The short answer
Arabica and robusta are the two coffee species behind almost every cup. Arabica grows higher and cooler, tastes milder and more aromatic, carries less caffeine and sells for more. Robusta grows lower and hotter, resists disease better, carries about 50 to 60 percent more caffeine by the National Coffee Association's (NCA) figure, and tastes stronger and more bitter. Robusta is the trade name for the species Coffea canephora.
Arabica vs robusta, side by side
| Arabica | Robusta | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of world production | About 57% | About 43%, and rising | NCA |
| Caffeine | Lower; 0.8 to 1.4% of the bean | About 50 to 60% more than arabica; 1.7 to 4.0% of the bean | NCA; Wikipedia, Coffee bean |
| Sugar | 6 to 9% | 3 to 7% | Wikipedia, Coffea canephora |
| Altitude | 2,000 to 6,000 feet | Far lower; in the wild, 50 to 1,500 m | NCA; World Coffee Research |
| Ideal temperature | 59 to 75 °F | 75 to 85 °F, held steady | NCA |
| Disease | More disease-prone | Hardier, more resistant to disease and parasites | NCA |
| Taste | Fine, mild, aromatic | Strong and bold, with bitter undertones; earthy | NCA; Wikipedia |
| Native to | Ethiopia | Central and western sub-Saharan Africa | NCA; World Coffee Research |
| Grown today in | Central and South America, East Africa, Asia | Central and western Africa, Southeast Asia including Indonesia and Vietnam, Brazil | NCA |
| Price | The highest on the world market | Less expensive, historically | NCA |
| Main uses | Specialty coffee, single origins, most blends | Most instant coffee; some Italian espresso blends | Wikipedia, Coffea canephora |
The sources do not agree on the production split. The NCA says about 57% arabica. Wikipedia's arabica article says about 60%, its robusta article puts robusta near 45%, and its main coffee article says about three quarters of coffee grown is arabica. Read any single number as a rough share. Every one of them has arabica as the larger.
Why they taste different
Part of it is chemistry. Wikipedia's robusta article gives it more caffeine and less sugar than arabica, 2.7% caffeine against arabica's 1.5% in its figures, and says robusta's extra bitterness comes from its pyrazine content.
Part of it is where they grow. The NCA puts arabica between 2,000 and 6,000 feet and robusta far lower, in steady heat. Cooler, higher farms give arabica cherries longer to ripen, and the NCA's regions page says slower ripening at altitude builds more complex flavor.
Where each one comes from
World Coffee Research says arabica is native to Ethiopia, where the species' major genetic diversity is found, and that seeds were first carried from southwestern Ethiopia to Yemen and farmed there. Wikipedia's arabica article describes the species as a cross between two others, Coffea canephora and Coffea eugenioides, so robusta is one of arabica's parents.
Robusta was recognized as a species only in 1897, more than a hundred years after arabica, per Wikipedia. Today Vietnam grows over 40% of the world's robusta, followed by Brazil at 25% and Indonesia at 13%, by Wikipedia's figures. World Coffee Research credits robusta's broad genetic diversity for its ability to grow in a wide range of places.
The plants differ in the field too. Wikipedia describes robusta as a tree or shrub that grows to about 10 meters (30 feet), while arabica, believed to be the first coffee species cultivated, takes about seven years to mature fully. Arabica does best at an average of 15 to 24 °C (59 to 75 °F) and cannot survive frost.
Which one should you buy?
- If you want to taste the farm, the region and the roast, buy arabica, the species behind specialty coffee. None of the Montana roasters we list offered a robusta when we checked.
- If you want the most caffeine per cup, robusta has more, by any of the figures above.
- If you drink espresso and like a heavy body and thick crema, look for an Italian style blend with some robusta in it; Wikipedia says good robusta is used in traditional Italian espresso blends for body and a better foam head.
Arabica, robusta and Montana roasters
None of the 18 Montana roasters we write up listed a robusta coffee on the pages we read on September 27, 2026. Montana Coffee Traders in Whitefish says outright that it sources and roasts arabica, buying high grade arabica from farmers worldwide, including direct to farm. Ghost Town in Bozeman and Revel in Billings name arabica varieties on their lists, such as a Gesha and a Purple Caturra.
Montana grows neither species, so every bag here starts as green coffee shipped in from the tropics. The roasting, the blending and the jobs that go with them happen in Whitefish, Bozeman and Billings, and buying from those roasters keeps that work in Montana. Our support local page makes the case.
Last Best Coffee Club sends a bag from a different independent Montana roaster in each box. If you drink espresso, our espresso subscription sends a 12 oz bag roasted for espresso by a different independent Montana roaster in each box. The first bag is free and you pay $7.99 shipping on that first box, then $16.99 a bag.
Arabica and robusta questions
Does robusta have more caffeine than arabica?
Yes. The NCA says robusta carries about 50 to 60 percent more caffeine than arabica. Wikipedia's coffee bean article gives 1.7 to 4.0 percent of the bean for robusta and 0.8 to 1.4 percent for arabica.
Is robusta bad coffee?
No, it is a different coffee. The NCA describes it as strong and bold with bitter undertones, and Wikipedia notes that good robusta goes into traditional Italian espresso blends for body and foam.
What does 100% arabica on a bag mean?
It means the bag holds no robusta. It says nothing about the origin, the farm or the roast, so read the rest of the label for those.
Which one grows higher?
Arabica. The NCA puts it between 2,000 and 6,000 feet, and robusta far lower.
Sources
- National Coffee Association: Coffee varieties and Coffee regions of the world (the NCA's consumer site)
- World Coffee Research: Arabica and Robusta
- Wikipedia: Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora
- Wikipedia: Coffee and Coffee bean
- Montana roaster facts: our roaster profiles, written from each roaster's public pages, read September 27, 2026