The Great Coffee Debate: Coffea canephora or coffea arabica
Why do some coffee roasters boast of “100% Arabica”?
Some roasters will argue the case for robusta (coffea canephora) and will put forward that it is a bolder coffee. One with some sought after bitterness and a higher caffeine content. Another might say that one can expect a higher crema topping from robusta during traditional extraction.
Those roasters who are determined to place taste above everything else will tell you that arabica coffees (coffea arabica) are sweeter and offer the discerning coffee lover more flavour nuances. That arabica presents a more sought after acidity rather than bitterness. That an arabica brew contains sufficient caffeine and there is no need to sacrifice taste while
chasing after the slightly higher caffeine content of a robusta brew.
The elephant in the room is the price. On average raw robusta beans cost around 40% less than Arabica. There is therefore a financial argument in favour of robusta either as a portion of a blend or in fact, to make up the entire bag! Many roasters use robusta as a low-cost extender with the view to lowering overall product cost. When consumers are financially stretched, this can indeed be a game changer.
From our roaster:
“Put any three different robusta based brews against any three arabicas in a blind taste-test and the arabicas will win, hands down, every time!”
He goes on to say that “At Cutman & Hawk our tag line is ‘Coffee without compromise‘” and while that is his standing instruction, you will never find a robusta bean at our factory.
“It is my job to present our customers with the best tasting coffee available and the use of robusta prevents me from doing this.” To be assured of best taste, of Coffee without compromise, look out for bags which unashamedly boast of being 100% Arabica… and beware those misleading euphemisms such as “The purist coffee” or “best coffee” or even “100% coffee” … It’s either 100% Arabia, or it’s not!
Alan Hawkins – Managing director