Getting Robust(a) with the CoffeeMeister

by Erin Meister, Posted Nov 3rd 2009 @ 3:00PM

Robusta vs. Arabica beans, unripened on a coffee bush.
Photo: INeedCoffee / CoffeeHero, Flickr.

Erin Meister trains baristas for North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee and sporadically maintains the blog Meet the Press Pot from her home in New York City. This is part of a series for the caffeine-addicted.

I know you thought we were through with the genus-species-kingdom stuff after high-school biology, but did you know there are two different species of coffee plant? Well, there are: Arabica, or high-altitude grown gourmet coffee, and Robusta, or the more environmentally tolerant (and much cheaper) sort of coffee often found in instant crystals and behind bodega counters around the world.

But is the latter really more "robust" than the haute Arabica? Find out after the jump.

In a sense, yes -- Robusta beans tend to live up to their name by being more disease-resistant than their higher-grown cousins, and their plants are also significantly more productive bean-wise (as seen in the comparative photo above). Robusta beans also have roughly twice (yes, twice) the caffeine of your typical Arabica, which accounts for the odd buzzing feeling you get after visiting your local donut cart. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean the Robusta coffees taste very good.

And, frankly, they sometimes don't. Robustas can impart a musky, rubber-like flavor with a relatively thin body -- though there are, of course, high-quality Robusta lots out there for the brewing (just like there are often low-quality Arabicas hiding behind their pedigree). Arabica beans on the whole, though, typically require more care and patience to produce, as they are slower to bear fruit and can be incredibly susceptible to weather, infestation, disease and low productivity. But these coffees, which comprise the more expensive type we often recognize as "specialty," can bring a dynamic range of flavors and mouth feel to the cup when nurtured to reveal their full potential -- prized much as heirloom tomatoes are over their less-delicate supermarket counterparts.

Robusta certainly has its (somewhat controversial) place -- in the guilty pleasure that is diner coffee, for instance, and often as a crema-enhancing element in some espresso blends. There's also no arguing with the jolt of caffeine for those who are inclined to take their coffee extra turbo-charged, and you certainly can't beat the price...

Is there something to the great Arabica vs. Robusta debate? Does it all boil down to caffeine and cost or flavor and craft? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Filed Under: Drink Recipes
Tags: arabica, arabica coffee, ArabicaCoffee, beans, caffeinatedcoffee, coffee, coffee beans, CoffeeBeans, coffeemeister, robusta, robusta coffee, RobustaCoffee, two types of coffee, TwoTypesOfCoffee