Arabica vs. Robusta Coffee: What Are the Differences

When you take that first sip of morning coffee, it’s likely there’s little on your mind beyond getting a jolt of caffeine to jumpstart the day. But there’s a lot to learn about what’s brewing inside your cup. 

While there are nearly 120 different varieties of coffee plants, arabica and robusta are the only two that can be harvested for their beans. These two varieties couldn’t be more different, from the regions where each bean thrives, to the resulting flavor profile and caffeine content contained in each.

Arabica used to dominate the global market and make up more than 80% of the coffee consumed around the world. But, robusta is narrowing the margin as more coffee professionals educate consumers about the beans, and roasters offer single-variety bags of robusta coffee. As robusta and arabica gain equal footing, here’s everything you need to know about what differentiates the two primary types of coffee beans.

What is arabica coffee?

Arabica is a delicate bean that comes from the plant coffea arabica and is prized for complex flavor profiles. 

According to Thu Pham, co-owner of Caphe Roasters, a Philadelphia-based roaster offering both arabica and robusta coffee from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, arabica is not easily defined thanks to its wide variety of tasting notes. While some arabica beans can contain chocolate notes and others lean citrusy, Pham says arabica tends to be more acidic with a sweeter, fruitier flavor profile than robusta coffee.

For years, arabica coffee was the gold standard for specialty coffee roasters, so you’ve likely seen brands advertising “100% arabica” on coffee labels and store signs. All that marketing has made arabica slightly more popular than robusta, resulting in about 60% of the coffee consumed in the U.S.

Arabica is grown around the world, but countries like Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Ethiopia are known for growing arabica coffee because of their temperate climates and high elevations. 

The growing conditions required for arabica plants are part of the reason why it tends to be thought of as the higher-end choice and can be more expensive than robusta coffee. Arabica plants are challenging to grow, requiring elevations of more than 3,000 feet, subtropical climates, and some shade to thrive. While robusta coffee grows uniformly in clusters and can be picked all at once, the cherries on an arabica tree need to be picked off individually because they ripen at different times, making more work for farmers.

What is robusta coffee?

Robusta, which comes from the coffea canephora plant, is known for its bold flavor. Many describe it as similar to dark chocolate with bitter, nutty tasting notes and just a bit of sweetness. That is likely due to the fact that robusta contains 60% less fat and sugar than arabica. It’s also a supercharged way to start your day, as robusta naturally has about double the caffeine of arabica coffee beans.

The robusta coffee plant is hearty and can thrive in lower elevations and varying climates. Robusta is grown around the world in countries like Indonesia and Uganda, but Vietnam is the largest producer of robusta beans, and the second largest overall coffee producer worldwide after Brazil.

For years, robusta was unfairly considered an inferior bean. As the name suggests, it’s a resilient plant that can handle tricky growing conditions and reproduce much more quickly than arabica plants. It was first grown for quantity and not necessarily quality, but modern farmers and coffee roasters aim to change that by investing in the beans and giving them the specialty coffee treatment with 100% robusta bags.

“I didn’t even realize that Vietnam was this huge coffee producer,” says Kim Dam, owner of the robusta-focused shop Portland Ca Phe. “It’s crazy to think that I had been in coffee for so long and had really never seen these beans being used in specialty coffee shops.”

Helen Le, author and recipe developer based in Da Nang, Vietnam, says the bold flavor profile of robusta is popular in her home country because it works well with traditional Vietnamese coffee preparations like ca phe sua da, or iced coffee, which is typically served with sweetened condensed milk. Robusta is a great pairing for this type of coffee, as well as other variations like egg coffee or avocado coffee, because its intense flavor isn’t diluted by melting ice or downplayed by sweet additions.

“Robusta may not always get the spotlight on the global stage,” says Le. “But in Vietnam, it’s celebrated for everything it brings to the table: strength, character, and a connection to heritage.”