Please don't adjust your sets. This special broadcast is brought to you as part of our first foray into the world of C. Canephora (Robusta). This coffee comes from Ajoy and Pranoy Thipaiah and their family farm Kerehaklu Estate in the famous Chikmagular region of Karnataka, west of Bengalaru. We visited Kerehaklu earlier this year and have a number of their Arabica's landed and ready to release but wanted to take a step into the farm’s Robusta world as well.

It's worth mentioning some of the specific traits of the C. Canephora species here. As the name suggests it's more resilient to pests and diseases than it's Arabica cousin (yes they are related). It grows at lower altitudes in hotter climates and accounts for 40% of the world's entire coffee production. World Coffee Research has a whole catalogue detailing the history and varieties via this link. One major reason C. Canephora is more resilient is it's higher caffeine content (typically 1.5 to 3.3 times higher). Caffeine is an Alkaloid synthesised by the plant through a series of chemical reactions and acts as a pesticide to protect the leaves and the fruit. Sensorially caffeine is extremely bitter. One tiny amount of raw caffeine on your tongue is incredibly bitter. So, as well as getting an extra caffeine kick, Robusta coffees will have that increased bitterness compared to Arabica.

Chemical compositions explain a majority of the taste profile differences. Robusta has less sucrose (required for the maillard reaction and therefore less sweetness), lower Trigonelline (which breaks down into volatile compounds ie less aromatics), higher amino acids (creates earthy notes), higher polysaccharides (more body), higher chlorogenic acids (higher bitterness).

We purchased this coffee through importer Osito, who we've bought some delicious Colombian and Ethiopian coffees previously. I was discussing the ins and outs of Robusta with their European head of stuff Stuart Ritson, and he mentioned something very interesting that he thought might be worth mentioning. Unlike Arabica, the Canephora species is not self-pollinating and therefore the setup costs in starting a Robusta farm are significantly higher.

We've added a 125g option to this particular coffee so you can give it a little try out.