Coffee knowledge

Factors influencing taste

What influences the taste of coffee?

Coffee has over 800 possible flavors. The interplay of origin, variety, altitude, microclimate, post-harvest processing, roasting, and preparation all influence the flavor. While all these factors influence the taste, poorly executed roasting, in particular, can ruin the characteristics of the green coffee.

For example, roasting too short results in a vegetable-like or overly sour taste. Roasting too long results in smoky, burnt, or even medicinal-tasting bitterness. Often, particularly dark roasts are used to conceal the defects of inferior green coffee.

The goal of roasting is to preserve and enhance the coffee's flavor characteristics, achieving a balance between sweetness, acidity, and bitterness.

Coffee tasting

How do you describe the taste of coffee?

The Flavor Wheel of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) serves as a guide to categorize the flavor diversity of coffee. It is designed to sharpen the senses and sensitize one to the many flavor components of coffee. This granularity can seem complex at first. However, if one drinks coffee mindfully and pays attention to the individual aromas, a new world of flavor opens up, and discovery is a joy.

When categorizing using the Flavor Wheel, you start with the general internal components, such as fruity, sweet, nutty/cocoa-like, sour/fermented, or roasted. From there, you work your way outward, describing the flavor in increasingly specific ways. For example, a fruity coffee might taste like berries or more like dried fruit. Once this distinction has been established, flavors can be further categorized into individual berry types, such as strawberry, blueberry, or raspberry.

Coffee processing types

What do washed, honey and natural processing mean?

After harvesting, the coffee cherries can be processed wet or dry before being peeled and sorted. Since processing plays a crucial role in the flavor, we'd like to briefly explain the three basic methods.

Washed : After harvesting, the outer skin of the coffee cherry (pulp) is removed, leaving the mucilage (a sticky, sugar-rich substance) on the beans for a while. The beans are then fermented and agitated in water, removing the mucilage. Finally, the beans are rinsed and dried. The cup profile of washed coffees is particularly clear.

Natural : The coffee cherries are placed in the sun to dry immediately after harvest. Only after drying are the cherries freed of pulp, mucilage, and parchment, leaving only the two seeds, or beans. The cup profile of dry-processed coffees is particularly sweet, but not quite as clear as that of washed coffees.

Naturals drying on African beds at Finca La Divina, El Salvador.

Honey : In this processing method, the outer skin and pulp of the coffee cherries are first removed. In the honey process, the mucilage is either not removed at all or only partially removed with a small amount of water. Depending on whether and how much mucilage is removed before the beans are dried and exposed to sunlight, a distinction is made between yellow, red, or black honeys. The "Pulped Naturals" processing method, widely used in Brazil, also counts as honey, but in this case the mucilage is removed before drying. Honey-processed coffees promise plenty of sweetness and body.

Honey processed coffee, Finca La Divina, El Salvador.

Freshness

When does coffee taste best?

Roasted coffee is ready to drink immediately after roasting, but it still needs some time to "degas." Roasting coffee releases CO2, some of which is bound in the coffee bean. After roasting, the bound CO2 slowly escapes from the bean, especially within the first one to three weeks. The darker the roast, the more CO2 is released, and the longer the process takes.

For example, the high CO2 concentration creates a rich crema during espresso extraction, but the espresso tastes flatter, less complex, and has a dominant roasted bitterness. To allow the coffee to develop its full aroma and, above all, its sweetness, you should allow it to mature for one to three weeks, depending on the roasting level.

Our recommendation is:

• Light Roast & Filter: 1 week
• Medium Roast: 2-3 weeks
• Dark Roast & Robusta Blends: 3 weeks

Shelf life of coffee

How long should I consume the coffee?

In principle, coffee doesn't spoil any more than uncooked rice or pasta. Therefore, there's no health risk. However, oxidation processes cause the aromas in coffee to evaporate. We've observed that coffee begins to lose some of its flavor three months after the roasting date. This loss of flavor is slow but steady. In addition, light espresso and filter coffee roasts deteriorate somewhat faster than dark espresso roasts. If you won't consume coffee for a longer period of time, we recommend freezing it.

Coffee and health

Does coffee cause stomach problems?

This depends on the coffee, the amount, the preparation, and the person drinking it. Some people are more sensitive to caffeine and chlorogenic acid than others. The effects of caffeine on gastric acid regulation are not yet fully understood . However , oral and gastric bitter receptors play a role in gastric acid regulation.

Robusta beans (Coffea canephora) contain almost twice as much caffeine as Arabica beans (Coffea arabica), and pure caffeine tastes extremely bitter. Therefore, those sensitive to caffeine or bitter substances should avoid Robusta and very dark roasted coffee. It's worth a try!