arabica coffee

or A·rab·ic·a cof·fee

[ uh-rab-i-kuh kaw-fee, kof ee ]

noun

1. a tree, Coffea arabica, of the madder family, the principal species of coffee cultivated in Latin America and the chief coffee tree of commerce.
2. the seeds, usually called beans, of this tree.
3. the beverage made from the ground beans.

Word History and Origins

Origin of arabica coffee¹

First recorded in 1840–45; from New Latin arabica the specific epithet, from Latin: feminine of Arabicus Arabic

Example Sentences

Arabica coffee, which has been farmed in Kenya since the 19th century, is especially vulnerable to climate change.

From Salon

"While other public references for Arabica coffee do exist, the quality of our team's work is extremely high," says one of the study's co-leaders, Patrick Descombes, senior expert in genomics at Nestlé Research.

From Science Daily

The genome provided other new findings as well, like which wild varieties are closest to modern, cultivated Arabica coffee.

From Science Daily

Arabica coffee, prized for its smooth and relatively sweet flavor, now makes up 60% – 70% of the global coffee market and is brewed by brands such as Starbucks, Tim Horton’s and Dunkin’.

From Seattle Times

To piece together arabica coffee’s past, researchers studied genomes of C. canephora, another parent called Coffea eugenioides, and more than 30 different arabica plants, including a sample from the 1700s — courtesy of the Natural History Museum in London — that Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus used to name the plant.

From Seattle Times