Robusta (Coffea canephora) accounts for 40–45% of global coffee production and was historically relegated to industrial uses like instant coffee and basic espresso blends due to its higher caffeine and yield. For decades, the specialty coffee scene, defined by the Q Grading System, dealt exclusively with arabica, leaving robusta understudied and undervalued.
A turning point began in 2010 with the "Fine Robusta" protocols, and was cemented by the launch of the Canephora Flavor Wheel in May 2025. This first open-access lexicon provides a calibrated vocabulary to describe robusta's full potential. Developed by a multidisciplinary team in Brazil and globally, the wheel adds 103 descriptors, including unique notes like umami, coconut water, and black tea. This tool reframes robusta's identity, allowing producers to communicate the value of their coffees on their own terms, distinguishing it from arabica, similar to how white wine is appreciated separately from red.
Back in 2016 Ben, Co-Founder of Nincomsoup was visiting a tiny cafe and roaster on the North Norfolk coast, they were Grey Seal Coffee. Not only were they focused on specialty coffee, a rare find back then, but they also had a single origin robusta filter on offer. Who were these risk taking trail blazers? A decade later they are now an award winning roaster featuring a bakery and vegan cafe. They recognised the potential of robusta, and planted that seed that led us to appreciate this bean with the bad rap.
We were reminded of that Grey Seal robusta when Cherry Love Coffee, a coffee experience box subscription released a Robusta box filled with 4 jaw dropping coffees. Fuelled with the heady vapours of the robusta box and the timely publication of 'Robusta/Canephora - A brief guide to loving it' by Mikotaj Pociecha, our robusta roasting journey began.
In the coming weeks we will be exploring Mikotaj’s approach to roasting robusta to develop some roast profiles for our Aillio Bullet roaster before releasing our first robusta coffee online.
In the mean time listen to our deep dive podcast ‘Robusta Revival’ or read the original source for the basis of this podcast, the inspirational article published on Fresh Cup by Isabelle Mani ‘How The Canephora Flavor Wheel Could Redefine How We Taste and Value Robusta Coffee’. In less than 15 minutes you’ll know more about robusta and its potential than most coffee professionals.