Coffee bean origins influence the taste of the drink
By Dmitri Zeus Fridman
Founder, Vertigo Coffee
The world of coffee is vast and varied. Some of it is good, some
of it is bad and plenty falls in between. When shopping for your
weekly caffeine fix, it helps to know what it is you are about to
acquire, quality and flavor wise.
Coffee flavor is a product of microclimate, soil, elevation,
tree varieties and processing. Given the multitude of factors that
affect the finished product, is it any wonder that the flavor can
vary even between coffees grown on the same farm?
Coffee bean origins influence the taste of the drink
By Dmitri Zeus Fridman
Founder, Vertigo Coffee
The world of coffee is vast and varied. Some of it is good, some of it is bad and plenty falls in between. When shopping for your weekly caffeine fix, it helps to know what it is you are about to acquire, quality and flavor wise.
Coffee flavor is a product of microclimate, soil, elevation, tree varieties and processing. Given the multitude of factors that affect the finished product, is it any wonder that the flavor can vary even between coffees grown on the same farm?
Nevertheless, in general, we can group the world’s coffees into four different regions: Latin America, Africa/Arabia (Yemen), Indonesia and Island coffees (Caribbean/Hawaii). Coffees within each region tend to share certain similarities with each other.
Latin coffee beans
The Latins are known for straight-forward flavors, with bright, clean acidity, medium body and mild sweetness. The best of these coffees are distinguished by their complexity, clarity and elegance. Here in the States, this is a taste profile that pretty much defines coffee to the consumer, largely because for the longest time these were the coffees most readily available.
Guatemala is one of the super stars in the world of coffee and is prized for its distinctive smokiness, heavy body, notes of dark chocolate and perfect balance. Two regional Guatemalan coffees that are readily available in this country are from Antigua valley and highlands of Huehuetenango (pronounced waywaytenango).
Costa Rica produces the cleanest, and most meticulously processed coffee in the world with crisp acidity and tangy sweetness. The better regions include Tres Rios, Tarrazu and Dota.
Panama is mild, balanced, sweet, and smooth, with good body.
Colombia’s aggressive worldwide marketing campaign have been enormously successful. Thanks to Juan Valdez, we all know that Colombian coffee is the “richest” in the world. The generic Colombia Supremo can be a bit muddled and lacking in clarity, but while it is never a star it is a consistently good coffee. It’s the workhorse of the American coffee industry.
If you want to try a really outstanding Colombian coffee, you have to look for a regional designation such as Huilla, Narino or Bucaramanga. You will be rewarded with medium body, full aroma, and sweet, caramel-like taste with a creamy mouthfeel.
Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua all can produce very good coffee but generally are a milder, blander version of a Latin American profile and are used extensively in blends.
African/Arabian coffee beans
African coffees are exotic, with the most unique flavors. Most drinkers will either love it or hate it, it is just so different from the old familiar Latins. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. A lot of it still grows in the wild and is harvested by the locals. The Ethiopian beans you might see for sale are Yergacheffe, Sidamo and Harrar. These are some of the most distinctive coffees in the world. They are intense and distinct, with a cornucopia of flavors; from blueberry and apricot to citrus peel, mango and strawberry, with a distinct chocolate tones.
The heady aromas of jasmine, honeysuckle, and bergamot are a mark of coffee from these regions. You can tell a good Ethiopian just by its dry aroma.
Kenya is the Cadillac of coffees, big and powerful, with Bordeaux-like acidity. The finer Kenyans, will grow hair on your chest (or wilt it, depending on your affliction). Kenya displays a solid body with a distinct grape-like or black currant notes.
Other African coffees are Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and Malawi. These tend to be a lesser versions of Kenya. They share a lot of similar characteristics, but somehow are never quite able to reach the same heights.
Yemen (Arabia back when the variety was first named) was the first country to cultivate coffee, some 1,400 years ago. Like Ethiopia, its coffees are distinct and memorable, with bright, dry acidity, full body and distinct cherry-like fruit notes.
Indonesian coffee beans
Indonesian, or more properly termed, Malay Archipelago coffees, include Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor. Indian coffees also share a similar profile. Most of these coffees are distinguished by an extraordinary full body, mild but lively acidity, rich and earthy herbal flavor notes.
Indonesian coffees (Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi) are deep bodied, pungent and brooding. They can range from flavors and aromas reminiscent of crushed leaves, loam and mushrooms to exotic wood smoke, spice and tropical fruit nuance.
Sulawesi often has a creamy, sweet and round mouthfeel.
Papua New Guinea is a perfectly balanced coffee. It can be pungent but clean with tropical fruit like notes.
East Timor you don’t see much in the States. It is cocoa toned, sweet and full bodied.
Indian coffee is often grown and stored next to spices and you can often catch hints of clove, nutmeg, and cardamon it in its flavor.
Island coffee beans
Island coffees include those from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rica, Jamaica and Hawaii.
Most of these coffees, at best, offer light body, light acidity, with bland to neutral flavors and agreeable sweetness.
It’s a personal preference, but for me, these coffees as exiting as watching Chinese soldiers march. For this very reason they make an excellent base, as a sort of blank canvas, on which to create a distinct blend.
You might be surprised to see the famous Jamaica Blue Mountain and Hawaiian Kona on this list. Among coffee professionals these are known as “hype” coffees.
They have been heavily marketed, as the best in the world and priced as such. But in blind-taste tests they consistently rank with average quality coffees.
Occasionally a brilliant Kona comes along, but that’s the exception, not the rule. If you like Kona, but are put off by the price, try Mexican Oaxaca Pluma or Chiapas, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Most coffee growing countries have the potential and do in fact produce outstanding top quality beans. The challenge lies in getting them out of the country before they are mixed with lesser coffees to become national generic brands such as Supremo, Altura, High Grown and so on.
So, what is the best coffee out there? I don’t have a clue. I can point you to the most or least acidic, or the most expensive, or the funkiest coffee I know. However, the best coffee is way too subjective to pin down.
There is no more best coffee than there is best chocolate or best color.
The best is the one that speaks to you or the one that grabs your attention.
The best is entirely up to you.
Dmitri Fridman is the founder of Vertigo Coffee, which he roasts at his San Juan Bautista home. He can be reached at
Dm****@ve***********.com
or visit www.vertigocoffee.com.
