Variety pack
This page is under construction. If you’ve ended up here… well good for you!
Too many varietals, SCA can’t keep up
Material and expectations comes from experience?
This page will be periodically updated
Further reading
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Table of contents
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Batian
Bourbon
Gesha
Mundo Nuvo
Ruiru
SL28
SL34
Typica
Wush wush
74158
Abyssinia
Description: Lots of historical context here, it’s somewhat unclear and contextual in usage. It probably refers to typica from Indonesia
Where it’s often found: Indonesia
Rarity: Uncommon
Common process associations: — natural, washed, wet-hulled
Robert’s opinion: The one data point I have is actually from Coffea Diversa in Costa Rica with a wine process, so not too useful to isolate varietal characteristics.
Alma lupao
Description: Recently discovered hybrid by Robert Brenes in Panama.
Where it’s often found: Finca Auromar, Panama
Rarity: Limited to Finca Auromar in Panama
Common process associations: — natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: Sample size of two, it was not more exciting or unique compared to something like a Panama catuai.
Anacafe-14
Description: Catimor - pacamara hybrid from Guatemala
Where it’s often found: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico
Rarity: Common, but not on the label
Common process associations: — natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: Not very exciting, you won’t see it much on specialty bag labels.
Aramosa
Description: Cross between arabica and racemosa. Naturally low caffeine varietal, often bundled with laurina. Developed by Datera in Brazil ****
Where it’s often found: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua
Rarity: Uncommon
Common process associations: — natural
Robert’s opinion: None in particular, hard to detangle from the laurina it gets paired with.
Arara
Description: Hybrid of obata and yellow catuai
Where it’s often found: Brazil, Colombia
Rarity: Uncommon in specialty
Common process associations: —natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: None in particular
Arusha
Description: Bourbon - typica cross that is supposedly identical to K7, a Kenya SL
Where it’s often found: Papua New Guinea, Tanzania
Rarity: Very rare
Common process associations: —natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: None in particular, too new. Couple samples were not particularly unique in expression.
Aruzi
Description: A recently discovered varietal in Colombia, its lineage is still unclear
Where it’s often found: Colombia
Rarity: Very rare
Common process associations: —natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: None in particular, too new. Couple samples were not particularly unique in expression.
Batian
Description: Common in Kenya. Bourbon cultivars such as SL28 and SL34 are grafted onto these trees thanks to their resistance to the coffee berry fungal disease.
Where it’s often found: Bolivia, Kenya
Rarity: Common
Common process associations: —Washed
Robert’s opinion: Sometimes it gets a bad reputation for being the bad part of a Kenya blend. I’ve had a really nice isolation from Bolivia, so as is often the case, it depends.
Bourbon
Description: One of the major ancestors alongside typica. Because it’s so high up the lineage, it’s forgettable that a lot of other varietals descend from this.
Where it’s often found: Everywhere
Rarity: Extremely common
Common process associations: any/everything
Robert’s opinion: Too broad since the regionality and processing is so varied across the growing world.
Related cultivars:
Orange bourbon: Rarer among the colored bourbons, found in El Salvador, Colombia. I don’t have unique expectations, but I’ve had a higher hit rate of enjoyable ones from the smaller sample size.
Pink bourbon: This is not even a bourbon, it’s an Ethiopian heirloom. It ‘s quite different and deserves its own section here.
Red bourbon: Common from Burundi, El Salvador, Rwanda; in traditional natural/washed processes. Plenty of fruitiness like berry, stone fruit, and red fruits, less so on the bright, citric acidity.
Yellow bourbon: Less common, found most often in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador. I don’t find meaningful expectations to set from this sub-varietal.
Bourbon aji
Description: Despite bourbon in the name, it may be misattributed; testing suggests it is an Ethiopian landrace. The aji part, referring to chili pepper, comes from the aroma association. Gained some traction as a trendy new varietal in 2024.
Where it’s often found: Colombia
Rarity: Rare
Common process associations: —natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: The spice part may scare some off, but I don’t find that quality notable. It’s a zestier that reminds me closest to a pink bourbon.
