Iced Latte vs Kopi Peng: Part 1

Roasted arabica, robusta & liberica coffee beans…

If you have been following Auresso through our social media posts or our newsletters, you would have realized something by now. We take our roasted coffee bean seriously so much that most of our posts are coffee centric. While we do carry non-coffee products such as organic teas and chocolate powders, coffee is what we fell in love first and the passion behind our business.

In a series of blogs, we will explain what specialty roasted coffee means to us and how you too can learn and enjoy them, whether at home or at your favorite coffee joint.

In our first part, we will touch on the very basics itself; the difference in the type of beans used at our local “Kopitiam” (local coffee shop) compared to the modern independent cafes. For this article purpose, “kopitiam” is where we make coffee using a traditional filter sock method. These costs normally less than RM3. On the other hand, modern cafes is where we make coffee using fancy espresso machines with an average cot of RM10 per cup.

What are the different types of roasted coffee beans out there?

God knows, but there is three types that we’re most familiar with which are the Arabica, Robusta and Liberica coffee beans. Let’s look at the differences of these roasted coffee beans briefly.

Arabica coffee beans

The famous Italian manufacturer, Ernesto Illy, said about the taste of Arabica:

“Coffee made from Arabica beans has an intense, intricate aroma that can be reminiscent of flowers, fruit, honey, chocolate, caramel, or toasted bread”

Arabica roasted coffee beans makes up more than 60% of global coffee production, as such is the most widely available coffee beans at Auresso and other major coffee stores. There are almost more than 40 varietals of Arabica coffee beans, but let’s leave the details for another day 🙂

Arabica coffee beans are highly sought after…

Arabica roasted coffee beans contains almost 60% more lipids and almost twice the amount of sugar. These lay an important part in not only the flavor, but the aroma and body of the coffee. Arabica beans taste better because the increase in sugar gives the coffee a better taste, a cleaner mouthfeel, and a decrease in bitterness. Different grades of Arabica coffee results in different green coffee bean prices. These are due to multiple factors, including expertise of coffee farmers, soil, elevation, processing methods and more.

Robusta coffee beans

Robusta comes in second place at about 30% of world coffee production. It’s grown at lower altitudes compared to Arabica coffee beans, which generally results in lower acidity of the beans.

Robusta coffee beans has stronger taste notes compared to Arabica which are sweeter and softer. This is because of the higher caffeine amount in robusta coffee beans compared to Arabica. So if you are someone who loves a very strong, dark and powerful cup, most likely Robusta will be your favourite. Robusta coffee beans are also widely used in flavored coffee drinks.

Liberica Coffee beans

Liberica coffee beans makes the smallest amount of world coffee production. However almost 95% of coffee produced in Malaysia are of liberica coffee beans. The size of the coffee beans are larger, and is famed for its smooth and lingering aftertaste of rich dark chocolate. What this actually means is that we as Malaysians are most familiar with Liberica coffee beans. These are what often used at our “kopitiam”. My Liberica in Johor is one of the largest Liberica beans producer in the country. Do checkout their page if you’re interested for a local coffee farm tour.

So what type of beans have you been consuming?

Most independent cafes and coffee joints in Malaysia typically uses Arabica coffee beans. There are also coffee blends through combination of Arabica and Robusta beans. Coffee bean options offered by Auresso are of specialty graded Arabica coffee beans, unless specifically mentioned in the product description. If you’re familiar with our Guest Coffee Roaster series, these are mainly coffee beans of higher scores of specialty grade Arabica coffee beans. The widely accepted definition of specialty coffee is coffee scoring 80 points or above on the 100-point Coffee Review scale.

And our local coffee shops are the place to go if you want to try Liberica coffee beans.

(Article above is not verified for facts and is not endorsed by any professional coffee organization)

In our Part 2, we will touch briefly how the roasting level of coffees can affect the flavors of your coffee. Stay tuned 🙂

Keywords: roasted coffee beans, arabica coffee beans, robusta coffee beans, liberica coffee beans