Well, she’s only the Mother of Arabica, no biggie. 

You're into coffee, you understand varietals, origins, processes, and then you start hearing a new word. Canephora, commonly known as Robusta. It's popping up in coffee circles and if you're wondering what it means and why people are suddenly talking about it, let's get into it.

Before we get into Canephora though, we have to talk about her previous name. Robusta.

There are two main species: Arabica, which accounts for around 60% of coffee traded globally, and Canephora, which accounts for the remaining 40%. Robusta is actually a variety of Canephora, but some dudes in the late 1800s decided to call all Canephora Robusta because of its robust nature and resilience to disease.

What's also interesting is that Robusta has nearly double the caffeine content of Arabica, which contributes to its stronger, more bitter flavour profile. Higher caffeine is actually a natural defence mechanism against insects. The more you know eh?!

Robusta has traditionally had quite a bad reputation. For most of coffee history it was treated as the lesser option, largely pushed towards instant coffee and cheaper commercial use. Yes yes that reputation was often earned, but not because of the bean itself. It was earned because of how it was grown and processed. Most Robusta producers prioritised creating higher yields, making it 30 to 50% cheaper on average than Arabica. The question we’re asking is… whether Robusta is inherently lower in quality, or whether it simply never got a proper chance. We think you already know what our answer is.

So why is everyone calling it Canephora now? Canephora is one of the hottest topics of conversation in the specialty coffee industry right now (if you're a massive coffee nerd hehe). Calling it Canephora rather than Robusta is the industry's intentional way of reframing how Robusta has been seen for many years. Canephora is the actual scientific name of the species and using it shows that this coffee deserves to be taken seriously on its own terms, rather than carrying the bias it has had for many years. 

When Canephora is grown with care (like our new Rise and Grind, more on that later), processed properly and treated with the same attention as a specialty Arabica, it tastes completely different to what you might expect. Deep chocolate, earthy richness and something you wake up thinking about. It also has that higher caffeine content, which means a strong, punchy cup that actually wakes you up. Not a bad thing on a Monday morning when you're filling online orders in the roastery.

So this is where it gets a little tricky for a brand like ours. We thrive on reaching the everyday drinker, the accessible consumer, the person who values delicious coffee (grown by women, of course!) but doesn't always care about terminology and the intricacies that often come with the industry. We feel Robusta is a term more commonly known, but we also understand the cultural significance Canephora deserves. We have a very, very, very exciting Robusta/Canephora out from an incredibly impressive woman: Nafeesa Esmail - learn more about her here. If you've held reservations about Robusta, we genuinely believe drinking this will change your mind.

Why should you drink it?

1. It’s delicious. It has an incredible creamy mouthfeel and loads of sweet fruit and chocolate. 

2. Climate change is shrinking land viable for growing Arabica coffee, with scientists predicting global losses of up to 50% by 2050. So... this feels like a pretty big thing to ignore. We not only need to get used to seeing the word Canephora, but we’d also better get used to drinking it, because it might be all we have left! Lucky for us, there are incredible farmers out there growing delicious, interesting canephoras! 

Our Rise and Grind blend is 50% Specialty Robusta/Canephora and 50% Specialty Arabica. The perfect blend to get you up and out and living your best life. Brought to you by producers, Nafeesa Esmail from Uganda and the team at Mio in Brazil. 

So it's been a long one. Here's your reward: 15% off Rise and Grind this week only. Use code RISEANDGRIND at checkout.

That's it from us. Thanks for listening to our sometimes flowing, sometimes chaotic rants.