ROBUSTA IN THE VIETNAM COFFEE INDUSTRY
When talking about coffee, people often refer to the fruit of a popular coffee tree: Coffee Arabica. Arabica is the variety that accounts for most of the coffee produced each year, and they are beloved by Western coffee culture. But Arabica is not the only coffee species present. Currently, there are more than 120 identified coffee varieties, but the only one other than Arabica and grown in larger quantities is Coffea canephora, a variety known as Robusta.
Robusta Coffee
Robusta was discovered in the Belgian colony of the Congo (now Zaire) in the second half of the 19th century. The Robusta coffee tree has the easily identifiable characteristic of growing and fruiting at a much lower altitude than Arabica. , withstands warm weather and resists pests better. Therefore, the economic potential of Robusta coffee is very clear. These factors are the reason Robusta coffee is still produced today. Besides, the cost of growing and producing Robusta coffee is also lower than Arabica. But there is only one drawback that cannot be improved: that Robusta does not taste good.
Basic information:
  • Scientific name: Coffea canephora.
  • Tree or shrub form, mature tree height reaches 10m.
  • Caffeine content: 2.2% – 4%.
  • First harvest: 3rd year.
  • Maximum harvest time is up to 30 years.
  • Countries with large production: Tanzania (30%), Uganda (80%), India (60%), Sumatra (75%), Java (90%), Thailand (98%), Vietnam (95%), Ecuador (60%). Data quoted from Coffee Obsession – published in 2014.
Robusta in the instant coffee industry
Of course, Robusta coffee also has many gradations, and higher quality Robusta can also be produced by selectively picking ripe berries at a rate of 90% – 98%. Robusta coffee has been part of Italian espresso culture for many years, but most of the Robusta produced around the world is used for a lower segment: instant coffee.
For the instant coffee industry, price is always more important than taste. Accompanying the world’s dependence on coffee in the form of instant drinks helps Robusta account for 40% of annual coffee production. This statistic often fluctuates depending on supply and demand at different times.
What does Cau Dat Arabica taste like?
A new chapter for Robusta coffee
Robusta coffee is a product that accounts for a large proportion of the total agricultural export output of many countries, including Vietnam. Previously, Robusta coffee did not pay much attention to its quality and was mainly used for the instant coffee industry. However, if we go deeper into the field of Specialty Coffee, we still find a lot of interesting things when tasting Fine Robusta. That has prompted farms to pay more attention to improving the quality of Robusta with many new processing methods.