Arabica VS Robusta Coffee
Another little blog from the coffee guru
Hey, I'm here again, and I'm going to talk to you today about Arabica vs Robusta coffee. So let's dive in, Arabica and Robusta are two species of coffee. Yes! I know that you must be rolling your eyes at me now and your thinking to yourself, coffee is just coffee but trust me it's not. Even the most blatant of novices can tell the difference between Arabica and Robusta and trust me, I know you can too.
Arabica is widely believed to be the first coffee shrub cultivated and was first developed on the Arabian peninsula. Hence the name Arabica. Today Arabica consists of about sixty per cent of worldwide production.
Arabica is widely known for its higher quality and refined flavour. It has less caffeine than Robusta and sadly isn't as resistant to plant diseases. Arabica is a picky plant; it indeed the baby of the coffee family. It likes to grow at higher altitudes and likes shade and lots of rain. Looking after this shrub is tiresome and takes a lot of expertise. Most coffee shops and brands emphasize that they only serve one hundred per cent Arabica coffee.
So is it worth it for the refined flavour profile it has? Hell yes!
Robusta was cultivated in central to western sub-Saharan Africa. It is higher in caffeine content and has a higher yield than Arabica. Robusta isn't picky when it comes to cultivation; it doesn't care much about where it grows. Robusta makes up about forty per cent of the world's production and is well known for being less refined in flavour. Robusta is significantly cheaper than Arabica and is widely used in instant coffee. Some coffee shop chains use Robusta in their coffee to make their espresso crème more creamy.
I don't like Robusta. I hate the flavour profile it has; I can't get past the cardboard flavour. But if you like Robusta then go ahead and enjoy. I'm sure there are some Robusta coffees out there that are half decent and worth trying, but I have yet to come across one that doesn't taste like burnt, soggy cardboard.
There are many different species of coffee out there, and all have drastic different flavour profiles. I hope by now, I'm encouraging you to delve deeper into the world of coffee culture. That's it, for now, guys, keep exploring.