A cultivar is a plant type that people selected or bred for specific traits and that stays true when propagated. “Varietal” is a looser word. Roasters use it for the plant type (a Bourbon varietal), and some American specialty sources use it for an unblended coffee from one country, region and crop. The two aren’t opposites, and the bag in your hand rarely uses either term strictly. This guide sorts out the vocabulary and shows what it means for the coffee you buy.
TL;DR
- A cultivar is a human-selected plant type that is distinct, uniform and stable. Most of what coffee calls a “variety” (Caturra, Geisha, SL28) is technically a cultivar.
- A botanical variety is a natural rank below species. Coffee trade law borrowed the word as a stand-in for cultivar, which is why the two get mixed up.
- Varietal comes from wine. In coffee it is used loosely, and the cleaner phrase on a label is “variety” for the plant and “single origin” for the place.
- The plant type shapes flavor, but altitude, climate and processing matter just as much. A well-handled common variety can beat a badly handled famous one.
Table of Contents
- The short answer: three words, three jobs
- What a cultivar actually is
- Why coffee says “variety” when it means “cultivar”
- Where “varietal” fits, and where it goes wrong
- How many coffee varieties exist?
- Not every named coffee is a true cultivar
- Does the variety change how coffee tastes?
- Our perspective: buy the story, not the buzzword
- How to read a coffee bag with these terms in mind
- Try it in your own cup
- FAQ
- Sources
The short answer: three words, three jobs
The words are easier to keep apart when you give each one a single job.
| Term | Strict meaning | How coffee uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Species | A distinct kind of plant, such as Coffea arabica | Arabica and Robusta are the two that dominate trade |
| Variety | A naturally occurring rank below species | The everyday word for a named plant type like Bourbon or Typica |
| Cultivar | A plant type selected or bred by people, kept true by propagation | The technically correct word for most named coffee plants |
| Varietal | Originally an adjective (“varietal character”) | A noun for the plant type, or for a single-origin coffee |
If you remember one line: a coffee “variety” on a bag is almost always a cultivar in the horticultural sense, and “varietal” is the word with the most baggage.
What a cultivar actually is
Horticulture has a rulebook for this. The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants defines a cultivar as a group of plants selected for a particular character, distinct, uniform and stable in that character, and retaining it when propagated. The word variety, in the same code, belongs to botanical ranks shaped by nature rather than by people.
That makes the cultivar a tidy idea. Someone noticed a coffee tree with a useful trait, such as a shorter stature, bigger beans or better disease tolerance. They kept it going and the trait held. Whether the original change was a natural mutation or a deliberate cross, the plant that carries the name today has been maintained by farmers, nurseries or breeders.
A botanical variety is the other side. RD2 Vision’s explainer describes it as a taxonomic rank within a species, defined by botanical characteristics shaped by nature and meant for wild plants.
Why coffee says “variety” when it means “cultivar”
The mismatch is historical. According to the same ISHS document, breeders and trade bodies adopted “variety” as a statutory term for proven, protectable plant types, so it entered law and commerce as a stand-in for cultivar. It is a legal convenience rather than a botanical blunder, though it keeps causing confusion.
Acquired Coffee draws the same line: a coffee variety refers to naturally occurring subtypes or spontaneous mutations within a species, while the cultivated, selected types are cultivars. In daily practice, people in the industry use the words interchangeably, and Daily Coffee News notes they are actually distinct in horticulture.
So is anyone wrong? Not really. Context decides. A farmer talking about Caturra and a botanist talking about Caturra mean the same tree, and only the botanist cares which noun goes in front of it.
Where “varietal” fits, and where it goes wrong
“Varietal” is the term that causes the most arguments, and it has two competing uses.
The wine borrowing. The noun began in wine, where a varietal is a finished wine made from one grape variety. Coffee people lifted it and now say things like “a Bourbon varietal” to mean the plant type. Purists would keep it as an adjective, as in varietal characteristics, or reserve it for the drink.
The American specialty usage. Coffee Review’s glossary notes that many people in the American specialty industry use “varietal coffee” for an unblended coffee from a single country, region and crop, for example Ethiopia Yirgacheffe or Kenya AA. That is a statement about place, not about plant genetics.
That explains why searches for the “varietal meaning” turn up conflicting answers. One roaster means the plant, another means the origin. The same glossary describes the move toward “single origin” as a clearer way to say where a coffee comes from without misusing a taxonomic term.
A quick way to read the word
- If it sits next to a plant name (Geisha, Pacamara, Caturra), it means the plant type.
- If it sits next to a country or region, it means a single-origin lot.
- If it is used as a flavor guarantee, treat it as marketing until the bag tells you the farm, altitude and process.
How many coffee varieties exist?
There is no single total. The World Coffee Research varieties catalog lists 55 Arabica varieties from 15 producing countries, and a separate Robusta catalog covers 47 varieties from 8 countries. Many regional landraces and local selections are not formally catalogued, so the true number is larger.
