| Arabica is a different
plant species than the more common robusta coffee. Arabica is from the "coffea
arabica" seed and needs extensive nurturing to grow; taking years before the first
harvest. By comparison, robusta plants, "coffea laurentii", are hardy, large
plants that grow at lower elevations, producing a softer bean with less flavor than the
arabica. OCR’s arabica
coffees are grown on small farms at high altitudes producing a distinctive flavor in each
varietal (type of coffee from a region or country). High-grown coffees take longer to
mature, with a resulting bean that is large, dense and more flavorful. Also adding subtle
flavor to the coffee are the shade trees such as banana, rubber and orange which grow
around the coffee fields.
Arabica coffees are of such high
quality they require careful hand picking every day during the season. Only the red
cherries are picked each time. Robusta coffees are grown on the flatter land in rows and
are machine picked, stripping the trees of every bean – green, ripe red, overripe,
rotten, etc. One bad bean used in a pot of coffee will affect the taste of the whole pot.
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