Coffee knowledge is essential.| Basic knowledge of coffee_Coffee types and characteristics

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It's not the 70's or 80's, but many people don't know much about coffee.

So today, Qianjie Coffee will give you the basic knowledge of coffee ~ sit on the bench and knock on the blackboard ~

Coffee knowledge entry

Basic knowledge of coffee beans

What makes a cup of coffee good? Good brewing techniques and equipment are important, but high-quality coffee beans are the most important element.

So what kind of coffee beans are high-quality coffee beans? It is to retain the aroma and taste of coffee as much as possible when brewing, and to fully emit her flavor when brewing.

Coffee flavor comes from roasting coffee

The aroma and taste of coffee are produced after roasting. During the roasting process, the moisture of the coffee beans is slowly released, the weight becomes lighter, the color gradually deepens, and the oil containing aroma is slowly released. In addition, a large amount of chlorogenic acid originally contained in raw beans will gradually disappear with the baking process, releasing a pleasant fruit acid, and its taste varies with the length of baking time. In the image below, you can see how the shape of the coffee beans changes during roasting.

Coffee beans VS coffee powder

After deciding to make your own coffee, the first choice you face when buying coffee is whether to buy coffee beans or ground coffee. Regardless of personal factors and time factors, my advice is: coffee beans, of course coffee beans.

Why is that? Remember what we talked about? The aroma of coffee comes from the roasted fat, which is sealed in the holes of the coffee beans. After grinding, the aroma and fat begin to volatilize, and the final brewed coffee flavor is naturally greatly reduced.

In addition, the area of powder exposed to air increases and it is easy to get wet or deteriorate. Under the same conditions, coffee beans can last nearly twice as long as coffee powder.

Grind your own beans. It's fun. It keeps the flavor going.

Coffee beans are the most complete form of coffee flavor preservation, although grinding beans is also a university knowledge, the need to slowly adjust the thickness of coffee powder according to the weather and humidity, but once you start grinding beans yourself, you will never go back to the days of coffee powder, try a variety of powder thickness brewing brings different flavors, is definitely a great pleasure of brewing coffee.

Coffee Bean Types

There are more than 100 coffee varieties in the world, two of the most popular are Arabica and Robusta (Canephora). The two coffees differ greatly in taste, composition and growing conditions.

Arabica: expensive, soft, low in caffeine

Arabica beans cost twice as much as Robusta beans. Constitutionally, Arabica is low in caffeine (0.9-1.2%), 60% more fat than Robusta, and twice as much sugar, so Arabica tastes sweet, soft, and a bit sour.

In addition, Arabica has lower chlorogenic acid (5.5-8%), which is an important component of pest resistance in addition to antioxidant properties, so Arabica is more susceptible to pests and is also susceptible to climate. It is generally planted at higher altitudes and bears less fruit. The fruit is oval. (Organic coffee beans)

The largest plantation in Arabica is Brazil, and Colombia produces only Arabica coffee.

Robusta: Cheap, bitter, high in caffeine

Robusta, by contrast, has a higher caffeine content (1.6-2.4%) and a lower fat and sugar content, and has a bitter, intense taste that some even rudely describe as rubbery.

Robusta has a high chlorogenic acid content (7-10%), is not easily affected by pests and climate, is generally planted at a lower altitude, and bears more fruits and faster. The fruit is round.

Currently Robusta's largest plantation is Vietnam, with production also occurring in Africa and India.

Price does not equal quality

Because the price is cheap, Robusta is often used to make coffee powder to reduce costs, the current cheap instant coffee on the market, mostly Robusta, but the price is not equal to the quality, good quality Robusta coffee beans are often used to make espresso (espresso), because her cream is richer. A good quality Robusta tastes even better than a bad Arabica bean.

Therefore, the choice between the two coffee beans is mainly based on personal preference. Some people may find Arabica too strong, while others prefer Robusta's rich bitterness. The only caveat is that if you're sensitive to caffeine, be especially careful about caffeine levels-Robusta has twice as much caffeine as Arabica.

Of course, coffee is not only these two varieties, you can also try Java(Java), Geisha(rose summer), and other varieties to add new flavor to your coffee experience.

Coffee beans recommend what to buy?

Coffee flavor is influenced by where it is grown, how it is processed, how it is packaged, how it is roasted, etc. How do you pick the best coffee beans and how do you identify the flavors you might like? It starts with coffee beans.

Coffee Flavor

Before we get to the point, let's recognize a few proper terms to describe coffee flavor:

·Acidity: The stimulation felt on the edge of the tongue when drinking coffee. It is not the same acid as lemon, but coffee's refreshing, refreshing sensation that boosts the taste, sometimes called brightness. Acidity is a very important characteristic of coffee, coffee without acidity will taste very flat.