The species picture is simpler. Acquired Coffee counts about 131 accepted coffee species, but trade is dominated by two, Arabica and Robusta, with Arabica making up roughly 60% to 70% of cultivated production.
The family tree matters too. According to World Coffee Research, Arabica spread from Ethiopia around the world starting in the mid-1700s, and most historical coffees descend from Typica and Bourbon. Later breeders introduced “introgressed” varieties, which bring in genes from other coffee species to add traits such as disease resistance.
Not every named coffee is a true cultivar
Here is the wrinkle most guides skip. The cultivar definition demands uniformity and stability, and some well-known coffee names do not meet it. World Coffee Research’s catalog flags certain types, such as Pacamara, Anacafe 14 and T5175, as not uniform or stable across generations. A name on a bag can therefore point to a family of related plants rather than one genetically fixed type.
This isn’t a reason to distrust the label. It is a reason to treat the variety name as one piece of information, not a full genetic fingerprint.
Does the variety change how coffee tastes?
Yes, but less than the marketing suggests. The Coffeeness variety overview makes the point that genetics are a main driver of flavor, with Geisha and Typica as the usual contrast, while soil, climate, altitude and post-harvest processing count for just as much. A carefully processed common variety can outperform a poorly handled prestige one.
Think of the variety as setting the range of what a cup can be. Where it grows and how it is processed decide where in that range it lands.
| Factor | What it influences |
|---|---|
| Variety (cultivar) | Potential: sweetness, acidity, cup complexity, bean size, yield, disease tolerance |
| Altitude and climate | How slowly cherries ripen and how much density and acidity develop |
| Soil and farm practice | Nutrition, consistency, harvest quality |
| Processing | Washed, natural or honey: clarity, fruit, body |
| Roast and freshness | What survives to your cup |
We have written separately about how altitude shapes coffee flavor and about coffee terroir and how origin shapes quality, which pair well with this topic.
Our perspective: buy the story, not the buzzword
We sell coffee by origin, so we see this confusion daily. Customers ask whether a “varietal” is better than a “single origin,” and the honest answer is that they are measuring different things. One describes a plant, the other describes a place and a harvest.
Our approach follows from that. We source beans with full traceability from regions such as Colombia, Peru, Bali and Uganda, and we roast fresh to order. For us, the most useful information on a bag is where the coffee grew, who produced it, how it was processed and when it was roasted. The variety is part of that story, and we include it where we know it, but we would never ask you to pay a premium for a name alone.
If you want to taste what genetics and geography do, don’t memorize a glossary. Brew two coffees side by side, change one thing at a time, and trust your palate. Our guide to what single origin coffee is is a good place to start.
— Yasin Sofyian Ayesh
How to read a coffee bag with these terms in mind
Use this checklist at the shelf or on a product page.
- Look for the place first. Country, region, and ideally farm or cooperative. This is what “single origin” promises.
- Find the variety if it is listed. Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Geisha and others are the plant. Treat “varietal” in the same spot as a loose synonym.
- Check altitude and process. They tell you as much about the cup as the plant does.
- Check the roast date. A rare cultivar roasted months ago will taste flatter than a common one roasted last week.
- Be wary of guarantees. No plant name promises a flavor on its own.
Try it in your own cup
The quickest way to understand variety versus origin is to taste across origins. Our Single Origin collection lets you compare coffees from different growing regions, and the Sample Pack collection is built for trying several without committing to full bags. If you want a clean starting point, try our Colombia coffee, roasted fresh to order.
FAQ
What does cultivar mean in coffee?
A cultivar is a coffee plant type selected or bred by people for particular traits, and it keeps those traits when propagated. Examples include Caturra, Geisha and SL28. The coffee trade usually calls these “varieties,” but in horticultural terms they are cultivars.
What does “coffee varietal” mean?
It depends on who is speaking. Many roasters use it as shorthand for the plant type, as in a Bourbon varietal. In some American specialty usage, it means an unblended coffee from one country, region and crop. Because of that overlap, “variety” and “single origin” are the clearer terms.
Are variety and cultivar the same thing in coffee?
In everyday trade language, yes. In strict nomenclature, no: variety is a natural botanical rank, and cultivar is a human-selected type. The coffee industry adopted “variety” for legal and commercial reasons, so the two words describe the same trees in practice.
Is Starbucks Arabica or Robusta?
We can’t speak for another company’s blends, and we haven’t verified it here, so check the packaging or the company’s own product information. What we can say is that Arabica is the larger share of global production, at roughly 60% to 70%, according to Acquired Coffee.
Sources
- International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ISHS Scripta Horticulturae 18)
- Variety, cultivar, landrace, heirloom: Definitions (RD2 Vision)
- Coffee Species, Cultivars and Varieties (Acquired Coffee)
- A Roaster’s Guide to Understanding Coffee Plant Types (Daily Coffee News)
- What is a Coffee Varietal? (Coffee Review)
- World Coffee Research varieties catalog
- World Coffee Research: build your own catalog
- Coffee varieties overview (Coffeeness)