Bourbon pointu
Refer to Laurina
B7
Description: Specific to Hacienda La Papaya, it refers to their 7th plot at 2100masl. It is a mix of catuai, caturra, pacas, san salvador, and typica.
Where it’s often found: Ecuador, Hacienda La Papaya
Rarity: Rare, specific to one farm
Common process associations: —anaerobic natural
Robert’s opinion: Plenty fruity, it’s a clever collection of varietals that maintains Hacienda La Papaya’s standards.
Castillo
Description: A descendant of caturra prescribed by Colombia’s federal agricultural research institute to fight leaf rust epidemics. The back and forth of genetic selection vs. evolving fungi resulted in numerous, untracked sub-variants. Often used for experiments for new processes, e.g. coferments, yeast inoculations.
Where it’s often found: Colombia
Rarity: Extremely common
Common process associations: everything
Robert’s opinion: It’s a cheap varietal. If the price is high, it’s hopefully coming from R&D in experimental processing. On its own, it’s not very tasty among common specialty varietals; expect earthy herbality with slight fruit flavors in the back.
Catimor
Description: Cross between caturra and timor. Popular due to leaf-rust resistance and high yield. There are numerous sub-cultivars of this, such as the P4 variant that Nestle originated and spread.
Where it’s often found: everywhere
Rarity: Extremely common
Common process associations: everything
Robert’s opinion: Like castillo, it’s grown for yield, not really tasty on its own. It’s a common candidate for exciting processing such as the P4
Catiope
Description: Caturra x Etiope (Ethiopian landraces).
Where it’s often found: Colombia
Rarity: Uncommon
Common process associations: various, usually funky
Robert’s opinion: I’ve mostly encountered these with modern processing (e.g. acetic natural) or co-fermentation. I think it’s a good candidate for funky flavors, but don’t have an opinion on it alone.
Catisic
Description: Cross between caturra and timor developed in El Salvador
Where it’s often found: El Salvador, Guatemala
Rarity: Common, often not specialty grade
Common process associations: natural, washed.
Robert’s opinion: My one data point was well-regarded, but I haven’t seen it on a single bag label since; I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
Catuai
Description: Cross between mundo nuvo (typica x bourbon cross from Brazil) and caturra. Good for high yields. If you see a suspiciously cheap coffee from an expensive Panama farm, it’s perhaps one of these.
Where it’s often found: Central and South America, Indonesia
Rarity: Extremely common
Common process associations: natural, washed. Also used for modern processing experimentation
Robert’s opinion: Personally not a fan. Often nutty and chocolate-ey.
Catucai
Description: Cross between catuai and icatu. Good for high yields.
Where it’s often found: Central and South America
Rarity: Common
Common process associations: washed
Robert’s opinion: Personally not a fan. Often nutty and chocolate-ey.
Caturra
Description: Bourbon mutation from Brazil, beans tend to be small.
Where it’s often found: Central and South America
Rarity: Extremely common
Common process associations: —most often washed, but expect any process pairing
Robert’s opinion: Really big range. Done well, it can be plenty expressive of farming and processing technique. As a default, I would not get my expectations very high.
Caturron
Description: ”Discovered” recently in Huila, Colombia. There’s speculation on its origins but we don’t have detail from genetic sequencing. Leaf rust resistant and high yielding.
Where it’s often found: Huila, Colombia
Rarity: Rare
Common process associations: too little out there to say
Robert’s opinion: The several I’ve had have been naturals carrying that red winey note to an intense extent, for better or worse.
CGLE
Description: Hybrid of caturra and gesha from CGLE, named eponymously.
Where it’s often found: Cafe Granja La Esperanza, Colombia
Rarity: Rare, limited to one farm
Common process associations: Varied, but limited to what CGLE normally processes. Washed, natural, hybrid washed, XO
Robert’s opinion: The first year I had these, I didn’t know about the crossed genetic origing. I thought it was a simply tasty varietal from a farm I enjoy very much. Not much to say here, let the CGLE farm reputation and process decide whether you might like this.
