Coffee arabica,
also known as the Arabic coffee, is a species of
flowering plant in the
coffee
and madder
family Rubiaceae. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated, and is
currently
the
dominant cultivar, representing about 60% of global production. Coffee produced from the (less acidic,
more
bitter,
and more highly caffeinated) robusta bean (C. canephora) makes up most of the remaining coffee
production.
coffee originates from Ethiopia and was first cultivated in Yemen, and documented by the 12th century.