# Robusta - Any good



## Karlos (May 31, 2020)

Now, I have searched but couldn't find any recent threads about robusta beans. I understand most, if not all, high quality/artisanal coffee is arabica. I've seen a couple that mix in a little robusta, I tried a few high caffeine coffees ages ago, but I've never tested any pure robusta coffee.

Has anyone had any "good" robusta, either pure or blend, or is it frowned upon in coffee circles?


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## John Yossarian (Feb 2, 2016)

This might partially answer your question:

https://www.compatible-capsules.com/coffee-basics/arabica-vs-robusta-coffee-whats-the-difference/#:~:text=The sugars in the bean,contains less acids than Robusta.&text=Robustas have a lower sugar,and Chlorogenic Acids (CGAs).


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## Karlos (May 31, 2020)

John Yossarian said:


> This might partially answer your question:
> 
> https://www.compatible-capsules.com/coffee-basics/arabica-vs-robusta-coffee-whats-the-difference/#:~:text=The sugars in the bean,contains less acids than Robusta.&text=Robustas have a lower sugar,and Chlorogenic Acids (CGAs).


 Thanks for that, it mirrors what I've read. It explains why robusta is less well thought of, I was wondering if anyone had any experience of a "good" robusta, or even if they exist.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Karlos said:


> Thanks for that, it mirrors what I've read. It explains why robusta is less well thought of, I was wondering if anyone had any experience of a "good" robusta, or even if they exist.


 I met some guys at host who were sellers of high quality roasted robusta (I think it was roasted and not green). It was very expensive and my thoughts were it's probably a little of "emperors new clothes". Perhaps a marketing angle to start a new trend.


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## BlackCatCoffee (Apr 11, 2017)

You can find Robusta that cups quite well on its own. It wont blow your socks off though.

The problem is you will likely find Arabica that cups better for the same price.

We use a small amount of Robusta in our Chocolate Point Blend. The one we use is from an Indian estate and it is about as expensive as the Brazilian Arabica we use as the base. It is really a bit of an homage to a classic Italian style so I just like having a little nod to Robusta. It is a very popular blend that we get great feedback on.

If you are really curious I could do a bag of it for you.


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## Nicd (Jun 2, 2020)

https://leavetheherdbehind.com/products/robusta-revival?variant=27891685097536

I've not tried this so but heard about this company the other day. Not sure if pay that much just to try it without a strong recommendation!

Episodes 124 and 125 of the Coffee Podcast taught me a lot about Robusta too


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## Apr1985 (Apr 18, 2020)

Nicd said:


> https://leavetheherdbehind.com/products/robusta-revival?variant=27891685097536
> 
> I've not tried this so but heard about this company the other day. Not sure if pay that much just to try it without a strong recommendation!
> 
> Episodes 124 and 125 of the Coffee Podcast taught me a lot about Robusta too


 I have had this in a latte a couple of times and it is definitely bold!

TBH I don't have much robusta experience to compare it against but I did enjoy it in a different way to my normal coffee.


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## BlackCatCoffee (Apr 11, 2017)

Nicd said:


> https://leavetheherdbehind.com/products/robusta-revival?variant=27891685097536
> 
> I've not tried this so but heard about this company the other day. Not sure if pay that much just to try it without a strong recommendation!
> 
> Episodes 124 and 125 of the Coffee Podcast taught me a lot about Robusta too


 Unless I am mistaken this is this coffee which is the same one we use in the blend I mentioned previously.


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Had an indian cherry robusta that was ok, worked nicely in a blend but ultimately wasn't great. Good for more caffeine.


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## Nicd (Jun 2, 2020)

Apr1985 said:


> I have had this in a latte a couple of times and it is definitely bold!
> 
> TBH I don't have much robusta experience to compare it against but I did enjoy it in a different way to my normal coffee.


 I 'accidently' ordered a bag of Indian AA Robusta before I knew what it was. The tasting notes sounded original https://www.shopcoffee.co.uk/product/buy-coffee-beans-online/coffee-for-business/indian-robusta-cherry-aa-single-origin-coffee-beans/

It wasn't all that bad but I couldn't drink it on its own. I'd love to try some other good Robusta if there was a way to do so without buying 250g of it.


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## Morningfuel (May 19, 2016)

I've seen a few coffee brands focus on these (like throat punch coffee). Sounds awful...

I had a bag of robusta once and it smelled like burnt rubber. It was very heavily roasted. Burnt rubber was not an exaggeration either!


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## tonnesofquestions (Feb 21, 2020)

BlackCatCoffee said:


> You can find Robusta that cups quite well on its own. It wont blow your socks off though.
> 
> The problem is you will likely find Arabica that cups better for the same price.
> 
> ...