Chico gallo
Description: A cross between gesha and ethiopian landrace from Amaro Hallo. Brought together in Panama, named after “Don Chico”, Ratibor Hartmann Sr.
Where it’s often found: Hartmann farms, Panama
Rarity: extremely rare
Common process associations: honey, natural
Robert’s opinion: It’s plenty fruity, I consider it basically a gesha considering the rest of its details and the limited area where it’s grown.
Chiroso
Notable characteristics: Initially referred to as caturra chiroso based on visuals, but tests suggest it is not related to caturra or typica/bourbon, but perhaps an Ethiopian landrace. It’s been the specialty scene since around 2014, but has caught hype several time. Initially for its CoE win, later among enthusiasts for its intense characteristics without the rareified price tag, and recently catching traction again in the competition scene, especially in Asia.
Where it’s found: Colombia
Rarity: Medium
Common process associations: —Washed. Natural and honey exist, but are less common.
Robert’s opinion: Inensely sweet, long linger. Complex fruits - kiwi, tangerine, pear, aprium, with some florality and slight herbals in the back, but nowhere as much as sidra.
Cioccies
Description: A rare Ethiopian landrace transplanted to Coffea Diversa in Costa Rica
Where it’s often found: Coffea Diversa in Costa Rica
Rarity: Coffea Diversa in Costa Rica
Common process associations: Honey
Robert’s opinion: Intense flavor profile, comparable to expectations of a Costa Rican natural.
Colombia
Description: Named after the country it was grown for, it is a cross between caturra and timor; hence the catimor for Colombia. Labels will be unclear, but it’s practically one and the same relative to country of production.
Where it’s often found: Colombia
Rarity: Common
Common process associations: Washed
Robert’s opinion: It’s a catimor from Colombia. Get it for the processing, not the varietal itself.
Colombia, a.k.a. Variedad Colombia
Description: Named after the country it was grown for, it is a cross between caturra and timor; hence the catimor for Colombia. Labels will be unclear, but it’s practically one and the same relative to country of production.
Where it’s often found: Colombia
Rarity: Common
Common process associations: Washed
Robert’s opinion: It’s a catimor from Colombia. Get it for the processing, not the varietal itself.
Dega
Description: An Ethiopian landrace meaning “cool highland”, the environment in which it thrives. Often grown alongside kurume and wolisho.
Where it’s often found: Ethiopia
Rarity: Extremely common, but almost always mixed with other Ethiopian varietals like Wolisho
Common process associations: natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: Because this is usually mixed together with other landraces, it’s difficult to discuss this in isolation. But you’ve probably had quite a bit already among Ethiopian offerings.
Dilla alghe
Description: An Ethiopian landrace transplanted to Costa Rica
Where it’s often found: Costa Rica, Guatemala
Rarity: Uncommon
Common process associations: natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: I’ve only had this wine-processed, which overrode the varietal characteristics; no useful input.
Ja’adi
Description: A coffee tree variety native to Yemen without much more available information or active efforts for documentation.
Where it’s often found: Yemen
Rarity: Rare
Common process associations: natural, anaerobic natural
Robert’s opinion: Expect typical natural flavors such as red wine, deep plum notes, and some chocolate.
Garnica
Description: Mundo nuvo - caturra hybrid.
Where it’s often found: Mexico, Phillipines
Rarity: Uncommon in specialty
Common process associations: natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: Pretty bad! I’d stay away. Plenty of earty, woody, tobacco-like qualites.
Gesha
Description: The hype varietal. Unrelated to traditional Japanese female performing artists. Originally discovered in the 1930s in the Gori Forest in Ethiopia, possibly in the Gesha region, mislabeled “geisha” due to phoneticization of an Arabic language. It was “rediscovered” in 2004 at the Jaramillo plot of Hacienda Esmeralda through way of international coffee exchanges established by Costa Rica. While not easy to grow, demand has forced many farms globally to try to grow it, whether suitable or not.
