Arabica is considered a milder, more flavorful, and aromatic brew than Robusta, though the latter is a hardier plant and is thus cheaper to produce.
Cultivation of coffee trees begins with planting the seeds in potting soil and tended in nurseries for 9 to 18 months, until they reach a height of 18 to 24 inches when they are transplanted to permanent groves. Soil should be deep, friable, open textured rich in plant nutrients with plenty of humus and of slightly acidic nature (pH – 4.5 to 6.5). Coffee can be grown on many different soil types, but the ideal is a fertile, volcanic red earth or a deep, sandy loam.
C. arabica takes approximately seven years to mature fully, and it does best with 1.0–1.5 meters of rain, evenly distributed throughout the year. Ideal average temperatures range between 15 to 24ºC for Arabica coffee.
It is usually cultivated at an altitude between 1,300 and 1,500 m. High elevation improves the quality of the bean and potential cupping quality. Due to a delay in ripening brought about by cooler weather associated with higher altitudes, the inherent characteristics of acidity, aroma and bold bean can develop fully.
The arabica plant is an evergreen, typically large bush with dark green, oval shaped leaves that can reach a height of 14 to 20 feet fully grown.
On plantations the plants are kept at a height of about two to three meters to facilitate harvesting and nourish heavy bearing of berries.
The coffee plant will flower in the spring with small white flowers and then bear half-inch berries that gradually darken from green to blackish pods. Each of these fruits contains two seeds, which eventually become the coffee beans.
Coffee trees yield an average of 2 to 4 kilos of cherries and a good picker can harvest 45 to 90 kilos of coffee cherry per day; this will produce nine to 18 kilos of coffee beans.
Cultivation of coffee arabica
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