What is a coffee varietal or variety? A living document covering all things coffee varietals.

What are coffee varieties (varietals)? 

It’s a great question. I mean, the coffee industry is always buzzing with “varietal this” and “varietal that,” yet if you don’t know what they are, it makes it hard to be a part of the dialogue surrounding them. Today we’re going to break down what a coffee varietal is as well as chat about some of the most common ones you’ll see.

To start, "varietal" or "variety" is used to discuss the genetic distinctions between different species of coffee. There are over 100 species in the genus Coffea, but two main species that are commonly cultivated for drinking: Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora (also known as Robusta). Within each species we have different "varietals" of coffee. For this blog we’ll primarily be talking about Arabica coffee varieties since here at Little Bear we predominantly source, roast, and serve Arabica. Some of the most common varieties of Arabica are going to be Bourbon, Typica, and Caturra, just to name a few. 

The best parallel to this in another industry would be wine! Much like how wine is differentiated by different grapes, coffee is differentiated by different varietals.

Image: Infant coffee plant (left), Vat of picked coffee cherries (right) 

Let's dive into a brief history of coffee. 

Long ago, a coffee plant was brought from Ethiopia to Yemen. From Yemen, the Dutch stole—yes, stole—some trees and planted them on the Island of Java (the biggest of the Indonesian islands). Years later, the Dutch government wanted to give a gift to the King of France and decided that a coffee tree would be a fantastic gift.

France took this stolen gift with open arms, and a greenhouse was established where this single plant was treated like royalty and properly cared for. Thankfully for us, they did this, because this one plant is the ancestor to most of the coffee we have in the world today.

Its seeds were taken and planted around the world, first in Latin America & the Island of Bourbon (an island off of the eastern coast of Africa, which is now known as Reunion Island). This very important tree was christened with the name “The Noble Tree” because of how significant it was in widening the range of coffee we have today.

Image: Juvenile coffee tree that's just starting to produce coffee

Now that we have a good baseline, let's dive into some of the commonly used, and seen, varietals that we’ve sourced here at Little Bear:

Bourbon

A natural mutation of Typica, the Bourbon varietal, like its sibling, is one of the most important Arabica plants in the world, with genetic tests confirming that Typica and Bourbon were the main seeds taken from Ethiopia to Yemen. From here, descendants of these varietals have formed the foundations of modern Arabica coffee cultivation. In the 18th century, the French transported it to La Réunion (previously known as Ile Bourbon), an island off Madagascar; in the 19th century, the varietal was introduced across Africa and the Americas. Growing well at high altitudes, Bourbon is a tall varietal that, while susceptible to disease, produces a fair yield and outstanding cup quality, renowned for sweetness. 

Fun fact: Pink Bourbon isn't actually in the Bourbon family but is an African Heirloom varietal.

Image: Red Bourbon (left), Yellow Bourbon (right)

Caturra 

In Brazil, a mutation of the bourbon plant resulted in a smaller and even more productive version of this shrub. Since it was planted just outside of the town of Caturra, Brazil, the variety was given this name. Based on the higher productivity and its compact size, it was an easy decision for farmers needing a good go-to plant to maximize the use of their land—and as a result, it has become immensely popular. The coffee’s taste tends to have a bright acidity with potentially less clarity than Bourbon.

Catuai (Red & Yellow)

Catuai is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, offering high yields and ripe fruits of red or yellow. Commonly grown in Brazil, this varietal offers juicy citric characteristics, balanced with chocolate undertones. The plant’s name comes from the indigenous Tupi-Guarani language in Brazil, meaning ‘very good.’

