The cup of Arabica coffee you are drinking may come from a faraway place, or it may be the essence distilled from familiar lands in Vietnam. There are many interesting things behind the 4 popular Arabica coffee varieties in the world that are grown in a country with nearly 90% of Robusta coffee growing area waiting for you to discover.
How many types of Arabica coffee are grown in Vietnam?
Compared to other coffee varieties, Arabica is highly appreciated for its flavor and economic value, but it is a difficult plant to cultivate, has poor resistance, requires a lot of techniques and is a cold-loving plant (grows well at temperatures of about 18 - 24°C, altitude of about 1000 - 1500m above sea level).
Vietnam is not an ideal land for this coffee variety, however there are still 4 famous Arabica coffee varieties grown in Vietnam including: Bourbon, Typica, Mocha and Catimor.
Characteristics of Arabica varieties available in Vietnam
Typica
Typica is a name that has accompanied the history of coffee development, especially in the early stages. For coffee connoisseurs, Typica is the standard by which all coffee quality is measured, and more interestingly, people often debate the good and bad of coffees based on the taste of Typica.
Due to genetic characteristics, Typica coffee beans contain a lot of malic acid, giving them a sour taste like apples, combined with a sweet taste and a mild bitter taste - all creating a harmonious whole with an intoxicating and seductive aroma that only Typica has.
Compared to Bourbon, Typica fruit is longer and more eye-catching. The tree only grows at an altitude of 1500m or more and is difficult to grow because of its poor resistance to pests and diseases, requiring extremely favorable climate and soil conditions. Because of these characteristics, Typica's yield is very low, combined with quite complicated care and conservation techniques, this variety of tree is very rare and precious (especially purebred Typica), so the selling price of Typica coffee is often quite high.
Bourbon
Bourbon has a sweet, pleasant sour taste with a variety of aromas such as vanilla, caramel, apple, pear, oak, cedar, malt... That is why the flavor of Bourbon is considered sophisticated and different, and can lead in the coffee world.
Bourbon is a natural variation of Typica and is one of the world’s most culturally and genetically significant coffee varieties. The name Bourbon comes from the French island where French missionaries brought seeds from Yemen to plant. In 1875, the French first brought this coffee to Vietnam for cultivation.
Bourbon coffee berries are round, red, yellow and sometimes orange. The leaves are green or bronze, the small branches grow in a cone shape, inclined 60° to the main stem. Bourbon grows best at altitudes of 1000m - 2000m. Although the quality of the coffee is highly appreciated, this variety is very susceptible to pests and has poor resistance.
Mocha
Many beautiful words are used to describe the taste of a cup of coffee made from Mocha beans. In Vietnam, Mocha coffee trees are grown very little, mainly concentrated in Cau Dat area (Lam Dong). With a lot of rainfall, suitable altitude and especially red basalt soil, Mocha beans here have a sour taste of fruit, combined with a gentle bitterness, not too harsh, moderate fat taste to bring a masterpiece that any coffee lover must fall in love with.
Mocha or Moka is a dwarf mutation of Bourbon. It is named after a port in Yemen, which is known as the birthplace of Arabica coffee. Like its two brothers, Mocha is a difficult plant to grow, has low yields and only grows at altitudes of 1500m or higher.
The stems are light gray and are more fragile than other varieties due to their difficult care characteristics. As they begin to ripen, the Mocha fruit turns from light green to tomato red or deep red. Compared to other coffee beans, the Mocha bean is round and small, not long and flat.
Catimor
Catimor is the “youngest brother” in the Arabica family and is also the most vigorous coffee variety. Crossbred between Timor and Caturra coffee varieties (Timor is a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta coffee), Catimor possesses outstanding growth characteristics with good resistance to pests and diseases. Not only that, the flavor of Catimor is also perfectly balanced between the sour taste of Timor and the sweetness of Caturra, not too bitter like pure Robusta but rich enough to attract connoisseurs.
This coffee variety usually grows optimally at an altitude of 700 - 1000m, often giving high yields with delicious coffee quality. Therefore, Catimor is widely grown in Vietnam, some of the popular varieties include:
• Catimor T-8667: the tree trunk is quite short but produces very large fruits and seeds.
• Catimor T-5269: is a healthy coffee variety, adaptable and grows well at altitudes of 600 - 900m above sea level with rainfall of more than 3000mm per year.
• Catimor T-5175: is a coffee variety with very high productivity, but cannot adapt to growing conditions in places that are too low or too high.
A look at 3 famous Arabica growing areas in Vietnam
References:
https://centurycoffee.vn/
https://primecoffea.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
https://bonjourcoffee.vn/blog/ca-phe-catimor/
http://bourbonr.com/blog/how-to-taste-bourbon/
https://artcoffee.vn/ca-phe-catimor-thuoc-chi-arabica
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