📍 Robusta Coffee :
It’s one of two main species of coffee (the other being Arabica), offers a distinctive caffeinated experience that appeals to fans around the world. Known for its potency and robustness, this coffee variety continues to gain popularity thanks to its unique characteristics.

📍 Origins and Culture:
Robusta coffee, scientifically known as Coffea canephora, is native to Central Africa, primarily the Congo and Uganda regions. Grown in warmer climates and at lower altitudes than its counterpart, Arabica, Robusta thrives in harsher conditions, making it a suitable crop for various regions of the world, including Southeast Asia and in South America.

📍 Sensory Characteristics :
What sets Robusta coffee apart is its bold flavor and high caffeine content. Often described as having a stronger, fuller-bodied and slightly bitter taste compared to Arabica, Robusta offers earthy, chocolatey and sometimes woody notes. Its thicker texture and more persistent crema make it a popular choice for espresso coffee lovers, bringing an intensity that stands out in every sip.

📍 High Caffeine Content :
Robusta is known for its higher caffeine content than Arabica. This characteristic gives it a stimulating energy and makes it the ideal choice for those looking for an energy boost. The high caffeine content also contributes to its natural disease resistance, making it a hardier crop and easier to grow in less ideal conditions.

📍 Resistance to Growth Conditions :
Robusta is notable for its ability to thrive in less forgiving environments characterized by higher temperatures, erratic rainfall, and less rich soils. This natural resistance makes Robusta an attractive growing choice for growers looking for a variety more adaptable to climatic variations.

📍 Culinary Applications :
Aside from its popular use in espresso blends, Robusta coffee is also popular in the preparation of energy drinks, instant coffee blends, and even some varieties of drip coffee. Its versatility makes it a prized ingredient in the food and beverage industry, providing a unique intensity and depth of flavor.

📍 History :
Robusta coffee was discovered by European botanists in the 1900s in the Congo. The species was almost immediately introduced and cultivated in the Dutch colony of Java in Indonesia, due to its high yield potential in the face of growing global demand. Today, it represents more than 35% of global production, with large-scale operations mainly located in Central Africa and South Asia, particularly in Vietnam.

📍 The coffee tree plan :
To understand what robusta coffee is, let’s take a quick look at coffee trees. These shrubs of the Rubiaceae family originate mainly from tropical Africa. The first scientific descriptions of the Coffea genus date from the mid-17th century, although coffee consumption dates from prehistoric times and its trade from the 15th Century. Botanists have listed at least 25 large species in the Coffea genus, themselves available in a large number of varieties.

📍 Geography :
Coffee culture is mainly concentrated around Coffea arabica, which represents nearly 60% of world production, and Coffea canephora. Two other species, Coffea liberica and Coffea dewevrei, are cultivated, but on a very small scale. Robusta coffee beans are the fruits of the Coffea cenaphora plant which grows wild in a region from Uganda to Guinea.

📍 Robusta vs Arabica taste :
You should know that the caffeine present in coffee cherries serves to protect the plant from attacks by pests. Coffea cenaphora, growing at lower altitudes than Coffea arabica, is more subject to insect attacks, which explains why its caffeine level is twice as high. This characteristic impacts the aroma of robusta, which is known to be full-bodied, bitter and not very nuanced compared to the diversity of aromatic notes of all Arabica varieties. The exceptional taste palette of Arabica is mainly explained by its 44 chromosomes, a number twice as large as Robusta which has only 22 pairs.