Coffea whata?

So in the beginning of this blog series, I’m going to start with basic education about coffee. I will first talk about two different types of coffee bean, as well as how it’s grown, processed, and roasted. We’ll learn about the growing regions of coffee as well as roasting styles, and processing methods, all of which contribute to what ends up in the cup. After that we’ll move on to brewing methods, brewing tips. Following the brewing section, I’ll focus on tasting coffee, and complimentary food pairings. 

So lets get started shall we? 

Coffee grows on trees, it was originally discovered in Ethiopia by a goat herder. He noticed after his goats ate one of the cherries, the goat became more energetic; he then ate one for himself and noticed similar effects. Later on, Ethiopian monks used this cherry, ground it up and added it to hot water, perhaps creating the first cup of brewed (albeit not roasted) coffee. 

There are two main commercially significant species of coffee tree. Arabica and Robusta. Robusta is a lower quality coffee bean. This is mostly due to the fact it is grown at a lower altitude, so the bean is much softer, and does not withstand the roasting process as well. Also, the robusta bean contains more caffeine, however it is more of a “jittery” caffeine, and not as pleasant of an experience as that of arabica.  

Arabica, on the other hand, is a higher quality coffee, it’s grown at a higher altitude, and it is a harder bean which allows it to stand up to higher roasting temperatures and longer durations. The climate in which it grows also allows for a slower maturation of the bean inside the coffee cherry, which allows it to develop a more complex flavor. It has slightly less caffeine than robusta, however it is a “smoother” caffeine. For my blog, I will be focusing only on arabica beans. 

As mentioned before, many aspects contribute to the flavor of coffee. During the growing process, the main elements that contribute are the region, altitude, climate, and soil. There are 3 primary growing regions: Latin America, Africa, and the Asian Pacific. If you look at these regions on a map, you’ll find that it lies across the center of the geographical surface of earth, between the tropics of cancer and capricorn. These regions allow not only for the higher temperature climate needed by the coffea arabica plant to flourish, the altitudes in these regions provide for a cooler evening climate, to slow the process of growing, allowing the flavors to mature. Soil can also play a part, with various minerals, even volcanic ash contributing to the flavors of these coffees. 

Tune in next time where I discuss processing, the actual process of removing the coffee bean from the actual cherry. If you’ll look at the top of my blog, the three pictures tell the coffee’s story, The one on the left is the coffee cherry. 

Thank you for reading, please comment or contact me with any ideas or suggestions!

Stay caffeinated my friends!

--Cole

The opinions and views expressed in this publication are mine and mine alone. I do not receive any compensation for mentioning or preferring any product over another. The data presented is meant to be used as unbiased consumer education and any product mentioned is purely intended to be used as an example. I am employed by Starbucks Coffee Company, however I am not publishing this blog under their direction, compensation, or approval; I am acting and publishing completely on my own. Again, this blog is merely showcasing my passion for coffee and educating the general masses about this wondrous plant.