There is much debate about Robusta. And it starts with the name itself. To be precise, the plant is called Coffea Canephora and, like Coffea Arabica, is subdivided into different varieties/clones. Canephora is diploid and self-sterile and freely intermixes in the field. It is indeed quite labor-intensive to keep different varieties separate. However, that's not what this article is about.
No, it's about the quality of Robusta and a sensory evaluation and assessment. Along with Conilon and Ugandea, Robusta is the most commercially widespread Coffea Canephora variety.
In 2019, I completed the Q Robusta Grader certification. This week-long course from the Coffee Quality Institute requires passing 20 sensory evaluations spread over three days to be successful. Q Robusta Graders calibrate with each other to assess the quality of Robusta or Canephora.
As of October 2025, there will be a new assessment format for both Arabica and Robusta. The Coffee Value Assessment, or CVA for short, we have discussed in detail here.
Overall thoughts on Robusta
Engaging with Robusta is worthwhile! We can challenge our own prejudices, learn about a coffee species that serves around one-third of the world market and will become increasingly important in the future due to climate change and changing growing conditions. And by the way, Robusta is getting better all the time! Robusta is no longer synonymous with poor quality tasting like the next highway exit. Robusta is diverse, elegant, complex, sweet, fruity and in some cases tastes better than many Arabicas. The Q Robusta Grader is not about comparison to Arabica, though. Instead, the goal is to cup Robusta against Robusta and learn to measure and assess quality. Scores of 80 points and above are classified as «fine» Robusta. Quality in the cup also leads to better prices for Robusta, which benefits the producer. Qualitative feedback leads to product improvement.
I wasn't cupping with a cupping spoon 50 years ago. But ask the veterans of the trade what Arabica used to taste like.
Robusta Fine Coffee Cupping Form
In this article, I won't go into all the details of the cupping protocol that we also have with the Arabica protocol. We'll cover that in a separate article on the Arabica protocol, which the Coffee Quality Institute uses. Here's a look at the differences from Arabica.
Fragrance/Aroma:
The typical notes we find in Robustas differ in some respects significantly from Arabicas. The first Flavor Wheel for Robusta was published in early 2025. Here we can draw inspiration regarding various aromas. Alongside enzymatic notes like honey, lemon, tea rose, and stone fruits, we particularly encounter notes of potato, peas, and cabbage in lower-quality coffees. Sugar browning provides us with a medley of nuts, vanilla, cocoa, chocolate, caramel, but also toast bread, peanut, and various dry distillation off-roast notes from burnt pulp to malt, cedar, tobacco, cinnamon, pepper, etc. There are also storage notes of earth, rubber, coffee fruit pulp, straw, and others.
Flavor:
Actually, good Robustas have quite a bit to offer in terms of taste. This is rated by the combination of gustatory and retronasal impressions. We look at the intensity, quality, and complexity and rate highly when there is appropriate transparency. Typical notes of Robustas are various fruits, such as cherries, raisins, berries, and especially dried stone fruits. Of course, there's also the whole palette of nuts as well as sometimes spicy and floral notes of clove, cedar, pepper, coriander, etc. The less fine Robustas, on the other hand, excel in notes of grassy, hay, grainy, vegetable-like, rubbery, potato flavor, chemical, medicinal, mushrooms, phenolic-like, etc.
Aftertaste:
Here the wheat is quickly separated from the chaff. «Fine» Robustas impress with clarity and a long aftertaste that carries forward the positive flavor attributes. «Commercial» Robustas are earthy, astringent, soapy, chalky, bitter.
Salt/Acid and Bitter/Sweet Ratio
Now it gets interesting! Because here the Robusta cupping form is fundamentally different from the Arabica cupping form. As most of you have already noticed when tasting Robusta, it generally has both higher bitterness than Arabica. This is due to the higher chlorogenic acid content, quinic acid, and also partly to the higher caffeine content. In fact, Robusta also has more potassium and thus tastes slightly salty. Saltiness leads to an unclean, harsh taste when pronounced, whereas quality acidity balances the coffee and provides structure and liveliness. So we rate low salty taste positively and the presence of acidity as well.
With bitterness, it's the same as with salty taste. Less is more and that's good for the cup. And if there's a nice sweetness to go with it, a Robusta quickly becomes really well-balanced.
This also benefits the texture, which ideally impresses not just through body as is often the case with Robustas, but through being round and soft. No flaws or irregularities complete the picture – then you get a really fine Robusta – a «fine» Robusta.
«Fine» Robusta Classification
The classification by overall score looks as follows:
- 90-100 Outstanding Very Fine
- 80-90 Fine Fine
- 70-80 Very Good Premium
- 60-70 Average Usual Good Quality
- 50-60 Fair Usual Good Quality
- 40-50 Fair Commercial
- < 40 Exchange Grade
- < 30 Below Grade
- < 20 Off Grade
- < 10 Triage
In addition to the sensory evaluation, 350g of green coffee per sample is classified.
More on the topic of Robusta can be found in our overview article. Worth reading on the topic of sensory evaluation is Philipp Schallberger's series on specialty coffee communication.
