THE VARIETY

TYPICA
Typica is the most famous of the Typica-descended varieties. It is a tall variety characterised, by very low production, susceptibility to the major diseases, - and good cup quality.

The Typica group, like all Arabica varieties, is thought to have originated in southwestern Ethiopia. Sometime in the 15th-16th century, it was taken to Yemen. By 1700, seeds from Yemen were being cultivated in India. In 1696 and 1699, coffee seeds were sent from the Malabar coast of India to the island of Batavia (today called Java in Indonesia). These few seeds were the ones that gave rise to what we now know as the distinct Typica variety. In 1706 a single Typica coffee plant was taken from Java to Amsterdam and given a home in the botanical gardens; from there, a plant was shared with France in 1714.

In 1719, Typica was sent from the Netherlands on colonial trade routes to Dutch Guiana (now Suriname) and then, in 1722, on to Cayenne (French Guiana), from where it was taken to the northern part of Brazil in 1727. It reached southern Brazil between 1760 and 1770. From Paris, plants were also sent to to Martinique in the West Indies in 1723. The English introduced Typica from Martinique to Jamaica in 1730. It reached Santo Domingo in 1735. From Santo Domingo, seeds were sent to Cuba in 1748. Later on, Costa Rica (1779) and El Salvador (1840) received seeds from Cuba.

In the late 18th century, the cultivation of Typica spread to the Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo), Mexico and Colombia, and from there across Central America - it was grown in El Salvador as early as 1740. By 1940s, the majority of coffee plantations in South and Central America were planted with Typica. Because Typica is both low-yielding and highly susceptible to major coffee diseases, it has gradually been replaced across much of the Americas, but is still widely planted in Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, where it is called Jamaica Blue Mountain.

CATIMOR
Catimor is a controversial coffee varietal. It is a cross between Timor varietal (resistant to leaf rust, which is a big problem at the moment in Central America) and Caturra varietal. It was bred in Portugal in 1959.
It grows and produces fruit very quickly and has very high yields. It's resistant to both pests and lead rusts, and it grows well at much lower altitudes in comparison to many other commercial varietals. At the same time, it is more difficult to cultivate at very low or high altitudes.
All these facts do not sound all that bad perfect, so why is the variety problematic? The answer is in the cup quality. 
Timor is genetically related to Robusta species, which perform less well in terms of cup quality. 
In addition to that, Catimor has a shorter life span than other varieties because it is exceedingly predisposed to produce fruit. Some producers report severe drops in production after only 10 years of cultivation.