What do you get when you cross a Robusta and Arabica plant?
The Timor coffee varietal!
This cross breed is a rare and hard to find coffee varietal. The Timor was discovered by chance on the East Asian Island of Timor (where it got its name) and was loved because of its unique characteristics. The Robusta parent had blessed the Timor with disease resistant qualities that farmer’s love while it maintained the desirable flavor profile of its Arabica parent.
Eventually, the Timor grew up and had other coffee varietals of its own. One of those varietals is the Catimor, the child of the Timor and Caturra coffee varietals (here in the coffee-sphere, we mashup coffee names like they’re celebrities). It was purposely bred to have the disease resistant qualities of the Timor and the sweet and fruity notes of the Caturra. The flavor results of the Catimor, however, weren't satisfying.
If you’re lucky enough to find high-quality Catimor beans, the notes are nutty with an herbal aroma. Occasionally, some beans have cherry or berry undertones. However, without the proper care, the beans become overwhelming earthy and rubbery (mmm, delicious). Because of the Catimor’s flavor profile, it’s not a highly sought after varietal, and therefore, it’s rare to find.
Luckily, as Amber points out, there are way better coffee varietals out there! Amber gave us the 411 on the Caturra varietal last week on Coffee On The Brain. Check out the full video on the Timor and Catimor varietals below and subscribe to our YouTube channel to get a healthy stream of all things coffee!