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Buying coffee beans is a subject, especially when there is so much information on the bean bags. You have "Nicaragua-medium-roasted washed beans-elephant beans" in one hand and "Brazil-medium-deep-roasted honey treated beans-Kaduai" in the other, thinking, what is the difference between these two packets of coffee? Which other bag is my favorite flavor?

Don't worry, this article will explain the coffee bean bag to you, from the variety, the treatment, the combination of beans to the degree of roasting, all the information will tell you, use this information to find your favorite coffee!

Vs coffee with mixed beans

Individual coffee comes from specific producing areas or estates, while mixed beans are made up of different coffees, and sometimes there are "micro-producing areas, micro-batches" of coffee, which come from a small part of a particular estate.

But why subdivide it into micro-batches? Because coffee will reflect the environment in which it is planted and how it is planted, the country, producing area, manor, treatment, coffee variety, and so on, will affect the flavor and aroma of coffee.

In addition, the bean baker will think that these kinds of coffee that make up the mixed beans will taste better than individual tastes. Maybe it is an Ethiopian bean with bright acidity and rich fruit flavor, but it vaguely feels that it is a little less mellow to support its taste. (usually espresso, such as American style and latte, are mixed with beans to support the taste of the coffee.)

People who like high-quality coffee usually prefer individual coffee, and the price of individual coffee is also higher, but whether it is mixed beans or single beans, the flavor performance can be quite excellent. Try matching beans if you can, and don't reject them just because there is a country in it, because a mixed bean may be made up of beans from three countries and may create an unexpected flavor.

Individual coffee can be tried from the same variety in different producing areas. Guatemala is known for its acidity, balance and spicy flavor, and when compared with Rwandan coffee, Rwandan coffee is usually sweet and full-bodied. Try two different Colombian coffees and try to understand the flavor characteristics of your favorite coffee producing country.

But remember, even if the coffee of a certain country has a certain flavor characteristic, it does not mean that the coffee of that country will have that flavor characteristic, open your mind, or drink it yourself to know.

Baking degree

There are many names for the degree of baking: shallow baking, medium baking, deep baking, French baking, urban baking, and so on.

Just remember that baking actually brings out the original flavor and aroma of coffee beans. however, if the baker bakes the beans for a long time, he may also create a baking flavor to cover these original flavor characteristics. Unbaked coffee beans will have grass and sour taste, while overcooked coffee beans will have bitter, smoky and other unpleasant flavors.

Although people who like boutique coffee will prefer light-roasted coffee, in fact, each kind of bean has its own most suitable roasting degree, brewing method and, of course, its proponents. Why? Let's look down.

Shallow baking-also known as cinnamon baking, gold baking.

This kind of roasted coffee has obvious fruit flavor, acidity and aroma, while light roasting is suitable for coffee beans with this kind of flavor and aroma. Some people will say that light roasted coffee is not very sweet, but this is not true. Since high-quality boutique coffee has rich flavor characteristics, it means that many bean bakers choose medium or medium-light roasting to emphasize the flavor characteristics of this part.

Deep baking-also known as Viennese or shallow French deep baking. French deep baking and Italian deep baking represent deeper baking.

When you taste deep-roasted coffee, you can drink the flavor brought by baking, such as toast, bitterness, extremely full taste and so on. People who drink high-quality coffee often hate deep-roasted coffee, and some people even say that deep-roasting is to cover up the defective smell caused by poor quality. .

Medium baking-also known as Full City, while medium shallow baking is called Full City Plus

Why is it that shallow baking and deep baking are listed above and medium baking is listed here? Because medium baking does not have many features, it is neither shallow nor deep baking. On the contrary, think of the smooth taste and baked flavor that does not cover the original flavor of the coffee beans, which is medium roasting.

Suitable for the baking degree of concentration and hand flushing

Why is the baking degree of hand flushing and concentrated baking discussed separately? Because espresso shows a strong flavor, it is suitable for roasting with high sweetness and full taste. Generally speaking, hand flushing is to show the rich flavor of coffee beans.

Treatment method

Coffee beans are actually the seeds of coffee fruit, which show bright red when they mature, but it is difficult to remove every layer of matter outside the seed at the same time, which means you have to go through the leather machine and even the fermentation process to remove the outer layer of the seed. This is coffee treatment, and coffee treatment will also affect the flavor of coffee, which is why the bean bag label will also indicate the treatment.

Washing method: after removing the pulp of coffee through water, the coffee beans are dried. This treatment will add a small amount of flavor to the coffee, which means you can taste the most primitive regional flavor of the coffee beans.

