Robusta
Also called Coffea canephora, Conilon
The hardy, high-caffeine species behind about 40% of the world's coffee.
- Species
- Coffea canephora
- Lineage
- West and Central Africa
- Stature
- Tall shrub
- Yield
- Very high
- Best altitude
- 0–800 m
- Caffeine
- About 2.2–2.7%
- Leaf rust
- Resistant
- Quality
- Fair; fine Robustas can be very good
Where it grows
- Central Highlands, Vietnam
- Espírito Santo, Brazil
- Rondônia, Brazil
- Lampung, Indonesia
- Uganda
- Karnataka, India
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Congo basin (where it began)
- Kagera, Tanzania
- East coast, Madagascar
- Matale, Sri Lanka
- Cuanza Sul, Angola
- Bolaven Plateau, Laos
- Chumphon, Thailand
About
Robusta grows in hot, low places where Arabica struggles, resists many pests and diseases, and has roughly double the caffeine. Caffeine is bitter and deters insects, which helps explain both traits.
Most instant coffee and many Italian espresso blends use Robusta for body and crema. Vietnam, Brazil (where it is called Conilon), Indonesia and Uganda are the big producers.
From Wikipedia
Coffea canephora (especially C. canephora subvar. robusta, syn. Coffea robusta, or commonly robusta coffee) is a species of coffee plant that has its origins in central and western sub-Saharan Africa. It is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. Though widely known as Coffea robusta, the plant is scientifically identified as Coffea canephora, which has two main varieties, robusta and nganda (nom. illeg.).
Coffea canephora represents around 45% of global coffee production, with Coffea arabica constituting most of the remainder. There are several differences between the composition of coffee beans from C. arabica and C. canephora. Beans from C. canephora tend to have lower acidity, more bitterness, and a more woody and less fruity flavor compared to C. arabica beans. Most of it is used for instant coffee.
Text from the Wikipedia article Coffea canephora by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0.