Coffea Arabica
Arabica coffee is also known as mountain coffee. It is believed to be the first species to be cultivated well over 1000 years ago.
Arabica plants are sensitive to temperature and handling, and also vulnerable to pests.
Seventy percent of all coffee beans grown are Arabica, which grows best at higher elevations in tropical or sub-tropical climates.
Arabica beans (before roasting) are said to smell of blueberries, giving the roasted beans a sweet smell.
Two to four years after planting, C. arabica produces small, white and highly fragrant flowers. The sweet fragrance resembles the sweet smell of Jasmine Flowers.
Coffea arabica was first described by Antoine de Jussieu, who named it Jasminum arabicum after studying a specimen from the Botanic Gardens ofAmsterdam. Carl Linnaeus placed it in its own genus Coffea in 1737.
Arabica beans are generally more flavorful than Robusta, though not all premium gourmet coffee beans are Arabica.
It is said to produce better coffee than the other major commercially grown coffee species, Coffea canephora (robusta)
One of the things that has become a prevelant procedure is for many coffee exporters and importers to mix both Robusta beans ( which are often grown on plantations which use pesticides and other synthetic fertilizers ) with Arabica beans. They then give the blend a name with the title Arabica.
This increases their yield and hence their bottom line. However, once the beans are imported here in the U.S. the coffee roasting houses are tasked with waiting for a “crack” which may come at different times since Robusta and Arabica beans have different cellular structures. Often such blends are sold to the larger coffee distributors and sold in grocery stores throughout the United States.
