Coffee Varietals

Coffee Basics: Varieties

In coffee, many factors shape quality—soil health, farm altitude, rainfall, and processing methods all play a role. Another key influence, which is often overlooked, what is the specific coffee plant variety being grown.

What is a coffee varietal?

Varietals are particular subspecies or cultivated varieties of coffee plants, distinguished by their unique characteristics and flavor profiles shaped by their genetics and the conditions in which they are grown.

What variety is my coffee?

The genus Coffea includes more than 100 speices, but only two are widely grown for beverage production: Coffea Arabica and and Coffea Robusta. At HI-POST we only sell Arabica, which world-wide accounts for 60-70% of coffee production, because despite its lower caffeine content it offers greater complexity in flavour, acidity, sweetness and aroma.

Popular Coffee Varieties

  • Typica

    Typica is a tall, low-yielding Arabica variety known for excellent cup quality but high disease susceptibility. Originating in Ethiopia and later cultivated in Yemen, it spread globally through colonial trade routes—from Java to Europe and across the Americas in the 18th century—becoming the dominant coffee variety in Latin America until the 1940s. Though largely replaced due to its vulnerability and low productivity, it is still grown in places like Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica.

  • Bourbon

    Bourbon is a tall Arabica variety valued for excellent cup quality but known for low yields and disease susceptibility. Introduced from Yemen to Réunion (formerly Bourbon Island) in the early 1700s, it spread globally in the mid-1800s, reaching Brazil around 1860 and expanding throughout Latin America. Though largely replaced by its descendants—such as Caturra, Catuai, and Mundo Novo—it is still grown in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru.

  • Caturra

    Caturra is a dwarf mutation of the Bourbon coffee variety discovered in Brazil between 1915 and 1918. Its compact size allows closer planting and higher yields, making it widely adopted in Central America after its introduction in the 1940s. Long a benchmark variety in the region, it also became a parent of rust-resistant cultivars like Catimor through crosses with the Timor Hybrid.

  • Gesha (Geisha)

    Geisha (or Gesha) was collected in Ethiopia in the 1930s and later distributed through research centers to Central America, where it was noted for leaf rust tolerance but initially overlooked. It gained worldwide recognition in 2005 after a record-breaking auction in Panama. Today, Panamanian Geisha is prized for its exceptional high-altitude cup quality and distinctive floral, jasmine, and peach-like aromas, with spelling variations reflecting Ethiopian origins.

  • SL28 and SL34

    SL28 and SL34 are renowned Kenyan Arabica varieties selected in the 1930s at Scott Agricultural Laboratories. SL28, chosen from drought-tolerant Tanganyika stock, is suited to medium and high altitudes, valued for drought resistance, exceptional hardiness (with some trees productive for 60–80 years), and strong quality, though it is susceptible to major diseases and genetically linked to the Bourbon group. SL34, selected from a single tree labeled “French Mission” on the Loresho Estate, was long believed to descend from Bourbon introduced by French missionaries from La Réunion; however, recent genetic tests suggest it is related to the Typica group. Both varieties remain highly regarded in Kenya and beyond for their cup quality and performance.

  • Pacamara

    Pacamara, a cross between Pacas and Maragogipe developed in El Salvador, is known for exceptional cup quality but very high susceptibility to coffee leaf rust and Ojo de Gallo. The variety is not genetically stable, with plants varying across generations, and its performance differs by region. Grown mainly in El Salvador—where it often excels in Cup of Excellence competitions. A related but also unstable variety, Maracaturra (Caturra × Maragogipe), originated in Nicaragua through incomplete breeding efforts.

  • Castillo

    Castillo is the most widely grown coffee variety in Colombia, making up about 40% of the country’s crops. Developed over five generations for resistance to leaf rust, it’s a high-yield, compact (“dwarfed”) tree that can be planted densely and produces slightly larger cherries. While some question its quality due to its partial robusta heritage, Castillo can achieve high cupping scores and typically offers a smooth, bright, balanced cup with fruity notes.

  • Catuai

    Catuaí, a cross of high-yielding Mundo Novo and compact Caturra created in Brazil in 1949, is vigorous, low-growing, and allows dense planting for higher productivity. It is highly susceptible to coffee leaf rust and has good—but not exceptional—cup quality. Released in Brazil in 1972, it spread to Central America from the 1970s–1980s, becoming economically important in Honduras, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, and contributed to the rise of full-sun, high-density coffee cultivation. A related Mexican variety, Garnica, was similarly developed from Mundo Novo × Caturra Amarillo but remains less documented.

  • Mundo Nuvo

    Mundo Novo, discovered in Brazil in 1943, is a natural Bourbon × Typica cross known for its tall stature, vigor, and good productivity, though it matures late. Widely grown in Brazil and parts of South America, it saw limited adoption in Central America due to its height. Mundo Novo later contributed to the development of the dwarf Catuai variety through crossing with compact Caturra.