Specialty coffee Fine Coffee (3) factors determining Coffee Taste

It was said before that among the factors that affect the taste of a cup of coffee, raw beans account for 60%, roasting accounts for 30%, and production accounts for 10%. This is a general analysis, so throughout the life process of coffee beans, the factors that from crop to cup-- affects the taste of a cup of coffee can be infinitely refined.

The first is the variety. "reap what you sow, reap what you sow"-whether you sow melons or beans, seed selection is the most important. Of course, the coffee we talked about is a high-quality Arabica seed, but there are hundreds of small varieties under Arabica. Relatively speaking, the traditional bourbon, Tippica and Mocha have a low yield but are far better than the improved caturra,catuai in taste. Although catimor, a hybrid of Arabica, Roberta and Arabica, has good yield and resistance to diseases and insect pests, it is relatively insipid in taste.

The second is the geographical and climatic environmental factors. These include soil, precipitation, humidity, temperature, and some special environmental factors in an area. Generally speaking, sandy soil with easy drainage is more beneficial to the growth of coffee, while volcanic soil is rich in nutrients. The suitable temperature for coffee growth is generally maintained at an annual average of 20 Mel / 30 degrees. Frost weather below 0 degrees is a devastating blow to coffee growth. In addition, sufficient light and timely and appropriate precipitation also have a great impact on the development of coffee fruit.

The third is the processing of coffee beans. The most common are washing and tanning, and there is also a semi-dry treatment called "pulped natural", which is common in Brazil and Central America. The general washing method is beneficial to maintain the acidity and purity of coffee, and it is easy to produce bad sour taste if it is fermented excessively; the sun rule can highlight the mellowness of coffee and retain the richer taste of coffee, but it is easy to produce miscellaneous smell if it is not handled well. The semi-dry rule combines the advantages of both, which can not only ensure the purity of coffee, but also retain more fruity and mellowness, especially the coffee processed by this method has an incomparable sweetness, so the coffee processed in this way in China and the United States has a good name "honey coffee".

The fourth is the freshness of raw coffee beans, which are generally divided into "new crop" and "old crop" according to the harvest year of coffee beans. Although newly harvested coffee beans tend to show too much astringency and sour taste, the new beans have more refreshing acidity and richer taste than the old beans "old crop" for more than a year. As long as they are roasted properly, they can get the rich taste of coffee, just as old rice does not taste like rice. Old beans are also lack of distinct flavor, mediocre performance, no depth.

The fifth is baking. This accounts for 30% of the factors affecting the taste of coffee, which is indeed crucial. Not to mention the complexity and subtlety of baking technology, even the same bean with different baking degrees from medium,high,city to full city will show a completely different flavor, relatively shallow baking generally has obvious acidity, but with the deepening of baking degree, more bitterness, sweetness and richer taste are brought into play, and the acidity is reduced. By the time the baking reaches full city, the acidity has been completely lost. It is replaced by higher mellow and crisp bitterness and rich sweet taste.

The sixth is the freshness of coffee beans. Freshness is the life of coffee beans-real boutique coffee must be fresh. Generally, three to seven days after roasting is the best time for its flavor, and if it is preserved properly, it can be preserved within two weeks. The aroma of coffee has been volatile all the time. More than two weeks of bean aroma has been lost, leaving only some bitterness and miscellaneous taste.

The seventh is coffee grinding. The degree of grinding and evenness are two important factors, which have been introduced before and will not be mentioned again.

The eighth is the production process that accounts for 10%. Although it accounts for only a tiny 10%, this factor is at a bottleneck, so if properly made, the first 90% can be played better, while improper production can ruin a long list of efforts ahead. Here, it varies according to different production methods, the selection of appliances and the production level of baristas.

The last factor should also include the influence of coffee drinkers. The drinker's preference for the taste of coffee, the understanding of the taste of coffee and personal physical qualities will subjectively affect the taste evaluation of a cup of coffee.

In this way, throughout the distance of coffee, there are nine from crop to cup gates, and it is even more wonderful to count the subtle factors in detail, and the lack of any one of them will reduce the perfection of coffee, so how hard it is to have a good cup of coffee! I hope all coffee lovers can know the hardships and cherish every cup of coffee and every coffee bean more.