Coffee Glossary

Coffee Glossary Buy Cheap Coffee Online

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Acidity – this term carries a positive character and is used to describe the level of flavor in a cup of coffee. All those pleasant qualities that refer to spiciness, pungency and bright flavor are united under this notion. Each coffee has a certain degree of acidity, however its quantity varies depending on the roast level. The lighter the coffee bean’s roast, the less acidity it has. Without it, coffee is plain, flat and is unable to bring satisfaction to a coffee drinker. Acrid - unpleasantly sharp bitter flavor or taste, especially in a coffee that remains on the stovetop for too long period of time. is the best coffee bean known for its high qualities; Arabica - its flavor is more elegant as in comparison to Robusta beans and is usually prepared solely, without blending. The Arabica trees are very delicate and are more sensitive to different unfavorable climate changes. Aroma – the perfume of already prepared coffee that can be chocolaty, floral, fruity, candy-like and many more. A green bean has a faint fragrance; the aroma that we perceive is the result of the roast process. Thus, the darker the roast level, the more intense is the coffee fragrance that possesses smoky and charcoal nuances.

Barista – a professional coffee maker that knows everything about coffee from A to Z. Bitter – a perception that we feel at the back of our tongue. The darker the coffee roast, the more bitterness it possesses which is purposely made. However, this bitter characteristic is of a negative nature that brings an unpleasant feeling to our gustatory senses. Blend – usually a compound of two or more types of coffee created with a purpose to combine opposite gustatory features; to create a high quality Arabica coffee on the basis of cheaper Robusta coffee, etc. Body – the coffee consistence felt in one’s mouth. It varies from light to medium and heavy; from buttery to syrupy. Bouquet – the odor that comes from the coffee grounds. Caffeine - a white crystalline bitter alkaloid responsible for the stimulant action of tea, coffee, and cocoa: a constituent of many tonics and analgesics. Cappuccino – is a coffee drink prepared from one or two doses of espresso crown with equal parts of steamed milk and steamed milk froth, also often topped with chocolate chips. Crema – the caramel colored layer that appears on the top of an espresso. If you receive your part of crema on the top, then your coffee is properly prepared. Cupping – a term used to describe the process of sampling coffee. More detailed description of coffee tasting can be found here. Decaffeinated – coffee that is almost free of caffeine. However, it is not the same as free of caffeine. A study showed that drinking 10 cups of decaf coffee is almost the same as consuming a cup or two of caffeinated coffee. Espresso - an Italian drink prepared by forcing boiling water through finely roasted coffee grounds at high pressure. An ideal espresso occupies the half of a cup with crema on the top. Flavor - refers both to taste and aroma which create the overall coffee sensation. Finish (Aftertaste) – the remaining sensation after the coffee beverage is swallowed. This may be as follows: sweet, spicy, smoky, long lasting, etc.

Joe or Cup of Joe – the name goes back to the mid 1840’s when the Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels prohibited alcohol consumption on ships. Instead he ordered that coffee should be obligatory served to mariners. Thus, a cup of coffee began to be called “a cup of Joe”. However, it is still an open question because there is a version that the famous phrase has been put in practice much earlier than this event. Irish coffee – is made up from Irish whiskey (though there are also non-alcoholic receipts) and brown sugar with strong hot coffee with beaten cream. Kona – this coffee is harvested in Hawaii only and is known for its medium body, aromatic nuances, sweet flavor and light acidity level. Robusta – is the second (after Arabica) sought after coffee due to its low cost and capability to blend with other coffees. Robusta trees are more resistant to frost and other weather conditions; it is easy to maintain and gives harvest all year round. However, Robusta bean have plainer, flat taste and aroma as in comparison to Arabica beans; still it is able to blend with anything not harming more precious Arabica sorts, at lesser price. Rich – such coffee possesses a lot of flavors, is full bodied and brings a whole lot of pleasure. Tone – the color of a coffee, its appearance.

