Robustas were not always the ugly duckling

Up to the 1970s, it was common talk, among people who traveled, that coffee was generally good in Europe and bad in North America. In those days the U.S. imported mostly arabicas, while Europeans purchased the beans from their former African and Asian colonies, chiefly robustas. It is ironic to see that Italian Espressos, upon which today’s gourmet culture relies so much, were then made with robustas, and that arabicas now represent over 99% of specialty imports.

When the London Robusta Futures Market opened, in the 1950s, robustas did not trade at a discount to milds. The differential appeared later, and for two unrelated reasons: While the coffee tendered in New York was mostly washed, lots delivered to the London market were unwashed (dry processed). That washed coffee should trade at a premium to naturals makes sense, but this has nothing to do with the coffee variety. Then Brazil had two frosts, in 1955 and 1957, which created a shortage of arabicas and therefore a premium. Over the years, the situation remained and robustas became second class coffees.

 
A catastrophic image problem

Robustas have a bad image in the consuming world, and several factors contribute to this: Although they can display excellent characteristics in appearance and cupping, the way they are overwhelmingly processed, the unwashed dry method, does very little to reveal and enhance their qualities. Their traditional use over the past 15 years, soluble coffees or fillers for cheaper blends, does not help either. Add to this a complete lack of promotion, strong anti-robusta lobbying by arabica producers who see them as unwanted competition that lowers prices, and the result is hardly surprising. Finally, robustas end up caught in a deadly spiral: Low prices generate poor self esteem by producers who cannot afford good processing. This makes the coffees even less usable, which generates lower prices, etc… All this of course on a background of lingering overproduction.

 
Long term perspective for common robustas

It is obviously very bleak: Overproduction shows no sign of subsiding, on the contrary. A third Asian robusta front is appearing, as five smaller countries gradually develop their output and will further pressure prices. Prominent organizations in the U.S. and elsewhere call for the establishment of minimum quality standards, so as to bar entry of the lowest grades into the main consumer markets. They may or they may not succeed, but low grade robusta prices are unlikely to rise, regardless of the outcome.

This is not a rosy forecast, but it does not apply to well picked, washed and carefully processed robustas. This is how the specialty coffee sector was born and developed from the end of the 1980s, and this will be how quality robustas will survive and prosper.