A Little Overview Of Coffee Beans
The coffee plant has two main species.
There is the Coffea Arabica, which is
the more traditional coffee and
considered to be superior in flavor, and
the Coffea Canephora known more commonly
as Robusta. Robusta tends to be higher
in caffeine and can be grown in climates
and environments were Arabica would not
be profitable. Robusta is also typically
more bitter and acidic in flavor.
Because of this Robusta tends to be less
expensive. High quality Robusta is also
used to blend espresso for more bite,
and to lower costs.
A little known fact is that some coffee
beans improve their flavor with age. It
is the green unroasted beans which are
aged; the typical length of time is 3
years, though there are some houses
which sell beans aged to 7 years. Aged
beans have a fuller flavor and are less
acidic.
Growing conditions, soil types and
weather patterns during the growing
season all contribute to the flavor of
the bean, creating the differences in
flavor from points of origin, such as
Kenya or Brazil. However, roasting adds
its own flavor, sometimes to the point
that it is difficult to tell where the
beans originated from, even by
experienced cuppers.
The lighter the roast the more the
natural flavor of the bean remains. This
is why beans from regions such as Kenya
or Java are normally roasted lightly,
retaining their regional characteristics
and dominate flavors. There is a method
of roasting in Malaysia which adds
butter during the roasting producing a
variety called Ipoh White Coffee.
Beans roasted to darker browns begin to
taste more like the method of roasting
than the original flavors. Dark roasts
such as French or Vienna Roasts tend to
completely eclipse the original flavor.
Roasting to whatever degree, while
adding stronger flavor does not effect
the amount of caffeine of the bean.
Fry pan roasting was popular in the 19th
century, since the beans were normally
shipped and purchased still in their
green state. You simply poured the green
coffee beans in a frying pan and roasted
them in the kitchen. This process took a
great deal of skill to do in a
consistent manner. Fry pan roasting
became much less popular when vacuum
sealing pre-roasted coffee was
perfected. However, in order to vacuum
seal roasted beans, you had to wait for
them to stop emitting CO2, as roasted
beans do for several days after the
roasting process. What this meant was
that vacuum sealed coffee was always
just a little stale as the flavors begin
to turn bitter and deteriorate in just
about a week after roasting.
Home roasting is once again becoming
popular with the creation of
computerized drum roasters which help
simplify the process. There are some
people who have found methods of
effectively roasting beans using their
hot air pop corn makers.
The region the bean is from as discussed
before is a primary factor to the type
of flavor you can expect from the brew,
though it is very true that ‘new’ or
unexpected tastes come from every
region.
Arabia and Africa grow their coffee
beans in high altitudes in the rich
black soils of Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia
and Tanzania. The flavors of these beans
are distinct and of legendary status.
The Americas coffees are grown in near
rainforest conditions in areas such as
Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
Coffees of the Americas tend to be very
well balanced and aromatic.
The Pacifics includes coffees from
Sumatra, Java, New Guinea and Sulawesi,
which are as various in flavor as the
islands they come from.
Then there are the exotics such as
certified Jamaica Blue Mountain and
certified Hawaiian Kona. These are rare
indeed and can go for as much as %60.00
per pound.
To learn about cabbage nutrition and
cabbage plant, visit the Fruits And
Vegetables website.
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The coffee plant has two main species. There is the Coffea
Arabica, which is the more traditional coffee and considered
to be superior in flavor, and the Coffea Canephora known
more commonly as Robusta. Robusta tends to be higher in
caffeine and can be grown in climates and environments were
Arabica would not
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