Coffee History An Old African Legend

Coffee plant has been discovered much earlier than the civilized world got to know it. This memorable event occurred approximately in the 800 A.D. According to an African legend, Kaldi, the goat shepherd, had been grazing his flock when suddenly he noticed that the goats began dancing around coffee bushes growing nearby. This seemed strange to their herdsman who decided to taste these magic berries that agitated his cattle so much. Soon he has also been caught in the general hilarity. The Arabic Coffee Empire

After just a couple of centuries (circa 1000 and till 1600 A.D.), coffee moved to Arabic countries. Namely there it took its modern shape - the beans were first roasted and brewed for drinking but before this popular method came into life, the beans were pressed with animal fat and milk and rolled into balls. The Arabs took these beads with them while traveling as some kind of energetic remedy. Only after a couple of centuries the Muslims discovered that the beans could be drank and prepared but this beverage is still far from the modern drink.

The Arabic population also used the plant as a kind of holy water in their everyday life: dervishes were falling into a trance with its help, growing in wisdom and finding the right way to wander; the religious people had to have more energy and strength to stay awake while praying and doing their business and the coffee beans were right there for them giving the energy they needed. Thus, coffee has been everywhere in Muslims life and was the integral part of their culture. And anywhere the Arabs spread their culture and religion, they brought with them coffee beans as well. However, not until that in the 1600s the outer world got the possibility to drink coffee – the beans were constantly exported but in such a way (roasted or boiled) that no European or other nations except Africa or Arabic regions had the access to the plant itself. Coffee and a Piece of Smuggling

According to an old legend, a half wanderer and the other half contrabandist of an Indian origin named Baba Budan left Mecca – the cradle of Islamic religion, a shrine for pilgrimage- with the fruitful coffee seeds under his clothes. Thus coffee reached India. Europe: The Thirst for Money

At the beginning of the 17th century (in 1615) an Italian trader showed the world the coffee beverage brought from Turkey. But the product in its final shape wasn’t worth a brass farthing in the judgment of the merchants who were eager for profit. Thus, the rush for the coffee seeds started. The Dutch at the Head of the Line

The Dutch dealers left behind the whole Europe bringing in the coffee plant for the first time in 1616 and later, in 1696 they even established the first coffee property located on Java colony (Indonesian territory now) possessed by Europeans. Hereby, the coffee growing gave the Dutch a lucky chance to gain a lot of money and omnipotence in the whole Europe. But every story has its own ending. The biggest mistake was presenting coffee trees to the European aristocrats and forgetting that this might lead to spreading the coffee plant outside Europe. The Way the Coffee Plant reached Martinique

In circa 1714 Louis XIV received a coffee tree as a gift from the Dutch – for the Royal Botanical Garden in Paris. Some time later a naval officer Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu turned out to visit Paris on his voyage to Martinique. He was so eager to get some coffee tree clippings (but was not allowed) that even took the liberty to sneak into the Garden and steal a coffee branch. While on officer’s travel to Martinique, a passenger impatient for capturing the coffee seedling broke down a stick from the cherished plant; the French ship was grappled by pirates, then the storm came down to them. All in all, the young mariner gave up a half of his fortune because of this magic tree.

However, the shoot took its root deep into the Martinique soil and brought forth over 18 millions of trees in circa 50 years. Its offspring later will contribute to its popularization into Latin America’s mass market. All Roads Lead to…Brazil

This event might never happen if it were not for the desire of the Brazilian government in the 1727 to enter the coffee market. Naturally there was no legal way to do that and Lt. Col. Francisco de Melo Palheta enters the scene. His mission was to obtain coffee seedlings by any means and he did it but not without the help of a woman. Being dispatched to French Guiana, the brave colonel starts his coffee mission and goes easy choosing the least resistance – the governor’s spouse. The officer’s sweetheart falls into net of the charming Brazilian and convinced by him that several coffee branches will remind Pahleta of her, gives the artful man the coffee seedlings hidden in a bouquet of flowers. From this moment rises the glorious Brazilian coffee empire – the absolute coffee leader that introduces coffee to the mass market. The curtain falls, the auditorium burst into ovations.

