How does robusta compare to arabica?

It has more caffeine and a stronger taste

A single round seed in a cherry

Why are high-altitude arabicas prized?

Slower ripening builds complex flavor

Coffee Bean Origins Quiz: 10 Questions That Test What You Know

Wild arabica coffee still grows in the forests of Ethiopia's Kaffa region, and this coffee bean origins quiz traces beans from their homeland to your cup. Compare arabica and robusta, learn about Yemen's Mocha port, the rare liberica and the smuggled seedlings that started Brazil's coffee empire.

Start Coffee Bean Origins Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Arabica
Where does arabica coffee originate?
Robusta
How does robusta compare to arabica?
Share
Which species makes up most of the world's coffee?
Mocha
Which Yemeni port gave its name to mocha coffee?
Brazil
Who is said to have smuggled coffee seedlings into Brazil in 1727?
Cherry
What is a coffee bean?
Peaberry
What is a peaberry?
Liberica
Which rare coffee species has large, irregular beans?
Kaffa
Which Ethiopian region may have given coffee its name?
Altitude
Why are high-altitude arabicas prized?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Where does arabica coffee originate?
Answer: Ethiopia
Wild plants grow in its forests.
Q2: How does robusta compare to arabica?
Answer: It has more caffeine and a stronger taste
It grows at lower altitudes.
Q3: Which species makes up most of the world's coffee?
Answer: Arabica
Robusta is second.
Q4: Which Yemeni port gave its name to mocha coffee?
Answer: Mocha (al-Makha)
It was a major coffee export hub.
Q5: Who is said to have smuggled coffee seedlings into Brazil in 1727?
Answer: Francisco de Melo Palheta
Legend says a governor's wife helped.
Q6: What is a coffee bean?
Answer: The seed of a coffee cherry
Two seeds sit in each cherry.
Q7: What is a peaberry?
Answer: A single round seed in a cherry
It forms in a small share of cherries.
Q8: Which rare coffee species has large, irregular beans?
Answer: Liberica
It is grown in the Philippines and Malaysia.
Q9: Which Ethiopian region may have given coffee its name?
Answer: Kaffa
The link is debated.
Q10: Why are high-altitude arabicas prized?
Answer: Slower ripening builds complex flavor
Beans grow denser.

Coffee Bean Origins Quiz – From Forest to Cup

Coffee comes from the seeds of a shrub in the genus Coffea. Arabica, which originated in the forests of Ethiopia, makes up most of the world's coffee and is prized for its complex flavors, while robusta has more caffeine and a stronger, more bitter taste.

Coffee spread from Ethiopia to Yemen, where the port of Mocha became a famous trading hub. Coffee then traveled to India, Java and the Americas. According to legend, Francisco de Melo Palheta smuggled seedlings into Brazil in 1727, which grew into the world's largest coffee industry.

Each coffee cherry usually contains two seeds, though some contain one round peaberry. Rare species such as liberica add diversity. Altitude, soil and climate all shape flavor, which is why single-origin beans are labeled by country and farm.

What This Quiz Teaches

Coffee lovers and curious readers will find these questions useful.

Where arabica came from
How robusta differs
Where mocha gets its name
How coffee reached Brazil
What peaberries are

Did You Know?

Vietnam is a top robusta producer.
Coffee plants can live for decades.
Coffee flowers smell like jasmine.
Kona coffee grows in Hawaii.
Climate change threatens arabica.