·Flavor: The aroma of brewed coffee is more varied than the taste that can be felt by the tongue. Adjectives commonly used to describe coffee aroma include fruit-like, earthy, smoky, floral, berries, nuts, etc.

Body: The taste of coffee in the mouth, from light as water or skim milk to thick as milk or cream or syrup.

Aftertaste: Similar to the concept of wine tasting, aftertaste refers to the taste that remains in the mouth after drinking coffee. Some coffees have cocoa or chocolate aftertaste, others have fruit, berries, nuts and so on.

Balance: This is an evaluation of the overall taste of coffee. Good coffee beans taste balanced, layered, and soft aroma; bad coffee beans usually only present a single taste.

In addition to the above nouns, there are several common adjectives used to describe high-quality coffee:

·mellow: refers to low to medium acidity, well-balanced coffee.

·Mild: coffee with a harmonious, delicate flavor, usually refers to South American high-grade coffee grown at high altitudes.

·Soft: refers to coffee with low acidity and a slightly sweet taste, usually Indonesian coffee.

Now that we know the terms that describe coffee flavor, let's look at what factors affect coffee flavor.

1. The origin of coffee beans

Old coffee connoisseurs know that drinking depends on the year, drinking coffee depends on the origin. Soil, climate and altitude are the most fundamental elements that shape coffee taste. Coffee grown in different places naturally tastes very different. Here are a few of the main coffee flavor characteristics we have compiled for you:

·Brazil: Mostly Robusta, intense in taste with chocolate aftertaste. Coffee products in supermarkets usually come from Brazil.

·Colombia: Popular in the United States.

·Indonesia: Earthy or smoky, bitter cocoa aftertaste, mellow and thick.

Ethiopia: coffee origin, high diversity. Many are described as syrupy with strawberry or blueberry aftertaste.

Kenya: Thick, slightly tomato sour.

·Hawaii: Sweet, mild, mellow and soft.

2. Coffee beans planting and processing process

In addition to where coffee is grown, the way coffee beans are grown (whether under shade, organically grown, fertilized) and the picking process (whether farm workers work in conditions that allow them to have good quality work) also affect the taste of coffee. Good coffee trees can also produce bad beans.

The post-harvest processing of coffee beans is also very important, and there are three common post-processing methods, such as sunflower, water washing and honey treatment. Japanese coffee beans have rich fruit aromas, sweet aftertaste and high mellowness. Washed coffee beans have fruity or floral aromas, moderate acidity and low mellowness. Honey-treated coffee beans have a sweeter aftertaste, delicate fruit aromas and high mellowness.

At present, there are various grading methods in the world according to the size of coffee beans, the quality of post-processing, and the high altitude of planting, which can also be used to judge the quality of coffee beans. In addition, some coffee packaging will have Fairtrade, sustainable management, organic cultivation, high altitude and other certification marks, most of the coffee beans with these marks are not poor. Although some proofs may not be directly related to quality, they indicate that the coffee beans have been carefully processed.

3. Preservation of raw coffee beans

Raw coffee beans are very stable before they are roasted and can be preserved for a year under good conditions. But if you put it in a place with high humidity, it may produce bacteria, and coffee beans will also be contaminated with the bad smell in the air.

It is worth mentioning that the so-called old beans (aged) refers to the coffee beans stored in the low humidity and high altitude environment of the country of origin, which are turned and kept fresh regularly to cultivate a particularly mellow taste. This kind of coffee bean tastes good, but it is also expensive. The coffee beans stored in the general warehouse are not old beans, so don't be deceived.

4. Roasting of coffee

The baking time of beans will affect the appearance and taste. The simplest way to judge is that the longer the beans are roasted, the lighter the sour taste and the less caffeine. Below we briefly list the coffee flavor produced by different roasting time for your reference.

Very shallow baking (light roast): has a strong smell of grass, lack of aroma, rarely used to taste.

Light roasting (cinnamon roast): high acidity, slightly fragrant, often used to make American coffee.

Medium roasting (medium roast): the taste is sour and bitter, the aroma is moderate, and the original flavor of coffee beans is retained. It is often used to make American coffee or mixed coffee.

Medium and deep baking (high roast): the taste is rich, sour and bitter balanced and slightly sweet, with good aroma and flavor.

Urban roasting (city roast): lower acidity than medium and deep roasting, perfect display of coffee flavor, is the standard roasting degree, the most popular among the general public.

Deep roasting (full city roast): bitterness is stronger than sour taste, the aftertaste is sweet, full of aroma, mostly used to make iced coffee or black coffee.

French baking (French roast): bitter, strong, not sour, with a smoky aroma.

Italian roast: beans are glossy, bitter and scorched, and are mainly used to make espresso.

All right, that's all for today's sharing, do you understand?

If there is anything you don't understand, if you have any opinions, you can leave a message backstage to Xiao Jiao, and you will reply.

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