Coffee Harvesting The phase following growing is called harvesting, i.e. when the ripen coffee beans are selected by pickers or special mechanisms. As it has been mentioned before, the coffee tree needs approximately 9 months for its fruit to mellow. However the process of reaping carries a certain character - the coffee berries mature unevenly throughout the cluster, thus the pickers have to be constantly engaged in the process of harvesting. They gather the first batch of the yield, than comes the time for the second lot, and so and so forth (Except Brazil where all coffee beans ripen simultaneously and are picked in one step). 3 ways of selecting coffee berries

There are 3 types of coffee selecting or picking. The first one is the picking or the selective picking method. This way of collecting coffee is considered to be the most effective one as it allows a careful harvesting - only the fully ripen and the best fruit are selected by this way so that green beans can be selected later on. Stripping is another picking technique that is widely used namely in Brazil as the coffee berries grow there evenly and don’t need a thorough and repeated selecting as they do in other coffee growing countries. The method consists in picking the whole cluster when it is ripen for the most part, instead of waiting for each bean. Thus, the coffee harvesting here is much easier and usually finishes much more rapidly which allows Brazilian farmers be a little ahead their competitors.

And, finally, the mechanical coffee harvesting is being considered as a very successful method. It functions very carefully and faster than the previous picking methods, is a modern way of selecting coffee and needs less people for controlling the process. However, as it has been said before the selective picking is still considered the best as each berry is given individual attention at a lesser damage.

Coffee Processing And the final step finishing the preparation for the coffee roasting is called processing. There are two major methods of coffee processing – dry and wet milling. a) Dry milling – is usually practiced in the countries where the conditions for coffee growing are not ideal and the coffee berries are of a poorer quality. The process occurs in the following manner: after the harvesting coffee beans are dried under the direct sunlight or by special drying machines until they gain the appropriate humidity level which is 10-12%. Thus they are already prepared for the roasting. b) Wet milling – is a more complex method as in comparison with the previous one, still it is the preferred way of drying and provides the higher quality coffee beans. Harvest is still in process but the drying already begins. When the first crop is gathered, it is shifted to a special pulping machine that separates the peeling from the berry and after that the bean is allowed to dry out or is sent to a particular fermentation reservoir where it stays for a while for fermentation. The next step is to carefully wash the beans so that any unnecessary remnants are fully taken off. Only than the beans are dried under the sun or in the special drying machines. In result, we have the green coffee bean that is still not the final product – it still needs roasting to be grinded for the coffee beverage itself.Wrapped in vellum, the coffee beans are stored in special ventilated dry warehouses and waiting for their turn to be roasted and grinded for the people’s beloved beverage – coffee drink, espresso and many others.

Coffee Growing

Some General Information about Coffee

Coffee beans or more correct would be to say coffee berries of red color grow on a tree that reaches circa 13 feet and looks like an evergreen bush. In fact a coffee plant can reach up to 16 and even 40 feet tall if left untouched but it is usually kept up to 10-13 feet for an easier cropping and a richer harvest. A coffee tree is considered to be a long-liver as it produces coffee beans for over a period of 60 years and can live even longer up to 100 years. In its first two years of life the coffee plant blossoms with white jasmine-like flowers that emit an unforgettable sweet-scented odor. But the tree gives its first harvest only after 3-6 years of living – red berries much like cherries that need almost 9 months to mature. One tree gives only sufficient harvest of berries to make a half a kilogram of roasted coffee. Thus the farmers need to grow thousands of trees on their plantation to earn real money. Growing