Where it’s often found: Most countries now. Most commonly Colombia, Ethiopia, Panama. Even China and Hawaii grow it now.
Rarity: Now common due to hype. There are specific rare sub-cultivars such as green or yellow-tip gesha.
Common process associations: everything
Robert’s opinion: This is an example where our expectations get assumptive and are too high because of one tagline spec. I’ve had plenty of bad gesha not just because the roast was bad, but because the source material was poor quality. I also enjoy over a hundreds of geshas a year - the inherent price of the material and the price, like A5 wagyu, might make the roaster might try harder in QC to ensure the final product and sale price are justified.
Related cultivars:
Gesha peaberry: A monocot of gesha, resulting in a rounder, smaller bean.
Gesha queen: From El Vergel estate in Colombia
Gesha 1931: The “original” gesha found in 1931 in the Gori Forest in Ethiopia, a designation from to the Gesha Village farm.
Green-tip gesha: Refers to the leaf color. Found in Panama, such as at Janson farms. The naming is priming, with lime, sencha, green-plum-ness adding to the effect.
Gibirinna
Refer to 74110
Guadaloupe
Refer to laurina
H1 Centroamericano
Description: A cross between sarchimor and sudan rume, great for harvest yields.
Where it’s often found: As the name suggests, Central America
Rarity: Very common
Common process associations: washed
Robert’s opinion: Not good for specialty standards of fruity or floral acidity. It’ll be earthy, nutty, better suited for chocolatier medium to dark roasts.
H10 Milenio
Description: A cross between sarchimor and sudan rume, great for harvest yields.
Where it’s often found: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico
Rarity: Common
Common process associations: honey, washed
Robert’s opinion: Not too special, a typical Central American cheap, washed offering. Some malic acidity that tends towards a chocolatey finish, perhaps better for medium roasts; personally not what I enjoy.
Ibairi
Description: Small bean hybrid of red bourbon and mokka from Brazil.
Where it’s often found: Brazil
Rarity: Uncommon in specialty
Common process associations: natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: None
IH90, a.k.a. IHCAFE90
Description: A catimor descendant that’s grown for disease resistance and yield. Often not specialty quality so might be missed on the label.
Where it’s often found: Mostly Honduras, also El Salvador and Guatemala
Rarity: Very common
Common process associations: washed
Robert’s opinion: Typical Honduras flavor profile. Not very exciting with traditional washed Central American qualities.
Java
Description: Descended from the Ethiopian Abyssinia, it was brought to Costa Rica from Cameroon through international coffee exchanges and popularized in Nicaragua. It was incorrectly identified as a typica descendant.
*note - my info on this is shaky due to conflicting and updated knowledge and the common-ness of the term
Where it’s often found: Costa Rica, Indonesia, Nicaragua
Rarity: Common
Common process associations: too little out there to say
Robert’s opinion: Lots of good, lots of bad here. Experimental processes went well and gave something different to a gesha or caturra, but traditional washed offerings had a higher fail rate.
Kartika
Description: Combination of “Kopi Arabika Tipe Katai”, or “Coffee Arabica Type Catuai” from the Indonesian reading. Beans are small.
Where it’s often found: India, Indonesia, Thailand
Rarity: Very common
Common process associations: anaerobic natural, culturing, natural
Robert’s opinion: This one is not going to be pleasant with traditional processing methods. It gets used for some of the wilder processing methods in southeast Asia, where it’s a bit more exciting at the loss of its varietal characteristics.
Kona
Description: Not a varietal, but a growing region. Traditionally it’s a washed typica.
Where it’s often found: Hawaii in the self-named Kona region
Rarity: Very common
Common process associations: washed
Robert’s opinion: I’ve roasted SL28 on my own that meets expectations, and while plenty acidic and fruity, is frankly indiscernible from any old typica/bourbon. Given the absurd pricing, general lack of spec-sheet info (e.g. harvest season, process, altitude), I see no reason to go after this as a specialty coffee enthusiast.
