Most coffee conversations begin and end with Arabica and Robusta. Blue Bottle Coffee is widening the lens: on 24 September the US chain released two coffees centred on Excelsa, a species that accounts for less than 1% of global production.
The first, Beyond Arabica, pairs Excelsa from South India with Vietnamese Robusta, with notes of sweet tobacco, sarsaparilla and dark rum. Priced at $32, it is sold as whole beans and used for espresso drinks in the cafés. The second is a single origin from Vietnam's Quang Tri province, given a 120-hour anaerobic fermentation and a slow 30-day dry, with lychee and papaya in the cup. At $45, it is available as whole beans online only, and as a pour-over in selected cafés for four weeks.
The company frames the release as a case for species diversity, which it sees as a route to new flavours and to an industry better able to cope with a changing climate.
Source: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal