A growing number of farmers in Latin American nations renowned for their high-quality arabica coffee are starting to plant cheaper robusta — a crop still frowned upon or even outlawed in some countries.

Costa Rica bans robusta farming entirely, while coffee trade organizations in Colombia and elsewhere have historically discouraged it. But a growing number of Latin American farmers are warming up to the bitter bean as a cash crop. "It has good productivity and a good price," said Evelio Matamoros, a farmer in Nicaragua who first planted robusta in 2010. Robusta "has better yields and it doesn't need shade. That matters."