What is rare coffee? The standard for the world’s rarest coffee
For centuries, the story of coffee that we have shared and celebrated seems to revolve around two main characters: Arabica and Canephora (Robusta) . With passion and intelligence, we have delved into their world in an astonishing way. We have perfected countless processing methods to optimize flavor, drawn detailed terroir maps down to the hills, and built a sophisticated quality assessment system that culminated in the concept of “ Specialty Coffee ”. It has been a great journey to achieve perfection in the world we know.
But, quietly and persistently, beneath the surface of that familiar world, a new current began to rise.
The New Era of Coffee or The Stream of Liberation
This flow does not originate in roasters or coffee shops. It originates in the laboratories of botanists, in the efforts of research institutes like World Coffee Research, and above all, in the dedication of farmers and conservationists who are quietly preserving a priceless biological heritage of the planet: the diversity of the Coffea species itself . They remind us that the Coffea family has more than 130 different species, and Arabica and Robusta are just two of them.
The “new era” of coffee does not ask the question: “How can we make this Arabica bean taste better? ”. It asks a much more original and profound question: “ What else is out there? ”.
It’s a shift in mindset, from perfecting the known to courageously exploring the unknown. It’s not just a change, it’s a broadening of the very boundaries of our understanding of coffee. A journey back to the roots of the Coffea family , to listen to stories that have been overlooked. And along the way, we encounter individuals who defy convention, demanding respect and a whole new language to name.
RARE COFFEE
A new language for values beyond grades
When faced with a biological entity with millions of years of evolutionary history and a completely different genome, XLIII Coffee realized that the familiar frame of reference was no longer appropriate. Applying standards created for Arabica – a species that had been domesticated and optimized for agriculture – to a wild individual like Racemosa was like trying to measure the beauty of a primeval forest by the standards of a model garden.
The beauty of a garden lies in its order and perfection within a predetermined framework. The beauty of a jungle lies in its wildness, its uniqueness, and its vibrant chaos. They require different languages to describe them truthfully.
That is why, with all due respect for the heritage of the coffee industry and a sense of responsibility to call things by their true names, we believe it is time for a new definition . A reference system that does not replace, but exists alongside, to illuminate values that the scale cannot reach.
We call it RARE COFFEE .
To understand the fundamental difference, we can briefly sketch out the two journeys as follows:
| Reference system | Specialty Coffee | RARE COFFEE |
| Foundation | Based on sensory quality quantified by score. (SCA score > 80) | Based on biological uniqueness and species origin. |
| Target | The journey of perfecting and optimizing flavor within a known system. | A journey to discover and preserve genetic values outside the familiar system. |
| Scope | Limited to widely commercialized species (mainly Coffea Arabica). | Extends to the entire diversity of the Coffea suborder (more than 130 species). |
| Measuring tape | Cupping score , processing method, altitude, terroir , variety. | Differences in species, genomes, evolutionary history, survival characteristics, conservation stories. |
It must be emphasized that RARE is not a higher rank of SPECIALTY. It is not a trophy for the winner of a competition. It is another path, a parallel journey for explorers. If SPECIALTY is the art of reaching the pinnacle of excellence in the established world, then RARE is the science and philosophy of admiring the original beauty from the unexplored world.
To truly understand the depth of the RARE definition, there is no better way than to look at the story of a representative – a wild individual that has stubbornly survived outside the commercial flow of coffee for centuries.
Sukkot Racemosa
The story of a biological legacy
Our journey with RARE COFFEE begins with a story that is not ours. It began on January 8, 2003, with seeds carefully collected from Mozambique and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
This isn’t the start of a commercial farming project. It’s a biological rescue mission. In a mere two-hectare reserve in Hluhluwe, a producer called Sukkot Coffee has begun one of the few efforts on Earth to protect the endangered Coffea Racemosa, giving it a place to survive, adapt, and reveal its secrets.
And the secrets it reveals have shaken the foundations of knowledge we once thought were secure.
Challenging the definition of "Terroir"
The farm is located at an altitude of 74 meters above sea level.
Let that number sink in for a moment. Seventy-four meters. In a Specialty world where “altitude” is almost a religion, the default measure of quality, Racemosa thrives in the sub-coastal region. The red basalt soil, the dry tropical climate with its long dry season – conditions that would otherwise be considered harsh and less than ideal – are the perfect environment for Racemosa’s resilience.
It doesn't try to fit into our definition of terroir . It shows that there are other definitions of terroir that we haven't heard of.
A completely different biological reality
The difference is not just in habitat. The wild nature of Racemosa operates according to its own biological laws. While we measure Arabica yields in tons, Racemosa yields in precious kilograms. Statistics show that it takes six Racemosa trees to produce the same amount of fruit as one Arabica tree.
This is not a “bug” that needs to be “fixed” by agricultural technology. It is the voice of nature, evidence of a species not designed for industrial production. Its scarcity is not a marketing strategy, but a genetic trait, a statement of value in existence, not quantity.
