By Pierre E. Leblache

Published in Tea & Coffee Asia, July 2003

This may come as a shock to the younger generation of coffee aficionados, but there was a time, not long ago actually, when people enjoyed drinking coffee…. not “Gourmet Coffees”, not “Specialty Coffees”, not “Lattes or Espressos or Macciatos”…. Just “Coffee”. Once upon a time, in the twentieth century and up to the 1980s, there was “Coffee”: Two varieties, arabicas and robustas, grown in different parts of the world, and consumed mostly in countries close to, or with commercial links to the respective origins: Arabicas went chiefly from Latin to North America, robustas made their way from Africa, India and Indonesia to Europe. These two varieties had different characteristics, more acidity, astringency and lightness for arabicas, more boldness, strength (and caffeine) in robustas. That they differed caused coffee drinkers all over the world to prefer one or the other as they became better known, and both eventually became available in all consumer markets. Over time, and for a combination of reasons not all of them glorious, robustas were moved to the sidelines at the end of the 1980s. Especially in America, they are now mostly confined to play the part of fillers for cheap low grade blends or, worse, to be used for solubles, the ultimate disgrace for a variety which had its days of Grandeur and still has a tremendous potential.

The time was 1983 and I had just joined Saks International, a New York coffee importer which had climbed to the 2nd place in the US by specializing in robustas, which we brought over mostly from Africa and Indonesia, and less so from India, Thailand and the Philippines which was then a large exporter. The “Three Large Roasters” as they were called, purchased approximately 5 million bags of robustas, the big majority coming from Indonesia, but not for the top qualities. Primary Robustas, or “Prime Robs”, could only come from 4 origins: India (Cherry and Parchment AB), Ivory Coast (Gros Grains and Grade 1) , Uganda (Crane, Impala, FAQs) and Cameroon (Grade 1). These were essentially the robusta great names, what Central Americans were to arabicas. Each large roaster had its preferences as to Origin and grade: Cameroons were not accepted as Primes by General Foods, less a reflection of the grade’s merits than of the high rate of rejects for frequent bad preparation. A large European trade house insisted on buying only Indians… possibly a premonition as they were finally bought by an Indian conglomerate.

These coffees traded at a premium to the London Market, just as the Centrals did against the C Contract. With robusta futures being on average 20 % cheaper than milds, that made good robustas much more expensive than mediocre arabicas, a situation that makes sense but has not been repeated in today’s world of Gourmet coffees. On rare occasions, such as during the infamous “Operation Patricia”, the ill-engineered attempt, in 1986, to squeeze the robusta market and to ship millions of robusta bags to Trieste on a number of vessels (one of them named “m/v Patricia”), the London market jumped above the C contract: Ivory Coast Gros Grains became (briefly) the most expensive coffees in the world. More significantly, these Prime Robustas bore in them the same upgrade potential that was so cleverly exploited in Central America during the rise of the Gourmet phenomenon, and that robusta producers failed to take advantage of.

Prime Origins were not, by far, the only sources of good robustas: In those days Indonesia and Brazil were the two main producers (as a coffee exporter, Vietnam was yet totally unknown). Brazil used its Conilons mostly for domestic consumption, for its “cafezinho” which is to Brazilians what a glass of red wine is to Frenchmen. Jorio Dauster, the formidable Brazilian delegate to the ICO and spokesman for his country, had supposedly made a unwritten agreement with Africa which, as a continent was the world’s principal robusta region: “We shall not export our robustas as long as you always back our positions in the ICO…” (The Africans always lived up to the agreement, which eventually caused the demise of the ICA in 1989, when all African members voted with Brazil in the final stalemate, clearly against their own interest). Yet, conilons were available in the USA, on a regular basis, and they had their dedicated followers, as they were and still are different in taste from any other coffee. Indonesia provided the major part of robustas consumed in the US, with their EK1s, suitable for good level blends, and 20/25, more ordinary.

Then, there was Ecuador: As one of only two Latin American robusta origins, they had the cheapest freight to North America, and their preparation, though often unpredictable, could be excellent. Had Ecuador washed its robustas, it could have become a Costa Rica before its time.

Numerous smaller origins were fun to work with, and had a strong demand for limited quantities:

Angola, a traditional major exporter, was paralyzed by a bloody civil war and was mostly unable to ship anything. Nonetheless, the occasional lot of Cabindas or Ambrices fetched high premiums. Madagascar, which, as coffee goes, was almost the private playground of a large French house, now defunct, had a strong following. Liberian robustas also were good, but the country, on its way to a total meltdown, soon became better known for its stamps (up to 1989, worldwide coffee export quotas made it necessary for any shipment to be accompanied by ICO stamps certifying the origin and quantity… If One could not get coffee, One could always buy stamps… some people actually DO these things…). In the late 1980s, coffee buyers who met in Monrovia’s last functioning hotel asked one another whether they had yet been to the Post Office.

And then there was Zaire, a country of fine robustas, HTMNI, HTCMs and other good grades. Unfortunately, Zaire neglected its production of robustas in favor of the milds grown in the eastern Kivu area, a landlocked region soon to be engulfed in a war involving Rwanda, Burundi and others… End of Zaire as a good robusta origin. When you come to think of it, the decision by Vietnam to become a major coffee producer, around 1990, was timely, intelligent and to the point.

These were the grand old days of robusta glory, and they will not return on the same scale. Many factors contributed to their end, such as a well managed competition by arabica producers, better promotion, and a resulting evolution in the demand. If I had to choose three main reasons for the robusta downfall, I would indicate inadequate promotion, lax quality controls and more than anything else, the wrong choice of processing method: Irrespective of the variety they belong to, washed coffees will always sell better than naturals, because consumers like a pretty coffee, something that only washing can achieve. Wherever washed robustas were produced, be it in India or by specific producers such as UCCAO in Cameroon, they resisted and fared better than others.

In the last 20 years, and especially since 1990, the Industry landscape has been dramatically altered, with fine coffees now being called “Specialty” or “Gourmet”, and being produced, marketed and distributed through entirely separate channels. For those set on improvement, the demand (and the opportunity) are still within reach…

GO WASH YOUR ROBUSTAS !!!