Arabica Vs. Robusta. Know your beans

Ahh coffee, there is so much to know about those little beans. For at least 800 years, although it’s probably far longer, the plant Coffee Arabica has been cultivated. As humans have spread our cultures across the globe we’ve taken this shrub and planted it everywhere it can grow. The two main species of coffee, commonly referred to as Arabica and Robusta are a source of some debate, with most people preferring the smoother, sweeter taste of Arabica, and some people preferring the higher caffeine content of Robusta. I say some people because as the Roasters Pack puts it, “Often Robusta has its taste described as burnt tires or rubbery,” Oh wonderful, burnt tyres flavour anyone. Well why is approximately 25% of the worlds coffee Robusta? I’ll pull out 4 of the 10 differences given here…

• One reason that the taste isn't as good for Robusta is that it has more caffeine compared to Arabica. Which may sound like a positive thing but caffeine carries a bitter taste which makes it an unpleasant drink. In fact, the Robusta bean has 2.7% caffeine content, almost double the 1.5% of Arabica.
• Lipid & Sugar content: Arabica contains almost 60% more lipids and almost twice the concentration of sugar than Robusta. This factor also probably has a big impact on why we prefer the taste of Arabica.
• From a price perspective, green beans of Robusta are about half the price of Arabica green beans on the commodity market.
• Robusta is easier to tend to on the farm, has a higher yield and is less sensitive to insects - the extra caffeine is a chemical defence for the coffee seed as the quantity in the Robusta is toxic to bugs.

The last two reasons are the chief reason that your supermarket instant coffee is far more likely to be Robusta than Arabica. Also why you’re more likely to get the coffee shakes after your cup of instant rather than a good quality bean.   View our range of freshly roasted Arabica beans

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