Is this ever debated in the "coffee geek" world?
. If you have ever drank coffee with a faint burnt rubber smell, then it was probably Robusta coffee or a blend that included it.
Heh, so it's more like GMC versus Chevy.Honestly, I meant what I asked
Heh, so it's more like GMC versus Chevy.
I have!
A few years ago I remember trying some ground coffee that came in a black vacuum sealed foil brick that tasted faintly of plastic or something. It was awful. The plastic taste had me believing it was either contaminated or cut with foreign matter. I was the only one who could taste it.
Thanks for the reassurance.
God, that stuff was bad.
Honestly, I meant what I asked
I did a bit of digging based on your answers and now know that colombian is in fact arabica, just grown in Columbia. Didn't know that the taste was so influenced by the area where cultivated, had figured they were from different subspecies.
The education continues!
I would much rather drink twice as much good coffee to get the same amount of caffeine. As well I drink mostly light roasts so the caffeine amount is still on the higher end than a darker roast.They're not different subspecies, they're different species. Robusta has one advantage--it has twice the caffeine.
see: http://www.ico.org/botanical.asp
Or B&B's Coffee FAQ
I just came across Death With Coffee Co. which calls it's self "The World's Strongest Coffee" and advertises twice the caffeine as a other coffees. They come right out and say it's made with Robusta, it's an interesting marketing technique. http://deathwishcoffee.com/pages/faqs
Sounds like a fun trip, and that was an interesting comment. This blog post: Guatemala Part II: From Seedling to Bean, notes that this is done to protect the plant from a certain species of roundworms that are quite prevalent and love to attack Arabica coffee plants. While the Robusta root system in more resistant.The wife and I took a tour a coffee plantation in Guatemala this summer. Not only was it beautiful, it was also very informative. I am not sure if this is common practice, but at this particular plantation both Arabica and Robusta are grown. When the seedlings are about 2 inches or so, they graft the roots of the Robusta onto the stem of the Arabica resulting in a more durable crop featuring the flavor of the Arabica.
Sounds like a fun trip, and that was an interesting comment. This blog post: Guatemala Part II: From Seedling to Bean, notes that this is done to protect the plant from a certain species of roundworms that are quite prevalent and love to attack Arabica coffee plants. While the Robusta root system in more resistant.