Hello Reader!

The last time I fell down the coffee rabbit hole, I talked about caffeine. This time I discovered interesting things (to me) about coffee proper. And here’s what I learnt.

TL;DR

1. Coffee beans from different regions have distinct flavours because of the soil, climate, and altitude where they are grown.
2. Different methods of processing the beans can also give rise to very different flavour profiles.
3. Different brewing methods have different pros and cons. So choose one that suits your lifestyle and taste.

How It started

A spur of a moment purchase of a Hario coffee grinder sent me down the path of learning more about coffee. I bought a Moka pot (because I’ve been wanting one for years) and went a little overboard with buying beans from different regions.

I could taste the differences in the flavours but I didn’t know why. Every time I embark on something new, I NEED to learn more about it. So I started to find out more.

All about the Beans

When I started looking at coffee bean packages either at the supermarket or online stores, I saw different terms like ‘single-origin, ‘blends’ and traceability. And then there were flavour profile descriptions like caramel, chocolate, and fruity. What do they all mean?

Regions of coffee beans

Before we go into that, we need to understand the types of beans, and where coffee comes from. Or at least, where they are grown.

Most of the coffee beans that are grown commercially come from the Bean Belt. This refers to specific areas in Central and South America, Africa and the Middle East, and South-East Asia.

Due to the difference in the soil, climate and other factors, coffee that is grown in Java, will have a different flavour profile compared to the coffee that is grown in Kenya or Guatemala. This is the first reason why coffees from different regions taste different.

In the Central and South American regions, the coffee beans mostly come from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama. The coffees from these regions are known to be fragrant, mild, and medium-bodied in flavour.

Coffee from the African and the Middle East region mostly come from Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Arab Peninsula. Kenyan coffee is known to be fragrant and full-bodied in flavour. Ethiopian coffee mostly comes from the Sidamo, Harer, or Kaffa region. The beans are harvested from wild coffee trees. The coffee from these beans is full of flavour and full-bodied. Arabian coffee is known to have a fruity flavour.

In Southeast Asia, the countries that are popular for their coffee are Indonesia and Vietnam. Indonesian coffee is mostly from the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi, where the coffee is full-bodied, rich and has earthy notes to it. Vietnamese coffee is light and medium-bodied.

The different regions grow different species of coffee beans, mostly Arabica and Robusta beans. And within these species, you have different varieties too. These varieties have distinct flavour profiles.

Arabica usually has a smoother, sweeter taste, with tones of chocolate or sugar, and often, with fruits or berries flavour notes. Robusta has a stronger, harsher and more bitter taste.

So, what do the terms “Single Origin’, ‘Tracebililty’ and ‘Blends’ mean?

Single-origin means that the coffee is sourced from one single producer, crop, or region in one country. It's generally more expensive as compared to blends.

Traceability means that you can literally trace that bag of beans to a single farm or producer in a specific region. So these beans are limited in supply.

Blends just mean that the coffee is made up of beans from different regions to give a preferred flavour.

Processing of the beans

Next, we need to understand what the different processing methods are and how they affect the flavour.

Washed

The coffee cherries are immersed in water. The skin and some flesh are removed by pressing the cherries through a screen in water. The remaining pulp on the seed is removed by fermentation for up to 36 hours. The fermented pulp is scrubbed off in the water before the bean is dried. The resulting coffee has a cleaner, brighter, and fruitier flavour.

Dry processed (unwashed or natural)

The harvested coffee cherries are sorted and cleaned. Then they are placed in the sun to dry on tables or in thin layers on patios. While the cherries are drying, they are raked or turned by hand to make sure that they dry evenly and to prevent any nasty mildew or fungus from growing. Once the cherries are dried, the outer layers are removed. The resulting coffee has heavy body, sweet, smooth, and complex.

Semi-dry ( Pulped Natural, Honey processing)

This method is a hybrid of the first two. The skin of the cherries is removed by pulping machines. The cherries with some of the flesh still on, it is allowed to ferment for a day before it is washed off and dried. The remaining dried outer layer is then removed before the roasting process. The resulting coffee is sweeter than wet-processed coffees, has some of the body of a dry-processed coffee, but also retains some of the acidity of a wet-processed coffee.

Different brewing methods

Another thing I discovered while making coffee at home, is that different methods will give you slightly different flavours in your coffee. Even if you use the same beans!

Here are 2 different brewing methods that I tried.

Percolation

Percolation means to a percolation extracts coffee with clean water. An example of percolation method is the drip or pour over coffee.

You place the coffee grounds in a filter cone and literally pour water over the coffee grounds in a circular motion. This will allow the water to fully come in contact with the ground coffee and extract all those wonderful flavours. When the coffee passes through the filter, you will get a lighter, smoother drink. You won't get the silt and grit from the grounds in your cup.

Because the filter clears the grit and silt from your coffee, the flavours you get are lighter and smoother. Which may not be something that is preferred by those who like their coffee strong and intense. But cleaning up is a lot easier since you just throw the filter paper with the coffee grounds into the bin. If you're using a reusable cone, just knock out the grounds into the bin and rinse. Fuss free clean up!

Immersion

Immersion extracts coffee with water that is gradually becoming more and more concentrated, because water sits in with the coffee grounds for the whole brew. An example of this brewing method would be the French press.

How it works: Put the ground beans into the the carafe. Add hot water. Steep. Push the plunger down. Enjoy coffee.

It's great for those who like strong, bold and rich flavours in their coffee. This immersion method extracts more of the coffee oils, so you get a more intense flavour. If you play around with the ground size of the coffee, you can basically customise the flavours that you get from the coffee. One of the disadvantages of this is that cleaning it is a hassle. It requires some dismantling, and you'll get wet coffee grounds everywhere if you're not careful.

My coffee kits at home

So what do I use to make coffee at home? Here are the 4 ways that I make coffee at home.

French press

This is my preferred way to make coffee from beans that are darker roasted, with deep, full-bodied flavour. I love Sumatran coffee beans brewed in this method.

Moka Pot

A stove top coffee maker, where you put in the water in the bottom portion. Add in the coffee in the middle basket, and boil the water on the stove. The boiling water will pass through the ground coffee and you get the extracted coffee at the top portion. I discovered a hack where you can get really clean tasting coffee with no sludge, if you put a coffee filter paper on top of the coffee grounds before you place it on the stove. It enhanced the flavour of my Kenyan coffee beans and brought out the lovely fruity, floral notes to it!

Clever Dripper

This is like a hybrid of the immersion and drip coffee. And this is my preferred way of having beans that are known to have fruity, flavour notes. This is also one of my favourite ways to brew coffee at home because it’s faster than the rest. 2-3 minutes of brew time and then, place the dripper on top of a carafe to drip the coffee.

Automatic bean to cup coffee machine

This is the latest addition to the coffee paraphernalia that I have at home. With a push of a single button, it will automatically grind the right amount of coffee beans and depending on what you like, either a long black or an espresso. This is purely for convenience and it really helps on mornings when I’m in a rush.

Final thoughts

Ultimately, I think coffee is really interesting and finding coffee that you like is possible. You just have to go out and taste it all. And I think , once you’ve found the kind of coffee you like, making it at home using what ever method, can be meditative. At least for me.

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Further reading

James Hoffmann is my currently go to guru for coffee. His Youtube channel has equipment reviews and coffee how-tos. He also wrote World atlas of coffee. It’s a book about how coffee is grown and brewed all over the world.

​I don't like coffee. Can James Hoffmann change that? - I love this video because it helps a guy go from not liking to coffee to discovering the kind of espresso that he likes. All within 1 video!

Until the next edition, ~ Lina

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