The effect of altitude on Coffee beans the effect of altitude on Flavor Ms. Knudsen's speech

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Ms. Nusen Erna Knutsen put forward the term "Specialty Coffee" in 1974 and was the first person in the world to put forward the concept of "boutique coffee". Therefore, the coffee industry also praised her as the mother of boutique coffee!

At that time, Ms. Knudsen of the United States put forward it in Coffee and Tea magazine. At that time, Ms. Knudsen, as a coffee buyer of B.C. Ireland in San Francisco, was very dissatisfied with the neglect of the quality of coffee raw beans in the industry, and even some big roasters mixed a large amount of Robesda beans in the comprehensive beans, so she put forward the concept of boutique coffee to promote the quality of the industry. This term is used to describe coffee beans with distinctive flavor characteristics that grow in a special environment. Its use in international coffee conferences makes it spread rapidly.

In fact, according to Ms. Knudsen, people started drinking fine coffee, but later, due to the growing demand for coffee, the discovery and use of new coffee varieties led to the decline of coffee quality. later, people even began to dislike this bad coffee and began to turn to other drinks. In this case, Ms. Knudsen re-made people realize the value of boutique coffee, which led to a boutique coffee boom.

It is she who put forward the term "boutique coffee", and "regional flavor" is the soul of boutique coffee. The genes of coffee beans themselves will be divided into advantages and disadvantages, and the relationship between them and the planting environment is inseparable. Planting environment, that is, light, temperature, soil, moisture, altitude and other factors. This article focuses on the relationship between altitude and flavor of boutique coffee beans.

What is altitude?

Altitude refers to the vertical distance of a place on the ground above sea level.

First of all, we should realize that the influence of geographical location on the flavor of coffee beans is important.

All coffee grows in the tropics, in fact, altitude has no direct effect on coffee, but altitude can affect the growth, development and quality of coffee through the redistribution of meteorological elements (temperature, light, heat, wind speed, rainfall, etc.). The tropics between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Cancer produce the world's truly high-quality Arabica coffee. Central and South America, South Asia and some Pacific islands, and south-central Africa are also the most important coffee-growing areas in the world. The 3000-6000 ft (90-2000 m) high altitude provides ideal conditions for coffee to grow: an average frost-free climate of 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit (15-21 ℃) throughout the year, about 80 inches of moderate rainfall, and abundant sunshine. Coffee beans in cold mountain areas grow more slowly, and the slow ripening process makes coffee beans have higher sugar content, more interesting flavor and more mellow flavor. High elevations have a high displacement and produce more concentrated fruit flavors, and the best Arabica coffee-growing areas have very fertile soil, often in volcanic areas.

Coffee beans grown at high elevations are hard, dense and have the potential to give full play to their special flavor. The really amazing coffee growing areas are at high elevations, and these beans are only picked carefully during the mature season. Generally speaking, with the increase of altitude, the aroma of coffee becomes more and more prominent and unique (see figure). From the temperature and sweetness of Brazilian beans at 3500 feet to the soaring taste of Ethiopian coffee beans above 6000 feet, altitude will give coffee beans a more complex and subtle taste.

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