What exactly are you looking in your gourmet coffee...are
your coffee beans filling your desire?
Most all coffee tasters
express their experiences using three primary criteria: Acidity, Body and
Flavor. Aroma also plays a part but is included in the flavor experience.
ACIDITY - This term, when applied to coffee,
is considered one of the more important standards. In coffee, Acidity refers
to the crispness or "bite" of the coffee. Acidity, when applied to coffee,
should not be confused with the traditional cooking concept of pH level as in
lemon juice or vinegar, but rather a vibrant burst of flavor you experience
with your first taste. Do not confuse Acidity in coffee with bitterness.
Bitterness in coffee is a result of over extraction (too much water over to
little coffee) or dark roasting.
BODY - Body is the experience of weight, the
way the coffee feels on the tongue. This can vary from light through medium
bodied, to full bodied or syrupy. Body varies with the region of origin. For
example, Latin American coffees tend to be light and medium bodied while
Indonesian and African coffees tend to be full bodied. Brewing variations also influence the body. French Press
plungers and espresso machines produce a heavier body than drip brewers where
oils are removed by paper filters.
FLAVOR - Flavor is the total combined impression of
aroma, acidity and body. The term is generally used to express intensity and
to identify specific tastes of characteristics. For example, a coffee could be
"very flavorful with a nutty taste and spicy aroma."
For your first cupping ( or tasting ) begin by tasting three
"straight" coffees. A "straight" coffee is one from a specific region or
estate as opposed to a "blended" coffee, which is a combination of different
straight coffees.
As in wine tasting, you should begin by cupping the lighter
bodied coffees first, moving up to the more full bodied coffee.
This way you
won't over expose your taste buds with the stronger brew before tasting the
lighter.
There are two types of coffee beans, Robusta and Arabica.
Robusta, produced at lower elevations, is a low grade coffee bean high in
caffeine. It is used mostly in over-the-counter canned coffee. It is also used
as a base coffee when blended with the better quality Arabica bean. SpotaJava
coffee uses only 100% Arabica coffee beans.
For this example we’ll began with three straight coffees,
Brazil, Kenya and finally Sumatra.
BRAZIL - Brazil is the world's largest producer of
Arabica coffee. This coffee is grown at lower elevations and is "dry
processed" (more about "dry" vs. "wet" processing in Part Three.) Brazilian
coffee is the predominate flavor in almost every pre-ground package
"restaurant" coffee in America.
It is a good "beginner" coffee to taste because it has low
acidity, a nutty flavor and light body.
KENYA - Kenya produces a "wet process" high grade
Arabica coffee that consistently sets the quality standards for the rest of
the world. It is almost always consistently good and is frequently used in
blends with the more neutral Latin American coffees. It has medium acidity and
body with a fruity, wine like taste.
SUMATRA - Most coffee from Sumatra is "dry processed"
and many people consider it to be one of "the really great coffees". Low in
acidity and heavy bodied with strong earthy flavors.
After tasting the straight coffee you should then move on to
taste three blended coffees.
BLENDED COFFEE - This is the coffee master's art and
every coffee roaster guards these recipes as "top secrets." At some coffee
roasters these secret recipes have been handed down through many generations
of roasters.
Blending is laborious, requiring extensive experience and
knowledge learned by tasting different beans at different levels of roast. As
in cooking, "depth of flavor" - the balance or harmony of flavors - is
critical so that each compliments the other, combining to create the perfect
blend.