Gourmet Coffee Beans - a Brief Overview

The coffee plant has two main species. There is thesince the beans were normally shipped and purchased
Coffea Arabica, which is the more traditional coffeestill in their green state. You simply poured the green
and considered to be superior in flavor, and thecoffee beans in a frying pan and roasted them in the
Coffea Canephora known more commonly askitchen. This process took a great deal of skill to do
Robusta. Robusta tends to be higher in caffeine andin a consistent manner. Fry pan roasting became
can be grown in climates and environments weremuch less popular when vacuum sealing pre-roasted
Arabica would not be profitable. Robusta is alsocoffee was perfected. However, in order to vacuum
typically more bitter and acidic in flavor. Because ofseal roasted beans, you had to wait for them to
this Robusta tends to be less expensive. High qualitystop emitting CO2, as roasted beans do for several
Robusta is also used to blend espresso for more bite,days after the roasting process. What this meant
and to lower costs.was that vacuum sealed coffee was always just a
A little known fact is that some coffee beanslittle stale as the flavors begin to turn bitter and
improve their flavor with age. It is the greendeteriorate in just about a week after roasting.
unroasted beans which are aged; the typical length ofHome roasting is once again becoming popular with
time is 3 years, though there are some houses whichthe creation of computerized drum roasters which
sell beans aged to 7 years. Aged beans have a fullerhelp simplify the process. There are some people
flavor and are less acidic.who have found methods of effectively roasting
Growing conditions, soil types and weather patternsbeans using their hot air pop corn makers.
during the growing season all contribute to the flavorThe region the bean is from as discussed before is a
of the bean, creating the differences in flavor fromprimary factor to the type of flavor you can expect
points of origin, such as Kenya or Brazil. However,from the brew, though it is very true that 'new' or
roasting adds its own flavor, sometimes to the pointunexpected tastes come from every region.
that it is difficult to tell where the beans originatedArabia and Africa grow their coffee beans in high
from, even by experienced cuppers.altitudes in the rich black soils of Kenya, Zimbabwe,
The lighter the roast the more the natural flavor ofEthiopia and Tanzania. The flavors of these beans are
the bean remains. This is why beans from regionsdistinct and of legendary status.
such as Kenya or Java are normally roasted lightly,The Americas coffees are grown in near rainforest
retaining their regional characteristics and dominateconditions in areas such as Colombia, Costa Rica and
flavors. There is a method of roasting in MalaysiaGuatemala. Coffees of the Americas tend to be very
which adds butter during the roasting producing awell balanced and aromatic.
variety called Ipoh White Coffee.The Pacifics includes coffees from Sumatra, Java,
Beans roasted to darker browns begin to taste moreNew Guinea and Sulawesi, which are as various in
like the method of roasting than the original flavors.flavor as the islands they come from.
Dark roasts such as French or Vienna Roasts tend toThen there are the exotics such as certified Jamaica
completely eclipse the original flavor. Roasting toBlue Mountain and certified Hawaiian Kona. These are
whatever degree, while adding stronger flavor doesrare indeed and can go for as much as $60.00 per
not effect the amount of caffeine of the bean.pound.
Fry pan roasting was popular in the 19th century,