All About Coffee

ARABICA AND ROBUSTA COFFEE

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Who does not know coffee, a famous drink can keep us awake all night because of its caffeine content. Many varieties of coffee in the world, which is popular Arabica and Robusta, the following article will slightly review the differences between the two.

Arabica Coffee

Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) comes from the mountain forests of Ethiopia and Brazil. This type of coffee is the first coffee species found and cultivated by humans today. In their natural habitat, the plant grows in lush tropical forest.

Arabica coffee will grow maximum when planted at altitude 700 - 2000 meters above sea level. With rainfall ranges from 1200-2000 mm per year. The best environmental temperature for this plant is 15-20^oC. This plant can not stand at temperatures approaching freezing below 4^oC. To flower and produce fruit, Arabica coffee plants require dry periods for 4-5 months or dry climates three months consecutively within a year. Usually the arabica tree will bloom at the end of the rainy season.

The fruit is round like an egg, with the color of green fruit then turns into bright red when ripe. Arabica coffee likes soils rich in organic matter content. Organic materials are used plants for sources of nutrients and moisture keep. Suitable acidity or soil pH ranges from 5.5 to 6. Arabica coffee has a strong aroma, mild to moderate viscosity and high acidity. Caffeine content lower than robusta is about 0.8-1.5%.

Brazil is the world's largest arabica producer. While the world's largest coffee consumers are EU countries, followed by the United States and Japan. More than 60% of world coffee trade is dominated by arabica type. In addition to dominating market share, currently arabica coffee is priced more nearly twice as much as robusta. The arabica trading center is on the New York commodity exchanges.

Robusta Coffee

Robusta coffee is descended from several species of coffee, especially Coffea canephora. Robusta comes from the word 'robust' which means strong, in accordance with the picture of the posture (body) or a strong level of viscosity. Fruit quality is lower than Arabica

Robusta can grow in the lowlands, but the best location to cultivate this plant at an altitude of 400-800 meters above sea level. Optimum temperature of Robusta coffee growth ranges from 24-30^oC with dry months 3-4 months in a row and with rainfall 2000-3000 mm per year.

Robusta coffee is very suitable to be grown in the wet tropics. With intensive cultivation will begin to bear fruit at the age of 2.5 years. Young fruit is green, after ripe turns red. Robusta coffee plants want loose soil and rich in organic matter. The ideal soil acidity (pH) for this plant is 5.5-6.5.

Robusta coffee is recommended to be cultivated under other trees. Robusta aroma is not as strong as arabica, with moderate to severe body thickness and flavor. Robusta caffeine content more than doubled arabica, which ranged from 1.7 to 4%.

The biggest robusta producer is Vietnam. In general, Robusta coffee is widely produced by Asian-Pacific and African countries, while arabica coffee is widely produced by South American countries.

*Adapted from various sources.