Kopi luwak
Description: Not a varietal, but the cat poop process. It’s probably a typica if it’s fundamentally arabica.
Where it’s often found: Indonesia
Rarity: Common in title, but rare to get a legitimate one
Common process associations: Luwak is the process itself.
Robert’s opinion: I get fed this every once in a while from what I’m led to believe are credible sources. It has flavor. It’s not great flavor and I don’t know why expectations of goodness are set. Let’s not celebrate as part of specialty coffee, watch this for why.
Kurume, a.k.a. Kerume
Description: 74110 or 74112
Where it’s often found: Chelbesa, Ethiopia
Rarity: Very common
Common process associations: natural, washed
Robert’s opinion:
Laurina
Description: A naturally low caffeine varietal that’s gaining popularity for still offering plenty of flavors without the “decaf taste”.
Where it’s often found: Brazil, Colombia, Central America. Surprisingly, it was originally discovered in the Réunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean.
Rarity: Medium
Common process associations: natural, funky processes
Robert’s opinion: It has plenty of expressive notes found in other naturals, but I also find a herbality I’m not too fond of. Roasted poorly, some alcoholic red wine notes can be present, but I’d still rather have that than the decaf taste.
Liberica
Description: Not a varietal, but a species like arabica and robusta. Native around Uganda, it was popularized in southeast Asia as a low-elevation-friendly alternative to the diseases and concerns of growing arabica as global warming forces re-evaluation of regional farming options. It has ~25% less caffeine than arabica and the beans are quite large, but lack of scale means it remains expensive and uncommon.
Where it’s often found: Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines
Rarity: Uncommon unless in a producing country
Common process associations: washed
Robert’s opinion: At best, there are synthetic sweetener notes like stevia with some jackfruit-like tropical notes. At worst, it tastes like asphalt and office supplies like sharpies, or whiteboard markers. Perhaps specialty roasters have not found the ideal roast approach unique to liberica from the arabica they’re used to.
Longberry
Description: Not directly a varietal, but a sorted seed classification among Ethiopian landraces
Where it’s often found: Ethiopia, Harar region
Rarity: Common, but uncommon on the label
Common process associations: Natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: None
L1 Lugmapata
Description: As the fresh legend goes, Enrique Merino thought he was planting gesha, but ended up with some miscellaneous other seeds, among which there was this fateful discovery, reaching 6th on its debut 2023 Cup of Excellence. Not yet genetically processed, it is limited to the Lugmapata farm.
Where it’s often found: Finca Lugmapata, Ecuador
Rarity: Very rare, limited to one farm
Common process associations: washed, anaerobic washed
Robert’s opinion: I’ve gotten to taste two lots so far, which might be a fair chunk of how much has been produced so far. While not similar to eachother, they’ve both been strongly expressive and I’d look forward to my third offering.
Mandela
Description: As the fresh legend goes, Enrique Merino thought he was planting gesha, but ended up with some miscellaneous other seeds, among which there was this fateful discovery, reaching 6th on its debut 2023 Cup of Excellence. Not yet genetically processed, it is limited to the Lugmapata farm.
Where it’s often found: Finca Lugmapata, Ecuador
Rarity: Very rare, limited to one farm
Common process associations: washed, anaerobic washed
Robert’s opinion: I’ve gotten to taste two lots so far, which might be a fair chunk of how much has been produced so far. While not similar to eachother, they’ve both been strongly expressive and I’d look forward to my third offering.
Maracaturra
Description: Hybrid of maragogype and caturra discovered in Brazil
Where it’s found: Brazil, El Salvador, Nicaragua
Rarity: Medium
Common process associations: —Natural, anaerobic. I have not yet seen a washed version.
Robert’s opinion: Can have a wide range of fruity notes, but underlined with a slightly tannic earthiness. Poor roasts will have root-vegetable qualities like burdock.
Maragesha
Description: Cross between maragogype and gesha.