Solarization: the fruits after harvest are slowly exposed to the sun. This treatment gives sweetness and fruit flavor to the coffee, but if it is not handled properly, the quality and stability of the coffee will be very bad. However, if the sun is handled well, there will be delicious coffee. This method of treatment is also more environmentally friendly.

Honey treatment: this treatment is to retain part of the pectin on the outside of the seed for sunlight. The more pectin is retained, the higher the sweetness and alcohol thickness.

To understand the difference of flavor brought by treatment, the best way is to compare and try, taste the sun and washed beans from the same producing area or even the same manor, and experience the difference of flavor.

Coffee variety

There are many varieties of coffee trees, and each breed produces different coffee. The variety of coffee has a great influence on the flavor of the final cup, so let's take a quick look at the influence of the variety.

In general, boutique coffee is usually Arabica, which has better aroma and flavor. Robusta has a rougher taste and higher caffeine, and you may have heard of the less discussed Libby card.

Then we come to the more detailed classification of varieties: Kaddura, Kaduai, Bourbon, Iron pickup, Rosa, Pacamara, Elephant beans and so on. For example, bourbon has high sweetness, rose summer has tea-like thickness, jasmine aroma and rich flavor.

When you can taste the effect of treatment on the flavor of coffee, you can try the difference of varieties. Try washing bourbon and Kaddura in El Salvador, and then try sunburn bourbon in Rwanda. The charm of boutique coffee is that each coffee has its own uniqueness, and there are many factors that affect the flavor of coffee. And we can try to appreciate these different features.

Altitude

We will see the elevation marked in some bean bags, indicating how high the coffee is, usually marked in meters.

Then why care about altitude? Because the slower the coffee tree grows, the more time it takes for the fruit sugar to develop, which makes the coffee sweeter and more fragrant.

When comparing two estates in the same producing area, estates with higher elevations have cooler climates, and for this reason, higher elevations represent better quality coffee. But it should be noted that altitude may mislead you, for example, it is also 1100 meters above sea level, while Brazil is cooler than Ecuador.

Next, it should be noted that altitude is also affected by current, monsoon and wind direction. Take the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador as an example. Although it is only 200 meters above sea level, the island has a cold climate, so delicious coffee can be grown.

Altitude is a useful information when evaluating coffee quality, you can compare two coffees from the same producing area, but even low-altitude coffee, it is best not to jump to conclusions before trying, maybe this coffee will amaze you.

Fair Trade / Direct Trade / Rainforest Certification

Raw coffee beans have many sustainable certifications, and it is not easy to understand the full meaning of certification.

Fair trade

Let's start with the best-known "fair trade". This certification means that coffee farmers are paid more than the international market price, but this does not mean that these remuneration are sufficient to support farmers' livelihood.

UTZ certification

Certification provides coffee farmer training on behalf of the agency and improves planting methods to increase production capacity and quality, so UTZ will say that farmers have a better income as a result of this certification.

Direct trade

In fact, it is more inclined to "transaction mode" rather than an authentication. However, many bakers who use directly traded beans will claim that this model brings about sustainable development. The baker buys raw coffee directly from farmers in the producing area. This kind of coffee is usually of good quality, and many bakers come to the scene to give farmers feedback on how to grow better coffee. These bakers pay farmers much more than the international market price, usually more than UTZ or Fairtrade certified farmers. However, some people criticize this model, saying that it is unregulated and sometimes just a marketing tool, and that direct trade is more difficult to track how much farmers are actually paid than Fairtrade and UTZ.

Rainforest certification

Grow in an environmentally friendly manner with minimal impact on local forest water sources. Bird-friendly certification means the same thing. Coffee is grown organically and can help restore local forests, thus promoting the development of the local ecology.

Excellent Cup Competition Cup of Excellence

In addition to marking the above-mentioned certification, there will also be some quality award-winning marks.

The outstanding cup competition evaluates the coffee beans submitted by farmers, which means that the roasting method is not included in the evaluation project. Many coffee-producing countries hold their own national Cup of Excellence competitions, so you may see some estates winning both the Colombian Cup of Excellence and the Burundian Cup of Excellence, and you may see the names of countries such as "Best of Panama" and "Coffee of the Year Brazil" in the awards.

Of course, there are many other coffee quality competitions, but this is the most well-known and indicative competition, some focusing on ripe beans and some on raw beans.

There is so much information on the little coffee bag, which is dazzling, but remember that these are just to help you find the coffee that works best for you, take the time to taste and compare the difference between the treatment and the origin, and ask the barista for more information. try to see the new coffee so that you can find out your taste.