 23rd parallel north and the 25th parallel south. The main producing countries are Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Honduras and Peru.
Origin, flavors and specificities, zoom on Arabica coffee beans and its different varieties.
The scientific community agrees on an Ethiopian origin of arabica. Archaeological excavations have shown that the seed was part of the diet of the people of this region of northeast Africa, and this, since prehistoric times. The earliest written records of coffee date back to the 9th century, but the best known mention comes from the "Canon of Medicine" written in the 11th century by Avicenna, a Persian philosopher and physician.
The cultivation of Arabica began in Yemen in the early sixteenth century, at the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, famous sultan of the Ottoman Empire. As his conquests continued, the beverage spread throughout the East, which explains why its name is derived from the Arabian Peninsula. It was not until the beginning of the 17th century that the first coffee beans arrived in Italy, thanks to traders specializing in the spice trade.
Coffee made its first appearance in France in the port of Marseille in 1644. It reached America in 1689 and became the favorite drink of English immigrants. To meet the growing world demand, coffee plantations were established in South America, then in India and in the colonies. Arabica was the only coffee species cultivated in the world until 1865.
Arabica has a very good reputation. Considered very aromatic, it is usually sweet and fragrant. Its flavors are often fruity with little bitterness and a slight acidity. That being said, it is important not to make generalizations about the taste of this coffee, as each variety has different taste notes. The terroir, the year of harvest, the roasting and the method of consumption also influence the spicy, woody, floral or caramelized flavors.
Arabica coffee beans reveal unique facets, depending on the type of grinding and preparation methods used, once ground:
Coffees can be compared to wines in many ways. Both products of the land derive complex and exceptional aromatic qualities from the diversity of their grape varieties. For example, the Caffea arabica species comes in many varieties with varying characteristics. Mocha is probably the first source of modern Arabica, as it has not been mutated since its discovery in Ethiopia. It takes its name from the port of Mocca in Yemen, the oldest coffee exporting place.
Typica is the first mutation of Mocha, whose seeds were stolen from the Yemenis by the Dutch to be planted in Indonesia. It is recognized for the smoothness of its aromas, but its output is relatively weak. It is mainly cultivated in Latin America, especially in Peru, and in the Caribbean islands, such as Martinique, the Dominican Republic or Jamaica. This variety of coffee gave birth to varieties particularly famous among the connoisseurs:
Bourbon coffee takes its name from the island of Reunion, formerly Bourbon Island, which was its first place of cultivation. This mutation of the Moka was described as early as 1711. It has given birth to the rarest and most expensive varieties in the world:
Panama's geisha coffee is the most expensive in the world. It sells for up to $2.25 per gram. It is so prized that it is nicknamed "champagne". To this day, the arrival of the variety in Panama remains a mystery. One thing is certain, it originated in Ethiopia, where it was discovered in the 1930s. First cultivated in Kenya and Uganda, it was exported to Costa Rica in the 1950s, and producers began growing it in Panama in the 1960s.
Very rare and difficult to cultivate, geisha coffee beans began to be known in 2004, when the harvest of a hacienda in Boquete won the "best coffee in the world" competition. The auction price of green coffee then broke records. The reason for this success is its complex aromatic profile, which combines floral, highly perfumed notes of rose and jasmine with citrus, peach and black tea flavors.
As you can see, Arabica coffee beans come in a large number of varieties with amazing nuances. Other varieties of this species, not mentioned in this article, are also widespread: mundo novo, pacamara, catimor or catuai. Some of them have original characteristics, such as the caracoli cherry, which contains only one coffee bean instead of two. Compared to Robusta coffee, which has a less aromatic taste, but is also more powerful and bitter, Arabica contains less caffeine. Its selling price is generally higher.
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