Different types of coffee beans give different aroma and taste to coffee. Find out the fundamental differences between types of coffee beans in this comprehensive guide.

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Every coffee cup starts with a bean that creates a base for the future flavor delivered right to your cup. Different types of coffee beans will have different flavor notes. Therefore, bean type is the first thing anyone needs to know to do coffee the right way.

If we ask random people what types of coffee beans they know, best case scenario, we will hear “Arabica and Robusta.” That is a great answer because those two types are the most popular types of coffee beans worldwide. But did anyone know that there are 26 types of coffee beans? Surprise, surprise! Yeap, there are many varieties to choose from.

Let’s see what the types of coffee beans are and what’s the difference between them.

2 most popular types of Coffee Beans

Different types of coffee beans have different shapes, colors, and taste different.

The most popular coffee types are Arabica and Robusta. Approximately 60% of coffee beans produced worldwide are Arabica, and approximately 40% are Robusta.

Arabica

Characteristics: soft, smooth, sweet, rich, and delicate flavor, 0.8-1,4% of caffeine in a bean, more acidity than in Robusta, best for hot coffee drinks without add-ons.

Arabica is the very first coffee bean type cultivated, and it dominates the market to this very day. The coffee made from Arabica beans has a sweet, tender, and delicate flavor. It is the most popular type of beans in North America.

It is important to know that the Arabica plant itself is very delicate. Arabica grows mostly in the high elevated areas and loves a decent amount of rain. Plus, it gets easily infected. Therefore, it is pretty challenging to cultivate huge amounts of good Arabica. As a result, the price for Arabica beans is higher if you compare it with Robusta. But the delicate flavor is what makes Arabica stand out and justify the price.

To better enjoy Arabica drink it hot without add-ons to enjoy the flavor fully. The reason for that is that coffee made from Arabica beans is very delicate. The coffee can lose its taste when prepared cold or mixed with cream or milk.

Arabica varieties:

• Arusha
• Benguet
• Bergendal
• Bernardina
• Blue mountain
• Bourbon (including Orange, Yellow Bourbon, French Mission)
• Catuai
• Catimor (interspecific hybrid/blend)
• Caturra
• Charrier
• Harar
• Sidamo
• Yirgacheffe
• Geisha
• Bonifieur
• Kona
• Java (interspecific hybrid/blend)
• K7
• Maragogipe
• Maragaturra
• Mayaguez
• Mocha
• Pacamara
• Pacas
• Pache Comum
• Ruiru 11
• S795
• Sagada
• Sarchimor (interspecific hybrid/blend)
• Santos
• Selection 9
• Sulawesi
• Sumatra
• Typica
• Timor (interspecific hybrid/blend)
• Uganda (interspecific hybrid/blend)
• Brutte

Robusta

Characteristics: more acidic and bitter than Arabica, smooth texture, 1,7-4% of the caffeine in a bean.

The second most popular coffee bean type is Robusta. Robusta beans are the most popular type of beans in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The plant is less delicate compared to the Arabica plant. Robusta plant is much easier to cultivate due to its strong resistance to diseases and tolerance to the environment. Therefore it is cheap to cultivate and produce.

But Robusta flavor is less delicate if you compare to the Arabica. It is bitter, stronger, and heavier due to its high caffeine content.

All of these characteristics doesn’t make Robusta worse than Arabica. On the contrary, Robusta offers a bold taste for those who crave it.

Moreover, the strong taste of Robusta can create a great base for different coffee drinks so that you can feel the coffee taste and sweetness of the add-ons.

Robusta varieties:

• Kopi luwak
• Coffee Alamid
• Kahawa Sūg (another name is Sulu coffee)
• Catimor (interspecific hybrid/blend)
• Java (interspecific hybrid/blend)
• Sarchimor (interspecific hybrid/blend)
• Timor (interspecific hybrid/blend)
• Uganda (interspecific hybrid/blend)

Less popular types of coffee beans

Even though Arabica and Robusta dominate the market, there is a sufficient number of other types of coffee beans in the world.

Liberica

Characteristics: fruity, wooden, smoky taste, 1.2% caffeine in the bean, considered a premium class coffee bean type.

Liberica coffee is mostly cultivated in the Philippines and Malaysia.

An interesting fact about Liberica coffee plant is that it was once used to replace Arabica plant. In the end of 18th-century the coffee industry collapsed due to coffee rust disease that killed almost all arabica coffee. Farmers in the Philippines and Malaysia decided to substitute Arabica plants with Liberica and started cultivation Liberica beans. That lead to a huge success and growth of both Liberica consumption and popularity and Philippines and Malaysia economic growth. Unfortunately the later USA closed it’s the market for Philippines goods including Liberica coffee. All of this impacted the production of Liberica that drastically decreased.

Nowadays the Liberica coffee is a very rare type. Therefore it is very expensive. But they say that Liberica flavor is very unusual and worth trying.

Liberica varieties:

• Coffea Dewevrei
• Excelsa
• Barako coffee
• Coffea Dybowskii

Excelsa

Characteristics: fruity taste, light body with tart flavor.

Excelsa coffee is considered to be a synonym for Liberica coffee, but it has a different taste. Excelsa is a very rare type of coffee beans, but it is widely used in coffee blends to give the flavor up the taste.

Charrier coffee

Charrier coffee, also known as Coffea charrieriana is a caffeine-free coffee plant discovered in 2008. It hasn’t made the way to the global coffee market yet, but with the increase of decaf coffee popularity, maybe soon we’ll see a new type of coffee bean in the market.

In conclusion

No doubt that the type of coffee bean plays a significant role in creating the coffee drink. Now that you know more about different types of coffee beans, you can try and experiment to see what is best for you. But remember, even though coffee starts with a bean, the other steps of the process are crucial. Pay attention to coffee roast because roasting is an important step in preparing a bean for consumption.

Did you try more than just Arabica and Robusta beans? Please let me know in the comments what types of coffee you tried or wish to try.