The coffee we drink is produced from either Arabica or Robusta Coffee beans, each of which have their own distinctive characteristics.
Arabica Coffee Beans
Coffea arabica is known as Arabica coffee
70% of the world’s coffee production is from Arabica beans.
Arabica coffee is grown in Central and North America, The Carribean, South America, Eastern Africa, Yemen, Papua New Guinea, Brazil and India.
The Arabica bean produces a mild, smooth, well rounded aromatic coffee and often features a sweet hints of chocolate or caramel.
It grows best at high altitudes such as mountainous and volcanic areas requiring mild temperatures between 59-75 degrees with an annual rainfall of approximately 60 inches.
The plant is quite delicate being prone to disease and the yield is much lower than Robusta.
It grows on terrain that is steep and difficult to access hence they are costly to cultivate.
Arabica is regarded as much more superior quality and is used to produce speciality coffees.
Robusta Coffee Beans
Coffea canephora is known as Robusta coffee
30% of the world’s coffee production is from Robusta beans.
Robusta coffee is grown in Central and Western Africa, South East Asia, Indonesia and Brazil.
The Robusta bean produces a coffee that is hard, astringent and not very aromatic.
It is grown at lower altitudes and is able to tolerate warmer climates (preferring 75-85 degrees).
The plant is much hardier and disease resistant and yields much more than the Arabica plant making it cheaper to cultivate.
It is used mainly in blends and for instant coffees.
Robusta contains approximately three times as much caffeine content than Arabica.
My phone was hopping this morning with frenzied calls from friends and customers telling me to get the Irish Times and read the front page.
It was a very interesting article that coffee is not necessarily responsible for making you alert or giving you that caffeine kick we all enjoy. My callers were in total disagreement, in panic and frantically drinking their coffee to disprove the theory… Very amusing….
According to recent research in the academic journal Neuropsychopharmacology, the study suggests that there is no real boost in our alertness after a cup of coffee. Two groups from 379 people were selected and divided into non coffee drinkers/low level users and moderate to heavy coffee drinkers. They were given either placebo or caffeine. Low level users reported no boost in alertness. For heavy users, when deprived off caffeine or receiving placebo there was a decrease in alertness or headaches. So while they may have felt better when caffeine was reintroduced there was no additional benefit to alertness only a return to baseline.
I know for many of us all the senses are tied up in the cup of coffee – the aroma, the taste, the occasion so it is obviously still a very personal experience….
So what do you make of this research and what is the best part of your coffee moment?
We came across this cool song Caffeine and Gasoline by Elliot Randall and The Deadmen.
It has become a mission for us now to start our Friday morning with a search for some interesting music. If you know of any other coffee/caffeine related songs we would love to hear from you.
Although coffee has been in existence for thousands of years it’s only in the past half century that scientists have been able to identify and understand exactly what is contained in this mystical bean. An excellent article from the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal provides some inciteful information on the chemical composition of coffee and explains the many myths surrounding caffeine.
With over 1000 compounds in coffee, compared to a few hundred in chocolate or wine thanks to advancements in technology, we have a better understanding on the chemistry.
For many coffee drinking is simply a delivery of caffeine. But mother nature distributed caffeine throughout many other forms of plant life. Tea for example contains almost 3 times the concentration of caffeine than Arabica.
As humans we seek caffeine for both its stimulatory and psychological effects. For all other life forms, caffeine is a potent toxin capable of sterilisation and antifungal properties.
The caffeine content of the “Robusta” species is almost double that of the more delicate Arabica.
One common misconception in coffee is that darker roasted coffee contains a higher level of caffeine than lighter roasted coffee. The belief stems from the fact that as coffee is roasted darker, it also increases its bitterness and astringency – which many associate with caffeine, since it is bitter also.
