Arabica, The Coffee Lover's Choice (INeedCoffee.com) (#)

  „There’s a whole wide world of beans out there, but almost all commercial coffee comes from the beans of only two varieties of plant – coffea arabica or coffea robusta. You’re forgiven if you think robusta to be the more appealing of the two. The mega-roasters spend millions each year to keep the everyday coffee drinker in the dark.“

http://www.ineedcoffee.com/01/02/arabica/ - Cached

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Some slightly related:

:: Crema Conscious ::

  „So, apart from method, what else does the crema signify? Back to Ewan Reid."The crema allows us to guess at the type of bean used in the espresso blend. A blend using lots of robusta beans will have a dark brown and, although shortlived, an effervescent crema. Arabica beans will have a lighter coloured crema, with a less vigorous foam." It's precisely because of these visual cues that you can see our coffee experts staring intently at the cup of espresso, before raising it to their lips.“

http://www.matthewalgie.com/find_out/ lab-cremcon.html - Cached

CoffeeGeek - Coffee Crisis:  TechnoServe Releases Fact-Based Industry Analysis

  „The systemic shift is also the result of processors developing ways to reduce the acidity of Robusta coffee beans and increase their use in blends and in increasingly popular "flavored" coffees that mask the harsh taste.  Robusta coffee plants have higher yields than Arabica plants; in addition, they are stronger plants that grow at lower altitudes, enabling them to be mechanically harvested.  For these reasons, Robusta coffee is cheaper to produce than the Arabica variety and so is also becoming increasingly popular among consumers in more price-sensitive countries, further eroding the market share for Arabica.“

http://www.coffeegeek.com/resources/pressreleases/ technoservedec42003 - Cached

Coffee: Old Familiar Becomes New Favorite

  „Brewed teas have from 20 to 110 milligrams. In coffee, the caffeine content depends both on the type of bean and on the roasting and brewing process. Beans harvested from the "robusta" species are typically found in common name brands like Folgers and Maxwell House. As the name implies, this plant is robust; it will grow in marginal or unpredictable conditions, and this means lower production costs.“

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/columnnn/ nn980923.html - Cached

Tea & Coffee 04/02 - Finding a Path Through a Historic Maze

  „As SCAA meets in Anaheim, its roaster and retailer members must again face the fact that its partners at origin are in dire trouble as new sources of cheap Robusta beans are depressing world Arabica prices for yet another season. The larger coffee world appears in paralysis, unable to act in support of the grower and the future of better Arabica coffee for the U.S. consumer. What we, the little guys, can do is to find a path through the historic failures of both free and controlled markets to find new directions of common cause between grower and roaster, producer and consumer. Our best good faith efforts can sustain some specialty coffee farms that would otherwise perish.“

http://www.teaandcoffee.net/0402/coffee.htm - Cached

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