Biggest Coffee Pet Peeve

Pretentious/romanticized and often misused terms like "varietal" and "heirloom". Varietal is an adjective and variety is a noun. Caturra, Bourbon, Typica, etc are varieties not varietals.

People use more specific words like "landrace" and "cultivar" often with good intentions but there is lot of misuse there too. Landraces are domesticated or semi-domesticated plants that are casually selected by the people living in a particular area and are usually genetically heterogenous. An Ethiopian landrace for example, can encompass an umbrella of genetically similar but not the same varieties found in a particular area around human settlement.

However, not all Ethiopian varieties are landraces. Truly wild coffee also exists in Ethiopia and Geisha might be an example of this. On the topic of Geisha, the Geisha that exists in the Americas is just one selection out of a wider "Geisha group" of varieties that exist at the original collection site. And yes all of this leads to the discussion about how we should define Geisha or any other genetically heterogenous variety(s) in the trade and what the "single-variety" label really means. Even the Panamanian selection shows marked genetic variation and that's why you see "green-tip Geisha" marketed. Progeny of the Panamanian Geisha can exhibit green or bronze colored new growth and the green-tip form seems to be tied with superior cup quality.

A cultivar on the other hand is selectively bred and/or selected for specific characteristics such as productivity, disease resistance, etc. Bourbon, Caturra, and Typica are examples of cultivars. Cultivars may or may not be genetically homogenous and some modern selections like Castillo were purposely released to have a degree of genetic heterogeneity to combat lead rust and this shows up in the variable morphology (growth form).

Heirloom is a historical and marketing term, not a scientific one. Heirloom also carries a connotation of somehow being better or more "wholesome" vs something like a hybrid, a term that is often demonized. However there are many well known and high scoring hybrids in the coffee trade such as Pacamara. I actually think we need to get away from the heirloom snobbery because hybrids are the future imo. First generation (F1) hybrids especially tend to be more vigorous and productive and are absolutely capable of achieving excellent cup quality.

The whole Geisha vs Gesha debate and the ensuing virtue signaling irks me too. You have most of the producers and the Spanish speakers calling it "Geisha" and many of the importers, roasters, cafes, etc calling it "Gesha". Personally, I think either term is fine but I will continue to call it Geisha - who are we to tell the producer/farmer what he/she is growing?

/r/Coffee Thread