Where it’s often found: Colombia
Rarity: Rare
Common process associations: natural, funky processes
Robert’s opinion: Too small a sample size to have a strong opinion, but the gesha part set up unfulfilled expectations.
Maragogipe, a.k.a. Maragogype
Description: Called elefante beans due to their size. Named after a place by the same name in Brazil, though not often grown there anymore.
Where it’s found: Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua
Rarity: Medium
Common process associations: —Natural
Robert’s opinion: At best, strawberry or raspberry jam, tart cherry, red wine. Can get savory and nutty when the roaster isn’t familiar with working with those huge, not dense beans.
Marsellesa
Description: Cross between caturra and sarchimor
Where it’s often found: Central, South America
Rarity: Common
Common process associations: natural, washed, often not specialty grade
Robert’s opinion: Regular for Central America, in the good and bad way. It can be expressive, but unlikely to astound you.
Marshell
Description: A recently discovered cultivar in Peru between bourbon and Ethiopian heirlooms.
Where it’s often found: Peru
Rarity: Rare
Common process associations: natural
Robert’s opinion: I’ve had more of these than I thought, not realizing its recency or that it’s a Peru exclusive. I enjoy them - red fruit like strawberries, tropical fruits like mango, guava.
Milenio
Refer to H10 Milenio
Mundo nuvo
Description: Cross between red bourbon and typica from Brazil, good at yield at low altitudes.
Where it’s often found: Brazil, Mexico, Peru
Rarity: Very common
Common process associations: natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: Not very exciting, it’s often not specialty grade.
Obata
Description: Cross between villasarchi and timor. Good for leaf rust resistance and yield.
Where it’s often found: Brazil, Costa Rica
Rarity: Common
Common process associations: natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: Pretty boring, you won’t often see it on specialty labels.
Ombligon
Description: Meaning “bellybutton” in Spanish, it gained popularity from use in competition. Though only grown in Colombia, it may have Ethiopian lineage. Or it might be a bourbon/caturra/castillo/pacamara cross. They’re not sure.
Where it’s found: Colombia, notably El Diviso
Rarity: Rare
Common process associations: — washed exists, but often seen as funkier anaerobic/natural processes
Robert’s opinion: Intense, red and tropical fruit notes. Tastes like the peak of what anaerobic natural is trying to be, which may or may not be to your preference.
Orange bourbon
Refer to bourbon
Pacas
Description: A mutation of bourbon from El Salvador named after Fernando Alberto Pacas Figueroa
Where it’s found: El Salvador, Honduras
Rarity: Common
Common process associations: —Washed, natural. It does not seem to be experimented with modern processes too often.
Robert’s opinion: Has a wide spectrum of expectations, often towards slight red fruit/wine notes as a natural. It can be a curveball to roast for amateurs depending on how their curriculum taught them to apply heat based on bean size or by density.
Pache
Description: A mutation of typica from Guatemala, known for high yields ad medium altitudes.
Where it’s found: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
Rarity: Common, often not specialty
Common process associations: —Washed, natural.
Robert’s opinion: Pretty boring, often not specialty grade. At best from a high quality washed offering, expect delicate, Central American expressions like lemon, nuts, and slight florals.
Pacamara
Description: A hybrid between pacas and paragogype. Big beans, low density.
Where it’s found: Most Central and South American countries. Especially Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras
Rarity: Common
Common process associations: —Washed, natural. It does not seem to be experimented with modern processes too often.
Robert’s opinion: Has a wide spectrum of expectations, often towards slight red fruit/wine notes as a natural. It can be a curveball to roast for amateurs depending on how their curriculum taught them to apply heat based on bean size or by density.
Related cultivars:
Red pacamara: Seen in Central America, nothing notable compared to regular pacamara.
Yellow pacamara: Seen in Colombia and Nicaragua, nothing notable compared to regular pacamara.
Parainema
Description: A sarchimor hybrid developed by IHCAFE in Honduras for disease resistance.
