Types of coffee beans
The seed of the Coffea plant, which produces coffee, is known as a coffee bean. The pip within the red or purple fruit is what it is. Frequently addressed as a coffee cherry, this fruit. Coffee beans come in four varieties: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa. Arabica and Robusta are the two most widely used. Every one of the four varieties has a unique flavor and aroma profile.
Coffee beans are the processed seeds of coffee cherries, grown on coffee plants — a shrub or bush. The cherries yield seeds that are processed into green coffee beans before roasting turns them into the familiar brown beans. For anyone specifying a roasting, grinding or instant coffee line, the bean variety chosen upstream governs caffeine content, lipid and sugar levels, bean geometry and the final flavour profile, so it is a process decision as much as a sourcing one.
Two species dominate commercial supply. Coffea arabica makes up 60-70% of the world's coffee, originates in Ethiopia, and gives a smooth, sweet taste with a strong aroma. Arabica beans are large and oval with a curved crease, carry 1.5% caffeine, and have 60% more lipid content and double the sugar of Robusta. Coffea robusta accounts for 20-30% of world coffee, originates in Kongo, and delivers a strong, earthy and bitter flavour from smaller, rounder beans with a straight crease. Its 2.7% caffeine content acts as a natural pesticide, allowing Robusta to thrive at lower altitudes.
Two minor types complete the picture. Coffea liberica comes from West Africa, with a floral fruity aroma, a smoky flavour and 1.2% caffeine. Excelsa, Coffea liberica var. dewevrei, comes from Southeast Asia with a tart and fruity profile and 1.2% caffeine, and has been reclassified as a variant of Liberica. Bean size, shape and lipid load all bear on grading, roast profile and extraction behaviour, so the variety mix should be settled early when planning a coffee processing facility.