Arabica coffee
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5Will it grow where I live?
Arabica coffee is not winter-hardy in Central Europe (zone 9): outdoors from spring to autumn only, otherwise a container plant overwintered frost-free. The summer heat it needs to ripen is out of reach outdoors in Central Europe – greenhouse or conservatory.
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Profile
- Family
- Rubiaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Height
- 5.5 m
- Spread
- 2.1 m
- Growth
- medium
- Lifespan
- 50 years
- First yield
- after 3 years
- Hardiness
- zone 9–12
- Shade tolerance
- partial shade
- Soil
- Silt, Loam
- Soil moisture
- dry – moist
- pH
- 5 – 6.5
Varieties (16)
16 varieties of Arabica coffee are listed in the Permaplans variety finder — each with its own page: taste, ripening time, disease resistance, parentage and use.
- Bourbon Sweet, juicy heirloom cultivar with high cup quality – alongside Typica one of the two ancestral Arabica lines.
- Castillo Colombia's rust-resistant workhorse – high yield with a good, balanced cup.
- Catimor Rust-resistant, high-yielding cultivar group for low-to-mid altitudes – basis of many modern breeds.
- Catuaí Compact, high-yielding Brazilian cultivar with strong cherry retention – red and yellow forms.
- Caturra Compact dwarf Bourbon mutation – high yield, good cup, grown worldwide.
- Geisha The most celebrated specialty variety – intensely floral, jasmine- and bergamot-like, fetching record prices.
- Maragogipe The elephant bean – unusually large beans and a mild, soft cup.
- Mundo Novo Robust, high-yielding Brazilian natural cross of Typica and Bourbon – a backbone of coffee farming.
- Pacamara Giant beans from El Salvador – complex, often fruity-floral and spicy specialty cup.
- Pacas El Salvador's dwarf Bourbon mutation – compact, productive and suited to warmer sites.
- Ruiru 11 Kenya's disease-resistant compact hybrid – guards against CBD and rust at high density.
- SL28 Kenya's icon – intense blackcurrant acidity and a complex, juicy cup.
- SL34 Kenyan sister to SL28 – slightly fuller, tolerating wetter and higher sites.
- Typica The classic ancestral Arabica – clean, refined cup with outstanding clarity but low yield.
- Villa Sarchi Costa Rican dwarf Bourbon mutation – sweet, clean cup with wind tolerance at altitude.
- Yellow Bourbon Yellow-fruited Bourbon variant from Brazil with a soft, sweet and round cup.
Uses
Frequently asked questions
Arabica coffee: how big does it get?
Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) grows as a Tree and reaches roughly 5.5 m in height when mature, with a spread of about 2.1 m. Growth is medium.
Arabica coffee: what site does it need?
Arabica coffee tolerates partial shade. Suitable soils are Silt, Loam. Soil moisture should be in the range dry – moist. The pH may lie between 5 and 6.5.
Arabica coffee: is it hardy?
Arabica coffee is listed as hardy in zone 9–12 and survives normal winters outdoors there.
Arabica coffee: will it grow in Central Europe?
Arabica coffee is not winter-hardy in Central Europe (zone 9): outdoors from spring to autumn only, otherwise a container plant overwintered frost-free. The summer heat it needs to ripen is out of reach outdoors in Central Europe – greenhouse or conservatory.
Arabica coffee: is it poisonous?
No toxicity is recorded for Arabica coffee. With wild plants, never rely on a database alone — only on a confident identification.
Arabica coffee: what is it used for?
Rated on a scale up to 10: Edible 5/10, Medicinal 5/10, Other uses 5/10.
Which Arabica coffee varieties are there?
The Permaplans variety finder lists 16 varieties of Arabica coffee, including Bourbon, Castillo, Catimor, Catuaí, Caturra, Geisha, Maragogipe, Mundo Novo, Pacamara, Pacas, Ruiru 11, SL28 and 4 more. Each variety has its own page with taste, ripening time, disease resistance and parentage.
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