We at XLIII Coffee are not the originators of this story. We are fortunate to be its successors. Our role is to take up this legacy with the utmost respect, to be faithful translators so that the story Sukkot Racemosa herself tells can be heard in its fullest form.
But taking on such a legacy also means facing a huge challenge: How to work with something we don’t really understand? That’s when the roles of roasters and tasters have to redefine themselves.
The mission continues to XLIII Coffee
Learn to listen to the sounds of heritage
The answer to the above question is not a technical one. It is a change of mindset: giving up the role of controller and becoming a listener.
When faced with RARE beans like Racemosa , small and wild, green, all the experience, all the roasting charts, all the theories of flavor development that we have accumulated over the years with Arabica suddenly become somewhat hesitant tools. To impose them on Racemosa would be a forced act, a lack of respect. The conversation at this point is not " How can this coffee taste better by our standards? ", but " What is this coffee bean inherently, and what original story does it want to tell? "
Processing as an act of conservation
The entire approach must be redefined. Even a familiar process like classic washed processing has a different purpose. The goal is not to “optimize” or create a desired, clear flavor profile. The goal is an act of conservation: gently peeling away the outer layers to reveal the truest core of the bean, interfering as little as possible with its heritage.
Rang as an introduction to philosophical depth
In the roaster, this listening becomes even more intense. Every second, every change in temperature can be an imposition. The first crack - a familiar technical milestone for Arabica now becomes a philosophical crossroads. To continue means to begin imposing the roaster’s will on the bean. To stop is to choose to give the bean the right to be itself.
We chose to stop at an extremely light roast. This decision did not come from a confident " we know this is the best way ". It came from a humble admission that " we don't know what's wrong ". We chose to do the least damage to its wild nature, keeping as much of what nature has given as possible.
And here is our sincere confession:
We are not experts on RARE coffee in general or Racemosa in particular. We are just early students. All our tasting protocols, our flavor wheels, our roasting philosophies were designed for another species. The tasting notes we write are not final conclusions; they are initial hypotheses, the careful notes of an explorer in a strange land.
Perhaps it is in that "not knowing" that we have the opportunity to truly "taste". Not through memory or comparison, but through a completely open sense.
So, what story does that cup tell?
RARE Coffee Cup
Experience a primal sense
A rare cup of coffee does not speak in the vibrant language of tropical fruits or the clarity we often use to measure Specialty coffee. It tells a story older, in a deeper, more primal voice.
Experiencing a cup of RARE coffee like Racemosa is a conversation with the wild. It is where you can encounter notes of earth, roots, herbs - fundamental and somewhat thorny flavors, reminiscent of the struggle for survival and the long evolutionary history of the plant itself. It is where unexpected aroma combinations exist, seemingly illogical yet mysteriously harmonious combinations that defy the neat classification of the Flavor Wheel.
More than a static taste, it is a dynamic story. A sensory journey where layers of flavours evolve as the temperature drops, revealing different aspects of the same complex self. It requires patience and an open mind, because its beauty is not immediately apparent.
It’s not an easy or indulgent experience. It’s a revealing one. It forces us to let go of our comparisons, to forget what we think we “know” about good coffee, and simply experience it. The same goes for the mouthfeel - it may not be silky smooth, but raw and free, carrying the texture of something unpolished.
Drinking a cup of RARE coffee isn't about finding perfection. It's about admiring the beauty of originality. It's about facing a question.
And that question will shape the future of all of us.
Journey to the future
The world of coffee is a "territory" that needs to be explored.
So what is Rare coffee after all ?
Rare coffee, after all, is not a product defined by scores or taste. It is a measure of biological difference . It deserves to be approached with a humble explorer’s mind toward a world larger than ourselves. There, we need to acknowledge that beauty lies not only in perfection but also in the original, the wild, the different.
Sukkot Racemosa is the first ambassador on this journey, a living testament to how great the wilderness legacy is. But this journey of discovery has only just begun. There are other legacies waiting to be heard, stories that lie deep within the Coffea family’s DNA .
For XLIII Coffee, this is a commitment to the future. A commitment to continue venturing into unexplored lands, continuing to be the bridge to bring these original values back to our companions.
So we invite you. We invite you to join us on a journey beyond the familiar. Experience the Rare coffees of the future, not to find a familiar answer, but to learn to ask new questions.
Because every cup of Rare Coffee poured doesn't provide an answer. It asks a question. A simple and timeless question:
" What else is possible? "
And the journey to find the answer is the future.
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For centuries, the story of coffee that we have shared and celebrated seems to revolve around two main characters: Arabica and Canephora (Robusta) . With passion and intelligence, we have delved into their world in an astonishing way. We have perfected countless processing methods to optimize flavor, drawn detailed terroir maps down to the hills, and built a sophisticated quality assessment system that culminated in the concept of “ Specialty Coffee ”. It has been a great journey to achieve perfection in the world we know.
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