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:: VARIETY
According to the classification
system applied to the vegetable kingdom by the Swedish
botanist, Carl Linnaeus, coffee is from the Rubiaciae
family– including as many as 4,500 varieties,
among which 60 species belonging to the genus Coffea.
Of these species, only two are particularly significant
in terms of the coffee-bean trade:
· Coffea arabica
· Coffea canephora (also known as Coffea
robusta)
Coffea arabica
 Both
quantitatively and qualitatively, Coffea arabica
is the more important species. Its beans are rather
small, and present a pungent aroma. The characteristic
colour is copper green, with a hint of light blue.
The beans are flat and long. The groove is more
or less S-shaped. In the wild, the plant may reach
a height of 10 metres. As a crop, the maximum height
is 3 metres, facilitating harvest. Coffea arabica
plants thrive in soils endowed with minerals, of
volcanic origin, and lying at altitudes of more
than 600 metres. Ideally, the climate should reach
an average temperature of approx. 20° C. Coffea
arabica accounts for three quarters of world production.
Major producers are to be found in Brazil, Colombia,
Mexico, Ethiopia and Guatemala. The most renowned
varieties are Moka, Typica, Bourbon, Jamaica Blue
Mountain and Maragogype. The caffeine content ranges
from 0.8 to 1.6.
Coffea robusta
 Coffea
robusta is named robusta because its shrub is highly
resistant to disease, insects and heat. It has roundish
beans, the grooves of which are practically straight.
The beans are a pale greyish green.
Coffea robusta is grown in Indonesia, Brazil, the
Ivory Coast, India, Uganda, Madagascar and many
other countries, including Vietnam. Its caffeine
content is high, ranging from 1.5 to 3. |
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