As it has been mentioned before, the coffee plant has the tendency to grow tall. If let it grow wild, the tree will not only be difficult for picking up the berries but will also give a slender harvest. It should be noted that there are hundreds of various coffee plants in the universe and only two species – Arabica and Robusta – can be used for coffee producing. The tree naturally grows in the shadow but it is intentionally planted under the direct sunshine to provide more fruit.It needs constant pruning as well – to be strong in order not to bend under the strain of the fruit; to be in range of the pickers. The excess branches suck the lifeblood out of the coffee plant not allowing it to give good yield. Fertilization is another important factor when growing coffee. The soil constantly drains and is no longer beneficial for the coffee, thus the farmers are constantly applying different fertilizers so that their trees don’t become impoverished and are able to provide enough strength for their fruitage. And of course the watering and the temperature are not the least important factors when cultivating coffee.It is grown in the warm climate that Africa, some Arabic countries and Latin America can provide, therefore it’s not surprising at all that the coffee plant is cultivated namely on the territory of the mentioned above countries. The ideal temperature is 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit all year round. The water amount should also be abundant. In the areas when coffee grows naturally, there are a lot of rains, such as blossom showers and monsoons which

stimulate the coffee tree blossom. But besides this, there is some artificial flooding that supplements the natural watering: Sprinkler irrigation systems are used together with blossom showers; drip irrigation systems help yielding coffee crops as well as other intercrops. Thus if a farmer puts his trust in the forces of nature only, he will never have a good harvest and won’t be able to export his coffee worldwide and thus be a good trader.

Coffee species: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica There are 2 main species in the coffee world which are better or worse known, I dare to say, by the whole world. These are Coffea canephora , usually known as Robusta and Coffea Arabica or simply Arabica. The two types are mixed together to give the world what we know as coffee. There are some other species which are less popular because there are few places where they grow in small quantities to be commercially successful. Nonetheless it deserves mentioning it – this is coffee Liberica. Coffea arabica

This is the most sought after coffee specie with high quality tasting characteristics, little acidity and caffeine. Coffea Arabica is originally grown in the mountains of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula (hereof its name - arabica) as well as the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan. However the trees are now almost all mixed with another planted ones. Arabica green beans can also be found in Boma Plateau in southeastern Sudan and on Mt Marsabit in northern Kenya. But it is unclear whether these are native species or naturalized. Coffea Arabica is a bush which grows 9 to 12 meters tall but the height can be regulated in order to give more crops. The plant has an open branching system; its leaves are of a lustrous dark green color, have elongated form (6–12 cm long and 4–8 cm broad), and are opposite to each other. The blossom is white; the fruit is drupaceous (also called a "berry"), when it ages, its color ranges from bright red to purple and usually has two seeds (the so-called “coffee bean”).

It takes up to 7 years for coffee Arabica to start yielding. Arabica is typically cultivated at a height of 1,300 and 1,500 m but there are species planted at the sea level and at 2.800 m height. The plant is able to stand low temperatures but not frost. It needs a little shade to be grown if opposite to Robusta which does very well under direct sun rays. During couple of years after planting, coffea Arabica gives yield of small and very fragrant blossom. When flowers open on a sunny day, they crop great number of small green beans or berries. This can bring to low quality coffee beans and bad harvest in the following years as the bush tends to foster berries maturing, thus injuring its health. In order to avoid this, the plants are usually pruned. Coffee blossom survives only several days and begin to fade away resulting in green berries. After awhile, the fruit begins ripening turning from green into yellow, light red and then deep red. These green coffee beans are called cherries and are ready to be picked now. The berries often ripen unevenly, thus there’s a need of hand picking to select ready beans of coffee and leave green berries to mature.

A so-called coffee tree can give from 0.5 kg to 5kg of dried beans depending on some specific tree features and climate. Each berry typically contains two locules with 2 beans inside, though it can also contain 3 or 1 bean called peaberry. Peaberry(also caracoli) is a coffee bean. Usually coffee cherry is a fruit with two sections and 2 or even 3 beans inside it. But there are cases when only one of the two beans gets embryonated and the other vanishes. This pea-formed bean is called peaberry. Around 5% of all coffee beans yielded are green peaberry coffee beans. Kona coffee is in fact an Arabica coffee variety grown on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. Solely coffees grown in Kona regions can be added "Kona" prefix. The peculiar "Kona" climate along with its sunny mornings,

thick clouds or rains in the afternoon, and a rich soil are the perfect conditions for Kona coffee beans growth.