Image: Unripe Catuai growing on coffee tree

Gesha

First discovered in the Gori Gesha forest of Ethiopia in the 1930s, the Gesha varietal reached Panama in the 1950s. With low productivity and brittle branches, the plant received little interest from farmers, despite its hardiness and tolerance to leaf rust. This all changed with a Best of Panama competition in 2004, where a veteran judge believed an Ethiopian coffee had been snuck onto the table. The coffee received exceptionally high marks and broke the then record for a green coffee auction price, reaching over $20 per lb. Famed for delicate floral notes of jasmine and light stone fruit flavors, the Gesha varietal still holds its value and prestige in Panama and beyond. 

Heirloom or Landraces

Ethiopia is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of arabica coffee, and it was disseminated throughout the world from there. Ethiopian coffees are often given the name of ‘heirloom’—a term that came into use with the growth of specialty coffee—due to historically limited access to information about native varietals. However, this term is very difficult to define consistently. Various varietals have naturally adapted over time in Ethiopia and can be referred to as “local landraces.” Over the past 40 years, farmers have received modern coffee varietals through the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC) to plant alongside their local landraces.

Image: Pink Bourbon

Pacamara 

Created by the Salvadorian Institute for Coffee Research (ISIC) in 1958, Pacamara takes its name and lineage from the varietals Paca and Maragogipe. While the varietal often dominates Cup of Excellence competitions, the plant is not without its challenges. Pacamara can be unstable from one generation to the next, and the plants carry a risk of reverting back to the parent varietal, Pacas. When it comes to genetic mutations, it’s not all bad—the yellow pacamara varietal is a freak natural occurrence, where the red fruit turns yellow. The Pacamara is renowned for its excellent cup quality, often presenting unusual and striking combinations with elegant acidity. 

SL28 

This drought-tolerant, high-yield varietal was considered the prize selection during a period of intensive breeding, a result of individual tree selections—where forty-two trees of various origins were selected and studied at the Scott Laboratories, now known as the National Agricultural Laboratories (NARL) at Kabete. Individual tree selections during the 1935-1939 period at the laboratories were prefixed SL. SL28 was selected in 1935 from a single tree in a collection named Tanganyika Drought Resistant—the result of exploration in the Moduli district of Tanganyika (now Tanzania). Today the varietal can be found in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. 

SL34

Found mostly in Kenya, SL34 is another result of the National Agricultural Laboratories (NARL), selected from a single tree on the Loresho Estate in Kabute, reputed to have been labelled ‘French Mission.’ Genetic testing links the plant’s relation to the Typica genetic group. SL34 is found mostly in Kenya, well suited to high altitudes with good rainfall. The varietal produces a high yield and exceptional cup quality but is susceptible to coffee berry disease.

Typica

With a relatively low yield, as well as high susceptibility to pests and disease, Typica might not seem a winning first choice—but with a remarkable cup quality that can secure high prices, this plant remains one of the most culturally and genetically important Arabica coffee varietals in the world and a popular choice. With its history firmly rooted in Ethiopia, Typica has travelled well throughout the world. Best grown at high altitudes, Typica is tall and slim, well-adapted to cold conditions, and produces large coffee beans, offering a sweet and clean, fruity, floral, and complex cup. 

Cauvery 

An Indian sub variety of Catimor (a Bourbon descendant).

Kent 

A mutation of Typica, planted widely by Indian growers from the 1920s.

S795 

A hybrid bred by Indian botanists from Kent and S228 (a hybrid of C. Arabica and C. Liberica) varietals in the 1940s and now widespread. This varietal is also popular in Indonesia, where it is known as ‘Jember’.

SL 9

A derivative of a cross between the Ethiopian Arabica varietal ‘Tafarikela’, and ‘Hybrido-de-Timor’ (a natural hybrid of C. arabica and C. canephora).

Image: Taking photos of coffee cherries in Colombia 

There are so many other varietals we could discuss in this post, but we hope that the ones we did go over have helped give you a deeper understanding of what a coffee varietal is and why they're so vital to the industry as a whole. This will be a living document that we add to as we carry different coffee varietals here at Little Bear so, be sure to come back to this page if you're ever curious about a coffee you've never seen before!