Do you ever order a coffee and think to yourself, what on earth is an Arabica? Do I even know what I’m ordering? Robusta, how robust even are you? Coffee bags love to say that their beans are 100% Arabica, as some even mix other beans in there! Even though it sounds like a geographical description of Harry Potter– it refers to the type of coffee species in which the beans are from. Here at Chino, our beans are in fact 100% Arabica!

There are hundreds of coffee types out there, however the two mainly sold ones are:

1. Coffea Arabica (What Chino Coffee is Made From) 
2. Coffea Canephora (known as Coffea Robusta).

Now to make your life easier and make you feel like you’re actually clever, here are the main 8 differences between Arabica and Robusta:

• The Taste: Robusta is usually compared to a burnt rubbery tire taste, which in fact sounds quite disgusting. Robusta holds a higher amount of caffeine than Arabica, leading to a more bitterness in taste, hence the burn of hell. Robusta beans have a 2.7% caffeine content, almost double the 1.5% content of Arabica.

• Sugar and Fat:  On the contrary, Arabica contains nearly 60% more fat and almost double the concentration of sugar than found in Robusta, talk about high! This explains why many prefer the taste of Arabica, as it’s much more naturally sweet and somehow avoids giving you a permanent resting b***h face.

• Price: Robusta is roughly half the price of Arabica! It all makes sense now.

• Robusta is easier to maintain in nature: That extra kick of caffeine acts as a defense mechanism for Robusta coffee beans, as it’s highly toxic to bugs! Goodbye pests! If Robusta was an animal, it’ll have been a skunk.

• Where you’ll find it: Nowadays, Robusta is widely used as part of espresso blends – specifically Italian, as well as instant coffee! It is said to help improve the Crema on top, which is what you’ll find in our Chino instant coffee, even though we’re fully Arabica. There’s a natural crema when your pour the hot water into the granules. Goes to show how special we are! (Wink Wink).

• Shape:  Robusta beans are much rounder and more circular, whereas Arabica are more oval shaped.

• Plant Height: Arabica plants usually grows between 2.5 – 4.5 meters compared to the 4.5 – 6-meter height of a Robusta plant.

• Cultivation: About 75% of the world’s coffee production is Arabica. This means that the remaining 25% is Robusta. Brazil is the most significant Arabica producer, as Vietnam produces the most Robusta worldwide.

We hope that helped you a little! Robusta is easily cultivated as Arabica needs that farmer love, but in terms of taste, we give Arabica the thumbs up. Hey, it’s all personal preference at the end of the day, but the bottom line is we really didn’t expect this blog post to be as robust as planned. #Coffeewisecracks.