Plate from Flora de Filipinas  (1880-1883?)

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Arabica coffee is one of the two main coffee species that are commercially grown today, and accounts for 70-85% of the worldwide trade. The plant, coffea arabica, is indigenous to Ethiopia and Yemen, and is believed to be the first coffee cultivated, probably beginning around 1000 years ago in Arabia. There are many varieties of arabica coffee, and all specialty coffees produced today are arabica or a blend of arabica with robusta added.

Arabica Coffea

The wild arabica plant is a shrub-like tree that can grow 50 feet or more in height, but cultivated plants are almost always kept pruned for convenience in harvesting. Its white flowers grow in long clusters and produce fruit called cherries or berries that turn bright red when ripe. The fruit contains the coffee bean, which is actually two seeds. Occasionally, cherries only produce one oval seed and these are known as Peaberry beans, which account for about five percent of arabica coffee beans. Arabica requires a moderate subtropical climate and does best at elevations of 3500 to 6500 feet or higher. Beans produced at the highest elevations are harder and especially flavorful, and command premium prices.

Like wine grapes, the flavor of a coffee bean reflects the unique combination of the environmental factors in which it was grown: elevation, climate, soil, and methods of cultivation. The highest grades of arabica command steep prices, but a growing segment of the population is willing to pay for exceptional flavor and quality.

Arabica vs. Robusta Coffee

The main difference between arabica and robusta coffee is flavor. Arabica beans are lighter in flavor, brighter, mellower, and with a balanced acidity that is neither sharp nor bitter, and so it is more popular than robusta. Arabica also contains as much as fifty percent less caffeine. Robusta is stronger, earthier, with less depth of flavor and is often bitter. Although the best grades of robusta can outshine the lowest grades of arabica, the overall flavor profile of arabica is preferred by a majority of coffee drinkers and that is why arabica dominates the coffee market.