COFFEE CHARACTERISTICS

Coffee beans come in two main types, Arabica and Robusta.  Arabica are more flavorful and have less caffeine. Robusta beans grow at lower altitudes and are less prone to disease, and are often used is mass produced (supermarket) blends of coffee, and most instant coffees.  Arabica grows at 3,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level, and are more expensive and more difficult to produce.  In 2006, about 2/3 of all beans grown will be Arabica.  There are over a dozen other types of coffee beans grown, but production of these types together account for less than 1% of all beans sold.  Coffee trees are susceptible to frost, so all coffee is grown is in the temperate regions each side of the equator.

Beans are picked when the cherries are red and ripe.  As each cherry contains just 2 beans, it takes a lot of cherries to make up a pound of coffee (about 4,000 beans in a pound).   Not all cherries ripen ay the same rate, so each tree requires careful picking.

Once berries are picked, the grower can choose from two processes to separate the beans (seeds, actually) from the fruit.  In the dry method, sometimes called “unwashed”, the cherries are allowed to dry in the sun, or are sometimes dried in large dryers.  Machines then strip the beans from the fruit.  It the wet process, cherries are soaked until the fruit peels off and leaves a “washed” coffee bean.  After processing, they are dried again until they have about 11% or 12% moisture.  They are inspected, and then packed for shipping.  The beans are green in color.

Coffee is graded by a convoluted system to quantify defects and overall quality.  They are sorted by size (bigger beans come from higher Arabica trees and are usually considered best in flavor), using screen with holes that allow only a certain size to pass through.  It is important that they be the same size as roasting is a fast process and different sized beans would not cook equally. 

The beans are roasted in special roasting equipment, using a drum that revolves much like a cement truck’s drum, as the beans must be constantly mixed and moved off the drum wall (the temperature is from 400 degrees to 500 degrees during roasting).   Beans lose more moisture under this heat, and emerge at almost half their pre-cooked weight.  Sugars and other carbohydrates are caramelized (burned) in the process, resulting in darker beans and more flavors. Beans change from green to yellow and light brown after just 7 minutes of roasting; some mass marketers use this roast (called cinnamon, or light roast) for their finished product.  More still add a few more minutes until a medium, or city roast is created.   This adds more caramelization, more intensity of flavor (flavor is comprised of three characteristics called Acidity, Aroma, and Body).  After 12 or 13 minutes the beans transform, with caramelization overtaking aroma, and oil leaches from the bean giving it more spice – this is dark roast, or French roast coffee.  After another minute or two, Italian or Espresso roast is created, as the beans’ sugars start a turn to carbon and a burned taste begins to predominate.

The flavor of a roasted coffee bean deteriorates rapidly, oily darker roasts more quickly than lighter roasts.  Espresso is made from darker roasts; so care must be given for the beans to maintain freshness.  Coffee should not be ground until a few hours before use, the sooner to use is always better.  It does not need to be refrigerated, but should be kept from heat or light, and must be sealed in airtight containers if not used within a couple hours.

“Fair Trade” and relationship coffees are becoming popular.  Coffee is second only to petroleum as a traded commodity, and price pressure is intense.  Many growers take advantage of laborers, and working conditions can be horrific.  As a result, a subset of concerned roasters got together and promised to pay coffee growers at a fair and reasonable set price (coffee prices fluctuate widely and often).  They helped growers with financial credits, and in return growers promise fair wages and benefits for employees.  The net result is a stable relationship and a superior product, grown and harvested under better conditions that lead to a better bean.  Where the organization called Fair Trade (TransFair USA controls US specifications) is involved, coffee produced under this system is called by that name; but many good coffees are produced via relationships that are identical but without the Fair Trade label.  Organic coffees must be certified as produced without the use of certain harmful chemicals.  Some but not all Organic coffees are also Fair Trade or relationship coffees.

As mentioned, coffee flavor is comprised of three characteristics called Acidity, Aroma, and Body.

            Acidity is not what we normally think of when it’s applied to coffee flavor.  Acidity refers to the sharp, tart feeling we get at the back and sides of the tongue.  This astringent taste; sometimes referred to as brightness, usually washes quickly away.  A Costa Rican coffee often has very high acidity in coffee terms, a Sumatran has relatively little (Sumatran has a mellower, lingering taste).

            Aroma adds nutty, floral, citrus or other subtle notes to the five basic taste sensations we normally speak of: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (this the meaty flavor associated with proteins).

            Body is the mouth feel of coffee; that is, its fluidity and heaviness.  If two coffees were to be diluted with equal amounts of milk, should one retain more coffee flavor it would be considered as having a heavier body.

All three combine to give coffee its taste.  Please practice tasting coffee and identifying its flavor characteristics.  It is a skill that requires practice and thoughtful consideration, much like tasting wines.

Factors affecting flavor include soil conditions, altitude, climate, processing method, and even the surrounding plants the coffee is grown with.  “Shade Grown” in one way attests to this.

Latin American (South and Central American, including some parts of Mexico) are generally considered lighter in body, offering clean favors (not citrus, nutty, floral or earthy) and higher acidity.

Indonesian (along with Sri Lanka and other coastal areas in the region) coffees are full bodied, earthy, very smooth, and with very low acidity; often having faint floral or spice flavor notes.

Arabian and East African coffees vary more, but usually have medium (“crisp”) acidity, intense floral aromas and more exotic flavor notes (Kenyan sometimes brings grapefruit to mind) that is described as wine or fruity.