Typica coffees are the coelacanths of coffee varieties. They are the origin of cultivated coffee. The history of Typica is closely linked to the Sun King Louis XIV and a brave naval officer who shared his water ration with a small tree.

Typica is undoubtedly the oldest cultivated Arabica variety. Originating from plantations in Yemen, which were established from wild Ethiopian plants, the original Typica line was created through selection and subsequent plantations. It has the lowest genetic diversity, as it ultimately originated from a single coffee plant. The much-cited story of French naval officer Gabriel-Matthieu de Clieu, who brought the plant to Martinique on his ship, the ‘Dromedaire’, is actually true. A ‘Trojan horse’ of sorts – a legend that one might initially dismiss as untrue... and the most famous Bourbon – Louis XIV, the Sun King – also had a hand in it. And that despite the fact that Louis XIV detested coffee.

Geneticists have now been able to prove conclusively that Typica can indeed be traced back to a single plant. The entire plant line therefore originated from a single plant and its descendants, which have adapted to the respective growing conditions of the countries and regions where they are cultivated.

Typica plants, which grow to a maximum height of 3.5 to 4.5 metres, always have the typical bronze-coloured young leaves – they never have the mostly light green young leaves of other coffee varieties. The side branches grow at an almost horizontal angle (Bourbon plants, on the other hand, have a 60° angle), and the cherries and the coffee beans inside them are elongated in shape. Almost all Typica plants – with a few exceptions such as the ‘Guatemala’ and ‘Blue Mountain’ lines – are susceptible to most diseases, pests and nematodes. The harvest yields of the Typica line are low to medium. Well-known cultivated representatives of the Typica line are ‘Blue Mountain’ (Colombia, Central America, Caribbean (Jamaica), Papua New Guinea), ‘Kent’ (India), “JavaTypica” (Indonesia), ‘BlawanPasu- mah’ (Indonesia, East Java), ‘BLP’ (Indonesia), ‘Bergendal’ (Indonesia, North Sumatra), ‘Jamaique’ (Cameroon), ‘Kona’ (Hawaii), “Sumatra” (Brazil) and ‘PlumaHidalgo’ (Mexico).

The dwarf varieties, which are mostly cultivated in Central America, are called ‘Villa Lobos’, ‘San Bernardo’, ‘San Ramon’ and “Pache”. A special representative, if not the best known, is the ‘Maragogype’, a mutation originating in Brazil, which grows to enormous sizes but is unfortunately highly susceptible to pests and frost. Maragogype has given rise to ‘Pacamara’ (a cross with ‘Pacas’), ‘Maracatu’ (a cross with ‘Catuai’) and “Maracaturra” (a cross with ‘Caturra’).

The history of the Typica line can be found in almost every coffee book, and the engraving of the first coffee plants being transported to Martinique, in which a naval officer waters a plant in a wooden box, is probably one of the most frequently printed images in coffee literature. Nevertheless, this depiction is understood more as myth and legend than as a historical document. It is thanks to Gabriel-Mathieu de Clieu (1687–1774), a French naval officer, later royal lieutenant and governor of Guadeloupe (1737–1752), that coffee spread throughout the Caribbean and from there across the entire American continent. In 1723, he brought a coffee tree from the Jardin des Plantes in Paris to the island of Martinique, thus laying the foundation for coffee cultivation in the French colonies. The plants in the Jardin de Plantes had been brought to Paris from Amsterdam around 1710 as war reparations. The plants in Amsterdam, in turn, originated from a plant imported from Java in 1706. The genetic origin of Typica can now be determined beyond doubt.

The descriptions and assumptions of ancient authors can now be confirmed. Through the mediation and suggestion of the Sun King's personal physician, De Clieu received three small plants that were to serve as the basis for a French coffee plantation in the Caribbean. Of the original three plants, only one survived the long voyage, which was accompanied by calm winds and a pirate attack. To save the plant, De Clieu shared his drinking water ration with it. The first harvest was possible as early as 1726, and the plants spread from there throughout the Caribbean and later also via Cuba to Mexico and the American continent. There is now also a theory that De Clieu took seeds instead of living plants to Martinique. This was common practice at the time, but plants were always preferred for reasons of time, as they meant less consideration had to be given to climatic conditions upon arrival and also saved valuable time until the first harvest. When coffee plants were introduced to the Île de la Bourbon, both plants and seeds were brought in.