 This is my favourite thing to see! Makes me glad I logged on to the forum today

Slightly unrelated, for a few weeks when I first moved from Nespresso to my Bianca I would have done anything to recreate a Kazaar in whole beans with the Bianca. Tried a few 70/30 arabica/robustas and gave up - they didn't have the same vibe. Then I tried Kazaar for the first time in 5 months - I've lost the need to recreate it..but still curious. If anyone does a Kazaar copy let me know


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## Sly (Apr 1, 2018)

Pretty sure that black sheep lot started out focused on robustas as their point of difference. They claimed they were decent robustas and were trying to re-educate people's opinion of robusta being dirty, giving you heart palpitations. They've got pretty big now in London so I guess play to the wider casual crowd - not sure I saw any robustas in there. They took over Taylor Street's sites when they went under.

Also, I think Costa uses a blend with robusta as their main blend. I'm not saying Costa is any good, just rambling.


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## facboy (Dec 13, 2019)

Their 'main' bean is Robusta Revival, I can't take it. Makes me feel like i'm going to explode. They do Blue Volcano which is more mellow. But I went off them a bit after the whole Taylor Street thing, found some smaller independents nearby that I prefer.


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## jaffro (Oct 6, 2015)

Sly said:


> Pretty sure that black sheep lot started out focused on robustas as their point of difference. They claimed they were decent robustas and were trying to re-educate people's opinion of robusta being dirty, giving you heart palpitations. They've got pretty big now in London so I guess play to the wider casual crowd - not sure I saw any robustas in there. They took over Taylor Street's sites when they went under.
> 
> Also, I think Costa uses a blend with robusta as their main blend. I'm not saying Costa is any good, just rambling.


 Yeah they coaxed me into trying it once.

It was crap.

The only thing it confirmed to me is that when someone says "good quality robusta can be better than some arabica" really means "if it makes you feel better, this could in theory taste worse".

Also, Taylor Street coffee was pretty reasonable and was really close to my office, so I went there a fair bit. Really got to know the guys there so went there just for a laugh as much as anything else, gutted it's gone!


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## Karlos (May 31, 2020)

BlackCatCoffee said:


> You can find Robusta that cups quite well on its own. It wont blow your socks off though.
> 
> The problem is you will likely find Arabica that cups better for the same price.
> 
> ...


 Hmm sorry just seen this reply, I only drink filter/V60 coffee so would it be more forgiving for this rather than espresso? I've had a couple of those super caffeine coffees at work, some guys in our office were in competition to find the strongest coffee, after 1 cup I felt like I'd taken something illegal 😬 but the flavour was also very strong, I thought it tasted like burnt rubber.

I'm stocked up for few weeks currently but I'll try a bag of the chocolate point blend when I next need something, is it good for a filter V60?


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

Sly said:


> Pretty sure that black sheep lot started out focused on robustas as their point of difference. They claimed they were decent robustas and were trying to re-educate people's opinion of robusta being dirty, giving you heart palpitations. They've got pretty big now in London so I guess play to the wider casual crowd - not sure I saw any robustas in there. They took over Taylor Street's sites when they went under.
> 
> *Also, I think Costa uses a blend with robusta as their main blend. I'm not saying Costa is any good, just rambling. *


 They do, thats why costa has sky high caffeine levels!


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Robusta has about twice the amount of caffeine in it compared to Arabica - hence the kick. The Robusta strain grows at lower altitudes which are associated with wider insect prevalence so the strain has developed the higher caffeine content to protect itself - caffeine is a neuro toxin. At higher altitudes, where Arabica thrives, there are fewer bugs.


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## Sly (Apr 1, 2018)

Most of the Nespresso blends use robusta too.



jaffro said:


> Yeah they coaxed me into trying it once.
> 
> It was crap.
> 
> ...


 Yeah, I quite liked Taylor Street too. Their flat whites were always good and they usually had a cheaper, decent filter on the go. They had quite a casual feel vs all the corporate stuff around them. Annoyingly I had loads of full stamp cards with them when they closed up.

Their last minute crowd funding attempt as they knew they were going under was pretty shitty though. I guess it was a desperate move.

It didn't sound like some of the staff were big fans of black sheep either...

https://london.eater.com/2019/8/29/20838366/taylor-street-baristas-london-cafes-black-sheep-coffee-administration


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## jaffro (Oct 6, 2015)

Sly said:


> Most of the Nespresso blends use robusta too.
> 
> Yeah, I quite liked Taylor Street too. Their flat whites were always good and they usually had a cheaper, decent filter on the go. They had quite a casual feel vs all the corporate stuff around them. Annoyingly I had loads of full stamp cards with them when they closed up.
> 
> ...


 Ha, I remember that tweet... Think they got in trouble for that one!

Should have said, I meant no offense to the good roasters who offer a robusta blend for the people who want it. There's obviously a market for it, just very much isn't to my taste!

On topic of high caffeine, I saw a load of adverts on social media for something like Skull Crusher coffee... They said it was super high caffeine. I looked into it to see if there was anything different about it that made it any higher than an average robusta blend (although I can't remember finding any details on robusta content, or bean origin).

I think the main difference I found was that their v60 suggested recipe was something like 117g per litre?!


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