Robusta, noun: Coffee variant. It is cultivated at low altitudes and therefore, for the most part, also maintained and harvested mechanically. In contrast to Arabica, the beans are somewhat smaller, rounder and have a straight notch. They typically have a stronger, earthier taste, which is due, on the one hand, to their genetic structure (they have only approximately one half as many chromosomes as Arabicas), and on the other hand, it’s due to the “dry preparation” (coffee berries are not peeled and fermented, but rather dried whole). Robustas are often blended with Arabicas, mostly for espressos.