Where it’s found: El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua
Rarity: Common, often not specialty
Common process associations: — honey, natural, washed
Robert’s opinion: Often not great as lighter roast. Expect earthiness, chocolate, herbality like eucalytus and black licorice. From there, there can be some red fruit, tropical fruits, and dried fruit sweetness.
Paraiso
Description: Catuai - timor hybrid from Brazil
Where it’s found: Brazil, Central America
Rarity: Common, often not specialty
Common process associations: —Washed, natural.
Robert’s opinion: Pretty boring, often not specialty grade. Don’t confuse it with Finca Paraiso in Colombia, this is not at all similar.
Purpuracea
Description: Purple-leaf tree that may refer to the noted maracaturra mutation by Finca El Socoorro presented in Cup of Excellence Guatemala. Low in production and yield, it often doesn’t make specialty grade.
Where it’s found: Guatemala
Rarity: Rare
Common process associations: —Washed, natural
Robert’s opinion: None
Red bourbon
Refer to bourbon
Red catuai
Refer to catuai
Rubi
Description: Hybrid between catuai and mundo nuvo in Brazil
Where it’s found: Brazil
Rarity: No longer commonly grown
Common process associations: —Washed, natural
Robert’s opinion: None
San roque
Description: This can refer to two different things - a robusta from the Phillipines or an SL28 from Costa Rica and other parts of Central America
Where it’s found: Costa Rica, Phillipines
Rarity: Uncommon for specialty grade.
Common process associations: —Washed, natural
Robert’s opinion: Sample size of 1 for the SL28 derivative, it behaved like a typical Central American natural.
Sarchimor
Description: Cross between Viiasarchi and timor, hence robusta heritage.
Where it’s found: Costa Rica, Guatemala
Rarity: Uncommon at specialty grade. Often blended with other varietals.
Common process associations: —Washed, natural
Robert’s opinion: Nutty, citrus, chocolate; nut particularly exciting beyond being a normal Central American varietal.
Semperflorens
Description: Genetic mutation of bouron from Brazil suited to yield as well as disease and lower altitude there.
Where it’s found: Brazil
Rarity: Uncommon for specialty grade.
Common process associations: —Washed, natural
Robert’s opinion: None
Serto 74112
Refer to Ethiopian landraces
Sidra, a.k.a. Sydra, Bourbon Sidra
Description: Hyped varietal from competition around 2020, claimed to be the next gesha. Hybrid of bourbon and typical, supposedly discovered in Ecuador at an old Nestle facility cultivating Ethiopian heirlooms. From there, it was grown and made popular by La Palma Y El Tucan in Colombia.
Where it’s found: Colombia, Ecuador
Rarity: Common among specialty offerings
Common process associations: —Washed, natural, sometimes funkier and experimental processes
Robert’s opinion: Strong flavor intensity, leaning towards herbal, mint, savory, botanical qualities. Among them are prized qualities like grapefruit, blood orange, stone fruits, tropical fruits, and florals; but whether you like it or not really comes down to your tolerance of the whole package. At worst, the savory can come off as fishiness, the botanicals can be interpreted as eucalyptus like a Ricola cough drop. As a result, it’s fairly polarizing, but it’s always going to pack a punch.
Sidra, a.k.a. Sydra, Bourbon Sidra
Description: Hyped varietal from competition around 2020, claimed to be the next gesha. Hybrid of bourbon and typical, supposedly discovered in Ecuador at an old Nestle facility cultivating Ethiopian heirlooms. From there, it was grown and made popular by La Palma Y El Tucan in Colombia.
Where it’s found: Colombia, Ecuador
Rarity: Common among specialty offerings
Common process associations: —Washed, natural, sometimes funkier and experimental processes
Robert’s opinion: Strong flavor intensity, leaning towards herbal, mint, savory, botanical qualities. Among them are prized qualities like grapefruit, blood orange, stone fruits, tropical fruits, and florals; but whether you like it or not really comes down to your tolerance of the whole package. At worst, the savory can come off as fishiness, the botanicals can be interpreted as eucalyptus like a Ricola cough drop. As a result, it’s fairly polarizing, but it’s always going to pack a punch.