Caturra Coffee Variety: Get To Know The Famous Varietal
Caturra is one of the most popular coffee types in Central and South America. Let’s talk about why.
The perfect coffee cup profile means something different to everyone. If your preference is for well-balanced and complex brews, you’ll love the chocolate sweetness and citrus acidity that defines Caturra coffee.
In this article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about this unique varietal – from seed to cup. There are good reasons its such a darling of the Latin American coffee industry!
What Is Caturra Coffee?
Caturra is a variety of Arabica coffee, the coffee bean species that makes up the majority of commercial crops worldwide. It is a natural mutation of the Bourbon coffee variety – itself, one of the oldest Arabica varietals. It was first discovered in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in the early 20th century (1).
Caturra’s genetic mutation results in dwarfism; it is much smaller than a typical Bourbon coffee plant.
Indeed, the name Caturra is the word for “small” in the local Guarani language. Caturra’s small size allows for a denser planting pattern and thus higher yields.
What Are The Types Of Caturra?
There are three identified types of Caturra plants: Red Caturra, Yellow Caturra, and Lerdo Caturra. They stem from small genetic variations that produce noticable differences in traits like flavor profiles and ripening times.
Where Is Caturra Coffee From?
Breeders in Brazil honed the plant for several generations before releasing it to growers starting in the 1940s. It was introduced to Guatemala first, followed by Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama.
By the 1980s, it was one of the most economically important coffees in Central America, and by the early 2000s, it made up nearly half of all coffee grown in Colombia. This was aided by the fact that it is a relatively hardy plant, though it particularly thrives in growing conditions with high elevations and ample rainfall (2).
“Caturra, like Bourbon, is resistant to droughts, winds, and exposure to sunlight. It also adapts well to hot temperatures.”
The chief problem with Caturra is its high susceptibility to coffee leaf rust – also an issue with the Bourbon varietal. This makes it risky to have it make up too much of a country’s production. As a result, Caturra is better known today as the parent of a number of dwarf coffee hybrids, including new cultivars like Catuai, Catimor, Maracaturra, and the Castillo variety.
What Does Caturra Coffee Taste Like?
The best Caturra is grown at high altitude, which yields very good cup quality. Caturra’s flavor profile is defined by its balance of rich sweetness and bright acidity. You’ll taste notes of chocolate and caramel coupled with vibrant tangerine, orange, lemon, and lime.
Caturra plants are known for their consistent green coffee bean size, which makes them a reliable choice for roasters. They can be successfully light, medium, or dark roasted.
On the lighter end, Caturra’s natural citrus acidity is more pronounced, with delicate notes of honey and florals. At darker roasts, the profile is more chocolate, often with a nutty smoothness and maple sweetness.
All in all, it tends to be a crowd-pleasing combination of flavors, which accounts for Caturra’s enduring popularity despite some farming challenges.
This informative video from The Colombian Coffee Company has a nice overview of Caturra’s flavor profile:
How To Brew Caturra Beans
The natural balance of Caturra beans makes them incredibly versatile when roasting and brewing. You can make a great cup with any coffee maker you have on hand.
Try a drip coffee method like pour-over for clean and complex flavors with a medium body. An immersion method, like French press, yields a bolder but less nuanced profile with a fuller body. Darker roasted Caturra beans make exceptional espresso shots, with deep chocolate notes and an enticing fruity aroma.
Final Thoughts
The Caturra coffee cultivar was an important economic driver in coffee’s history, ushering in the era of densely planted, high-yielding coffee crops. Couple that with its crowd-pleasing flavor profile of deep chocolate and bright citrus, and its easy to understand this coffee’s enduring popularity – both in its own right and as the genetic parent to many of Latin America’s most common coffee plants.
FAQs
Yes, Caturra coffee is an Arabica varietal. It is a genetic mutation of the Bourbon variety, one of the first Arabica plants (along with Typica) to be exported from Africa in coffee’s earliest history. Caturra is also the genetic parent of some important Arabica-Robusta hybrids, such as Catimor – a Timor hybrid.
Peaberry coffee is a rare naturally occurring mutation that causes a coffee cherry to produce one coffee bean rather than the standard two. That single bean – the peaberry – receives twice the normal nutrients and thus develops a unique, and often prized, complex flavor profile.
Bourbon and Caturra are genetically very similar, but each has distinct characteristics. Compared to Caturra, Bourbon coffee trees are larger, more challenging to grow, and lower yielding. However, the reward for their successful cultivation is superior cup quality, defined by pronounced natural sweetness and complexity.
References
- Arabica Coffee Varieties | Caturra. (2022). Worldcoffeeresearch.org. https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/caturra
- Coffee varieties: A roaster’s guide to Caturra. (2021, November 29). MTPAK. https://mtpak.coffee/2021/11/coffee-varieties-roasters-guide-caturra/
