The name Arabica stands quite valuable for the coffee connoisseurs as we consider it to be the best coffee kind among others.
Many coffee brands even highlight the fact that they offer 100% pure Arabica coffee on their packaging and overall marketing.
As these brands know that the popularity of Arabica coffee green beans is tremendous globally. However, aside from Arabica, the other coffee kind that is popular in demand among coffee lovers is Robusta Coffee.
Among hundreds of coffee species all over the world, they only produce the two kinds diversely, also sell and cherish them. But what makes these two coffee kinds stand out from each other?
Whether you are a coffee Arabica fan or coffee Robusta, we are pretty sure that you have not given a thought about the elements that differentiate these two coffee types.
Continue to read till the end to learn a little something more about your favourite kind of coffee.
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1. Taste
The most primary differentiation between Arabica and Robusta is their tastes. People know Robusta for its raw and rubbery kind of bitter taste. Even with its distinctive taste, the Robusta kind has grown quite a fan base among its consumers.
However, we consider Arabica to be the most superior in taste. It has the flavour notes of nuts, fruits, chocolate and florals. The caffeine content found among the two kinds is the reason behind their overall taste and flavour profile.
Robusta has high caffeine content. A single Robusta bean contains as much as 2.7 per cent of caffeine on average. Whereas Arabica has a caffeine content of 1.5% that reduces its bitter taste and levels with other flavour notes present in it.
2. Price
Strictly analysing the two coffee kinds from a price perspective, it is clearly seen that Arabica costs double the price of Robusta. Over the international commodity market as well, Robusta is cheaper than Arabica.
Several crucial factors influence the prices of these two coffee kinds. Robusta coffee plants are convenient to be cultivated as they thrive well on farms and are less prone to get damaged by insects.
The high caffeine content acts as a shield for the Robusta coffee beans to prevent insects from invading them. Farmers can have lower input costs and higher supply with Robusta coffee cultivation.
However, Arabica requires specific conditions to grow and thrive. They also require extra effort to protect them from damage.
3. Appearance
In terms of overall appearance, Robusta and Arabica stand unique from one another. The plant height of the Arabica coffee plant is about 2.5 to 4.5 metres whereas Robusta grows as long as 4.5 to 6 meters in height.
Not just for plant heights, Arabica coffee beans are oval in shape while the Robusta coffee beans are circular in shape. Also, there is a difference in pollination specificity between the two plants – the Robusta coffee plant relies on cross-pollination.
However, the Arabica coffee plant is self-fertilizing.
4. Availability
Most coffee blends that are available in the market and brewed in cafes contain Robusta coffee in them. Even the instant coffees that are readily available everywhere are actually Robusta coffee.
Even for espresso blends, Robusta is used widely and for all the good reasons. Since a nice espresso demands Crema which is the rich thick froth formed on top of the drink, Robusta coffee helps in forming that element.
Whereas the availability for Arabica coffee is scarce as pure Arabica coffee is not easily available everywhere. Even some brands that sell by saying it is 100% Arabica, aren’t actually true to their words.
So, if you need a little more research to do if you want to sip on pure Arabica coffee. Make sure to take help from a coffee connoisseur on your quest to find the original Arabica coffee green beans.
5. Cultivation
The favourable cultivation condition for Arabica plants requires rainfall of 1500 to 2000 mm annually. The ideal temperature required for the growth of this coffee plant is 15 to 24 degrees Celsius. Additionally, Arabica coffee plants grow at an elevation of 1000 to 2000 metres above sea level.
On the other hand, Robusta grows at an altitude between 100 to 700 metres above sea level. It requires 24 to 30 degrees Celsius temperature for ideal growth.
