CONFUSED ABOUT COFFEE
It seems that everywhere you look a new coffee store or
coffeehouse appears in the marketplace. New roasters claim
Gourmet Beans in every supermarket. How can you tell which
have the best flavor and taste for the money?
It's been our experience that a consumer often cannot trust
the advertisements, package descriptions, or even the labeling
used within our industry. What will really help is a
few basic facts and educating your palette. The truth is in
the tasting! And with a little attention you'd be surprised
what your palette knows without much help.
THE BASIC FACTS
Be sure you have the right specie - 100% Colombian only
tells you the country of origin. Most countries can grow two
or three species: i.e. Liberica, Robusta, Arabica. -But only
the Arabicas can give you a true gourmet coffee taste. Be
sure your coffee is solely ARABICA SPECIES. They have the most
flavor.
Coffee is imported by Grade. -AA is the highest; then
A,B,C, and D in descending order. Always be sure you buy AA
and A grade only.
There are only a finite amount of great coffees being
grown around the world. Every roaster can't have the finest
beans available. Only those roasters who buy direct from
ports of origin after cupping samples sent by numerous
growers can import the most desirable coffee.
How is the coffee roasted? Often roasters will over roast
beans so that less flavorful coffees seem stronger and
tastier. A good roaster knows that some coffees need less
roasting for the true varietal flavors to come out. Be sure
your roaster varies the roasting time to give some varieties
a medium, chestnut appearance (High City Roast) while others
are roasted longer to bring out the oils of the bean closer
to the surface (Dark Roast).
YOUR PALETTE
While a complete discussion of the palette is beyond the
scope of this article, here's a way to describe what the
different coffees taste like. Keep in mind this is a
simplified way of tasting different varieties and blends.
Think of coffees as on a taste scale from sweet to acidic,
with neutral in between.
SWEET--------------------NEUTRAL----------------------ACIDIC
This means that when you smell and taste any coffee, your
palette will identify one or more of the above tastes.
(Try preparing the coffee the way you like; you can even put
a little milk or cream in if that's how you normally drink
it- just leave out sugar or sweetener when doing taste
comparisons). Make sure your coffee is just a little cooler
then usual when tasting.
EXAMPLES
- The Sweet Ones:
- Arabian Mocha
- Sumatra
- Colombian
- The Acidic Ones:
- Dark French Roast
- Guatemala Antigua
- Dark Roasted Brazilian Santos
- The Neutrals:
- Costa Rica
- Hawaiian Kona AA
- Jamaican Blue Mountain
HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT COFFEE ?
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