You’ve probably seen Bourbon, Caturra or Heirloom on a coffee tasting card and politely nodded along. But a coffee's varietal has a bit of sway in what you can expect in your cup.
Much like a grape varietal can influence the flavour of a wine, a coffee's varietal (its genetic code, if you will) gives us an idea of what a coffee might be capable of. Things like flavour, acidity, sweetness, and body, as well as how hardy the plant is and how prolific it grows.
Variety doesn't determine flavour on its own, though. Think of it as the starting point. The environment where the plant grows, its altitude, soil, climate, farming practices, processing method and finally how it's roasted all interact with its genetics to shape what ends up in your cup.
Here are a few you’re likely to come across at Coffee Supreme.
Gesha
Also known as Geisha, Gesha is one of the most celebrated varietals in specialty coffee. Originally from Ethiopia, it shot to fame through award-winning coffees grown in Panama.
It’s known for its floral, tea-like, and tropical-fruit character, with flavours often described as jasmine, bergamot, peach, and citrus. Gesha plants can produce relatively low yields, and the best lots are often grown and produced in small quantities. All of which helps explain why the good stuff can command some serious prices.
Bourbon
One of the foundational Arabica varietals, Bourbon takes its name from the island of Réunion, once known as Île Bourbon. Today, it’s grown throughout Central and South America and parts of East Africa.
It’s prized for its sweetness, balance, acidity and complexity, with flavours ranging from red fruit and citrus through to caramel and chocolate. It’s not particularly rare, but exceptional Bourbon coffees — that are grown and picked with care — can be pretty special.
Mundo Novo
A natural cross between Bourbon and Typica, two of coffee’s older Arabica varieties. Mundo Novo is known for being hardy, productive and generally pretty good at getting the job done, handy when you're growing coffee for a living.
It’s commonly found in Brazil and across South America, with plenty of sweetness, balance, and body, often leaning towards chocolate, caramel and nutty flavours. It’s not rare, but its real claim to fame is its consistent quality, and it has a starring role in coffee breeding.
Caturra
Often grown in Colombia and Central America, Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon. Its plants are smaller and more compact, allowing farmers to plant them more densely.
In the cup, Caturra can be sweet, clean and balanced, with flavours ranging from citrus and red fruit to caramel and chocolate. It’s widely grown, but in the right conditions and with plenty of care, it can produce exceptional coffee.
Pink Bourbon
Pink Bourbon gets its name from the pink or salmon colour of its ripe cherries, mostly found in Colombia, notably Huila and Cauca. Its exact genetic history is still being explored. Despite the name, genetic research suggests it may have stronger links to Ethiopian coffee populations than to Bourbon itself.
Whatever the family tree looks like, high-quality Pink Bourbon is known for floral aromas, tropical fruit, citrus, stone fruit and bright acidity. It’s relatively scarce, often produced in small lots and highly sought after in specialty coffee.
Heirloom
“Heirloom” is a little different from the other varietals here. It isn't one specific variety, but a broad term often used for Ethiopia's huge collection of indigenous coffee variants.
That genetic diversity is a big part of what makes Ethiopian coffee so interesting. These coffees can be floral, tea-like, fruity and complex, with flavours ranging from berries and stone fruit to citrus and jasmine. Delicate, distinctive and often a bit special.
SL28
One of Kenya's most famous coffee varieties. SL28 was selected in the 1930s and prized for its quality potential.
It's known for bright acidity and juicy fruit character, often bringing flavours of blackcurrant, berries and citrus to the cup. It can be challenging to grow and generally produces lower yields, which can contribute to its premium price when quality is high.
SL34
Another Kenyan classic, SL34 was selected around the same time as SL28 and is particularly suited to Kenya's high-altitude growing regions.
It's known for bright acidity, fruit character and sweetness, and is often grown alongside SL28. Together, SL28 and SL34 have played a huge role in the character of Kenyan specialty coffee.
Batian
Relatively new to the scene, Batian was released in Kenya in 2010. It was developed to combine good cup quality with resistance to major coffee diseases and higher productivity.
For us, it can mean sweet, clean and balanced coffees that still have plenty going on in the cup.
So, does varietal determine flavour?
Not quite. Think of a coffee’s varietal as one part of the recipe. Where it’s grown, the climate, how it’s farmed and processed, and how we roast it all play a part in what eventually lands in your cup.
That’s part of what makes single origin coffee so interesting. Two coffees can share the same varietal and still taste completely different, because there’s a lot more to the story.
Shop coffee
