One of the most common questions I get as a Barista from people trying to learn more about coffee; “which beans do you have, Arabica or Robusta?”. Today I would like to explain into Layman’s Terms and other commonly used coffee beans varieties. I would also like to let you know which other questions you should ask your Barista instead of worrying about if the beans are Arabica or Robusta.
The most widely cultivated and harvested coffee beans in the world are Arabica and Robusta which is why we hear these two varieties of coffee everywhere. However, they do not make the entirety of the coffee tree family. There is a third, you could also say it is a forgotten variety, known as Liberica. It typically isn’t commercially produced due to economic factors. From these three species of coffee, we can then branch them out into multiple subspecies of coffee.
A majority of coffee shops will and should be using full Arabica beans as their staple coffee beans wherever they may originate from. Then there are other coffee shops usually smaller ones which choose to blend their staple coffee with Arabica and Robusta. If this is the case, the ratio should be 20:80. It explains to the ratio of 20 for Robusta and 80 for Arabica. Lastly, there are what I like to call a franchise coffee which generally uses Robusta. On the other hand, only a small number of coffee shops will have Liberica available out of those few coffee shops. Which have Liberica available an even a smaller amount of them will use Liberica as their staple coffee beans.
As I have mentioned above, most coffee shops will prefer to use Arabica beans as their staple coffee bean. Which is why you shouldn’t be asking if they are Arabica or Robusta. The answer will be Arabica 90% of the time. Instead, ask your Barista what subspecies of Arabica they have and where they come from. On the topic of asking your Barista stuff, next time ask them when the beans have been roasted. This is another question people typically never ask.
Now I will try to explain as simple as I can on the main differences between Arabica and Robusta and add some points for Liberica. However, we will be focused on Arabica and Robusta. Arabica beans are usually bigger than Robusta beans when compared to side by side. Arabica Beans have an elongated or oval shape whereas Robusta beans are much smaller and have a circular shape. Another way to spot the difference between the two is to actually taste the coffee (without sugar or milk). Robusta coffee is usually much more bitter in taste with a more earthy/woody taste with a much thicker body/texture. Arabica coffee comes in a wide range of taste from sweet, sour to bitter. The difference in taste comes from the different subspecies of Arabica coffee and where the beans originated from. Generally, Arabica beans are softer in body/texture. Liberica is more similar on taste to Robusta than to Arabica being bold and bitter but not as harsh in taste when compared to Robusta. Their size is similar if not the same as Arabica being slightly bigger than Robusta with a droplet like shape with one end being smaller than the other end.
Now before I end this post I would like to add that aside from our three types of coffee Arabica, Robusta and Liberica there is another known as Excelsa. Which was its own variety but is now a subspecies of Liberica. I myself hasn’t had the privilege of actually tasting Excelsa. Which is why my opinion by default is irrelevant. Once again, like in every post I would like to thank everybody that has actually read up till here. If anybody has any question or objections, feel free to leave a comment below and I will try to write another post very soon!
