tags: [] - coffee/varieties - coffee/green-beans aliases: - Coffee cultivar - Cultivated variety - Named cultivar

Cultivar¶

Tags: #coffee/varieties #coffee/green-beans Aliases: Coffee cultivar, Cultivated variety, Named cultivar Related: Coffee Plant Science MOC | Varietal | Arabica | Bourbon Variety | Caturra Status: ✅ Complete

Overview¶

A cultivar (from "cultivated variety") is a plant variety that has been selected, maintained, and propagated for specific desirable characteristics in an agricultural context. In coffee, a cultivar is a named, genetically defined variety of Coffea arabica or Coffea canephora that has been selected and maintained for specific traits such as yield, disease resistance, cup quality, altitude adaptation, or growth habit. Cultivars are distinct from wild varieties in that they exist because of human selection and agricultural maintenance; without deliberate cultivation, they would not persist. Cultivar names include Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Catuaí, and SL28.

Cultivar vs. Varietal¶

These terms are sometimes used interchangeably in coffee but have distinct meanings:

Term	Definition	Example usage
Cultivar	A botanically defined, named cultivated variety	"SL28 is a cultivar selected by Scott Laboratories in Kenya"
Varietal	A wine industry term adopted in coffee to refer to coffee made from a single cultivar	"This is a Bourbon varietal from Colombia"
Variety	General botanical term; includes wild varieties and cultivars	"Arabica encompasses many varieties"

In precise botanical use, cultivar is the correct term for named, maintained agricultural varieties. Varietal (as a noun) is grammatically a noun meaning "a wine/coffee made from a single variety" — its use as a synonym for "cultivar" or "variety" is a colloquialism in coffee.

Major Coffea arabica Cultivars¶

Cultivar	Origin	Notable traits
Typica	Yemen / Ethiopia	Original arabica; excellent cup quality; low yield; disease-susceptible
Bourbon	Réunion Island	High cup quality; natural mutation of Typica; moderate yield
Caturra	Brazil (natural mutation)	Dwarf Bourbon; high yield; widely planted in Central America
Catuaí	Brazil (hybrid)	Caturra × Mundo Novo; high yield; disease-susceptible
SL28	Kenya (Scott Laboratories)	Exceptional cup quality; drought-tolerant; blackcurrant character
SL34	Kenya (Scott Laboratories)	High yield and quality; wet conditions adaptation
Gesha / Geisha	Ethiopia origin; Panama fame	Extraordinary floral cup; tea-like; very high prices
Pacamara	El Salvador (hybrid)	Very large bean; complex cup; Pacas × Maragogype
Catimor	Portugal (hybrid)	Caturra × Timor hybrid; disease-resistant; often lower cup quality

Disease-Resistant Cultivars¶

Coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix) devastated production in Central America in the 2010s, accelerating adoption of disease-resistant cultivars. Many of these (Catimor, Castillo, Lempira) carry Timor hybrid genetics conferring rust resistance but are often considered to produce lower cup quality than susceptible cultivars at equivalent conditions.

Key Facts¶

A cultivar is a named, agriculturally maintained plant variety selected for specific traits; propagated deliberately
In coffee, major arabica cultivars include Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí, SL28, SL34, and Gesha
Cultivar is botanically precise; "varietal" (as used in coffee) is a borrowing from the wine industry
Disease-resistant cultivars (Catimor, Castillo) sacrificed some cup quality for rust resistance
World Coffee Research maintains the International Cultivar Name Registry for coffee

References¶

Changelog¶

Date	Change
2026-04-28	Note created

This article is part of All-About-Coffee.com - The comprehensive coffee knowledgebase.