Arabica vs. Robusta

Taste?

The taste of arabica beans differ between varieties and growing regions--the same variety grown in different parts of the world will taste different. These taste notes can be as varied as berries (blueberry is often particularly noted in Ethiopian Harrar), earthy (a characteristic associated with Indian and Indonesian coffees,) citrus (common with Central Americans), or chocolate.

On average, a robusta will be harsher. One importer likened a particularly bad origin to dung, though very fine robustas can, potentially, compare favorably to a quality arabica. Premium robustas are essentially reserved for espresso blends, where they are primarly used to greatly improve the crema and to add a certain bite to the shot. The difficulty is in finding an exceptional robusta; growers and processors are often not willing to dedicate as much effort to robusta as they are to arabica, since the only potential market is for those blends. Robustas are rarely sold straight; instead, in addition to premium robustas used in espresso blends, poor quality robustas may be added to freeze-dried coffees or to coffee-flavored frozen drinks where the sugar and cream overwhelm the off-notes. Robusta has notably more caffeine than arabica.