Coffea canephora (robusta) is the second most sought after coffee specie in the world after Arabica beans. The plant takes its origins from central and western subsaharan Africa. It is also grown on the territory of Brazil, Africa and Southeast Asia India, Indonesia and Vietnam which surpassed its neighbors and became world's largest Robusta producer. As it is already known, canephora is easy to maintain and thus to produce. The beans are considered of lower grade if compared to Arabica beans and are often mixed with the latter to make coffee rpoduction cheaper. However it is often included in instant coffee and espresso blends to form "crema". It has a huge amount of caffeine twice as much as in Arabica coffee.

The Robusta bean wasn't recognized as coffee specie until 19th century, only 100 years later when same happened to Arabica. The plant has a shallow root system and grows to about 10 meters tall. It is less susceptible to climate changes, diseases and pests than Arabica bush. It gives a big crop, though it flowers irregularly and needs almost 10-11 months for cherries to ripen.

Coffea liberica

This coffee specie was first discovered in Liberia, West Africa. It grows up to 9 meters tall and gives cherries larger than those picked from Arabica plants. The plant was brought to Indonesia at the end of the 19th century to replace the Arabica trees killed by the coffee rust disease. It is similar to Robusta beans tasting characteristics and is still found in parts of Central and East Java nowadays.

There is also a diversity of Liberica coffee called Baraco grown in the Philippines (provinces of Batangas and Cavite). However many traders pass off Excelsa as Baracao as its supply is limited and very expensive.

Shade grown coffee As we already know, coffee is grown in several ways: sun-grown and shade grown. As it comes from their names, a huge part of coffee plants is grown directly under the sun and others are protected by shade of a tree gathering. What are advantages and disadvantages, similarities and differences of both ways of growing? We all know from history that coffee was first discovered by Kaldi, the Ethiopian goat shepherd, then spread to the Arabic world, Europe and only several centuries later it reached the American continents. Trees brought from Europe would die under direct sunlight, thus a shade grown specie was cultivated.

Sun-grown plant means a plant growing under the sunlight with no protection. These plants grow much faster if in comparison to the shade-grown ones and, of course, give bigger crop and are more successful commercially. But in order to maintain such kind of tree and produce rich harvest, a grower needs to invest a lot to buy various kinds of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. This method proved to be very harmful for the environment, thus shade-grown coffee regained its past popularity and is “in fashion” again. Shade grown coffee is a bush (I bet you knew coffee plant is a bush though it can be as tall as a coffee tree) grown under a shelter of another trees. A shed of different trees in a large quantity is planted on farms to create favorable conditions for the future coffee bushes. Thus, besides cultivating only coffee plants, a farmer is growing bearing and common trees which nourish the soil, act as a shelter for birds (bird friendly trees), animals and insects. This ecologically beneficial growing is certified by Rainforest Alliance and Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

There are several types of shade which influence a tree growth: Rustic is used only on small farms, usually owed by a family. A coffee tree is planted among an already existing grove just slightly changing its original structure. Traditional Polyculture Farmers themselves decide what kinds of trees to plant in order to create a beneficial environment for coffee bushes. And if coffee is yielding poorly, they can always feed their families with harvest form those trees. Commercial Polyculture Looks very similar to the traditional one but the canopy for coffee isn’t as thick and some trees are even cut down in order to provide more light.

Reduced or Specialized Shade This means that a single type of pruned trees is used for shade grown coffee. Its shrubs are planted in a more dense way and thus look more deliberate. Full-Sun or Unshaded Monoculture This way implies no additional trees except coffee bushes.