Arabica Coffee Varieties

This catalog—accessible via the web and a customizable PDF generator—gathers in one place for the first time essential information on 55 arabica varieties and 47 robusta varieties from around the world.

Infor­ma­tion is pow­er. There are dozens of wide­ly cul­ti­vat­ed Ara­bi­ca and Robus­ta cof­fee vari­eties around the world, and each is unique in its performance and adap­ta­tion to local con­di­tions. This cat­a­log brings urgent­ly need­ed infor­ma­tion to cof­fee farm­ers to help them decide which cof­fee is best for their sit­u­a­tion. Agro­nom­ic data — expect­ed yield, nutri­tion require­ments, opti­mal alti­tude, dis­ease and pest resis­tance, etc .— about the wide­spread array of exist­ing cul­ti­vat­ed Ara­bi­ca and Robus­ta cof­fee vari­eties has nev­er been avail­able in an open-access for­mat before.

Because the life of a cof­fee tree is 20 – 30 years, the deci­sion pro­duc­ers make about which vari­ety to plant will have con­se­quences until the next generation. If a farmer makes a poor deci­sion on vari­ety, the cumu­la­tive loss can be huge. Most cof­fee farm­ers — who earn their liveli­hoods based on the deci­sions they make about what kind of cof­fee to plant — don’t typ­i­cal­ly have access to trans­par­ent infor­ma­tion about avail­able vari­eties and how they dif­fer. The lack of a com­pre­hen­sive, up-to-date cof­fee cat­a­log puts farm­ers at risk and per­pet­u­ates chron­i­cal­ly low yields around the globe.

The pur­pose of the cat­a­log is to low­er the risk asso­ci­at­ed with cof­fee farm­ing by pro­vid­ing direct infor­ma­tion to farm­ers and oth­er farm ren­o­va­tion or plant­i­ng deci­sion-mak­ers to enable them to make an informed choice about what vari­ety is best for their cir­cum­stances. Choos­ing the right type of cof­fee low­ers the risk of dis­ease and pest loss­es, has con­se­quences for qual­i­ty in the cup, and will be crit­i­cal for cof­fee pro­duc­ers fac­ing rapid­ly chang­ing cli­mates. Choos­ing the cor­rect vari­ety — one that meets the farmer’s goals and needs — can sig­nif­i­cant­ly reduce loss­es due to diseases/​pests, increase pro­duc­tion vol­ume, and/​or increase quality.

Through­out the cof­fee-pro­duc­ing world, there is a wide­spread need for replant­i­ng with young trees, trees resis­tant to major dis­eases and pests (includ­ing cof­fee berry dis­ease, cof­fee leaf rust, antes­tia bug and stem bor­er), and with improved vari­eties capa­ble of meet­ing the chal­lenges of the cli­mate crisis.

What people are saying

“World Coffee Research has knocked it out of the park with this one. Although aimed at farmers to help them make the best choice for planting, it’s a rich, detailed, free, and absolutely gorgeous resource for all.” — Matt Perger, Barista Hustle

“The result is a visually coherent and remarkably easy-to-use resource, the likes of which have not existed prior to now.” — Daily Coffee News

“It's like Alice down the Rabbit Hole.” — Taylor Street Baristas