Variety · 5 min read
Varieties: From Heirloom to SL28
Coffee has cultivars, just like grapes. A short field guide to the varieties on our shelf.
Arabica is a single species, but within it are hundreds of varieties, each with its own yield, disease resistance and flavor potential.
Bourbon and Typica are the two great historic lineages. Most Latin American varieties, including Caturra and Mundo Novo, descend from them. Bourbon in particular is prized for sweetness, which you can taste in San Bartolo and Riverfront Evening.
SL28 and SL34 were selected at Scott Laboratories in Kenya in the 1930s for drought tolerance. By happy accident they also produce some of the most intensely fruity coffees in the world. Ethiopian heirloom is less a single variety than a wild, uncatalogued population, which helps explain the region’s extraordinary range of flavors.
“Coffee has cultivars, just like grapes.”
