What Are Coffee Varietals?

 

The coffee varietal states the species of the coffee plant that has produced the beans in your bag or cup. Just like how there are numerous types of grapes in wine production that allow the cultivator to manipulate the resulting flavours, the coffee plant varietal can lead to unique flavour developments in their resulting coffees. 

Why are varietals important?

There are over 100 different species within the coffee genus however there are only two that are widely used for drinking: Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica coffee inherently contains more complex flavours, acidity and sweetness than its Robusta counterpart, this makes the Arabica species the natural choice for us as a specialty coffee roaster.

The varietals listed below are all mutations within the Arabica species that we at Groupwork love to base our coffee sourcing around. Our bag labels will always include the varietals used if you are curious about diving a bit deeper into the world of coffee.

 

Typica

The varietal stems right back to the 10th century era and was first discovered in Ethiopia. The species itself is the base for a lot of the other varietals listed, achieved either through genetic mutation or cross-breeding programs. Typica produces long oval-shaped beans that are renowned for their complexity of flavours with high levels of sweetness. The plant has quite a low yield in crop output when compared to other varietals. 

Bourbon

This varietal is a natural mutation of the Typica species from Ethiopia. It yields slightly more coffee than the Typica varietal but is relatively low yielding. Similarly to Typica this varietal is renowned for it's complexity of flavours and high levels of sweetness.

Caturra

Caturra stems from Brazil and is a mutation of Bourbon that has a much higher yield. The tree is smaller than Bourbon and allows for easier picking when the cherries are ripened. This varietal is very popular in Central American countries and Colombia. Caturra coffees have a medium body with lots of acidity.

Heirloom

These varieties are found mostly in Ethiopia and they are very similar to the Typica varietal. There are over 1000 heirloom varieties growing in the forests of Ethiopia and steps to separate them into lots are underway. These varieties produce some of the most coveted cup profiles in the world – florals, citrus, cocoa, tea, wild berries. 

Heirloom

These varieties are found mostly in Ethiopia and they are very similar to the Typica varietal. There are over 1000 heirloom varieties growing in the forests of Ethiopia and steps to separate them into lots are underway. These varieties produce some of the most coveted cup profiles in the world – florals, citrus, cocoa, tea, wild berries. 

SL28

This varietal was created in the 1930's by botanists who were testing and exploring mutations of Typica and Bourbon plants. This varietal is native to Kenya and produces some highly desirable complex acidic flavours with lots of sweetness in the cup profile.

SL34

This varietal was also created in the 1930's by botanists who were testing and exploring mutations of Typica and Bourbon plants. This varietal is very similar to SL28 however it has better weather resistance that allow this coffee to grow well at higher altitudes.