There are more than 50 species of coffee plant in the
rubiaceae family, but just two of them provide most of the world's
commercial coffee. These are Coffea Arabica, the original plant
discovered in Abyssinia, and Coffea canephora, better known as
Robusta because of its hardy nature and resistance to pests and
diseases. Another species, Coffea liberica and excelsa; both are so
resistant to natural enemies that they are practically indestructible but
they taste awful.
In many coffee producing countries, a lot of effort goes into
hybridization of species, of which one of the more successful
hybridization is that
called arabusta, developed and cultivated mostly in the Ivory
Coast. Generally though, hybrids must be grown from cuttings and not
from seed, but growing from cuttings is far more labor-intensive.
All coffee is planted in the wide belt which straddles the Equator
and girds the earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of
Capricorn. Coffee suffers in temperatures outside the 12oC
- 27oC range; its favorite temperatures is an average of
around 21oC. If the plantation is located in high
altitudes of 600 to 2000 meters, the coffee is will be mostly Arabica. Robusta,
being the most common species which grows in lower altitudes and at
sea level. Although delicate and susceptible to pests and diseases,
Arabica is by far the more sought-after coffee, and makes up to 65 % of the
word production. Various strains of Arabica include the typical bean
and its varieties, including Bourbon and National, grown chiefly in
Brazil, and the much-admired Maragogype, known as the world's
largest coffee beans. The Mocha strain of Arabica gives much smaller
beans with excellent flavor. Generally, Arabica beans, which are
fairly large and flat, produce a more acidic and milder flavor than
that of Robusta, whose small, brownish hump-backed beans can
occasionally taste rubbery, with a hint of motor-oil taste.
Another
disadvantage of Robusta is that
it must be pollinated to reproduce, whereas Arabica is
self-propagating. In spite of the fact that a lot of Robusta is
grown from cuttings, it is still relatively cheap, and while it
constitutes most of the world's instant coffee it may, in the hands
of an expert blender, be used to disguise the thin body of an
expensive Arabica , as well as to provide a wonderful depth of flavor
in a satisfying cup of espresso.
