The relationship between the Flavor of Coffee and its growth altitude

We should all understand that raw coffee beans are generally graded according to their size, defect rate and altitude. The size and defect rate of raw beans are easy to understand, and many people do not quite understand why some producing areas use the altitude of coffee beans as the basis for grading, and many coffee sellers also sell their coffee at a high price because they boast that their coffee is high-altitude coffee. This is also the most common problem encountered in grading to students.

Today, the school cafe will systematically sort out why coffee beans are graded according to the elevation:

First of all, we should realize that the influence of geographical location on the flavor of coffee beans is profound. 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 bean growing areas are at high elevations, and these coffee beans are only picked carefully during the mature season. Generally speaking, with the increase of altitude, the aroma of coffee will become more and more prominent and unique. 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.

Central American coffee is rated according to the altitude at which coffee is grown, Mexico, Honduras, Haiti and other countries according to the height of Strictly High Grown (extremely high mountain beans, referred to as SHG), followed by High Grown (high mountain beans, referred to as HG) Mexico called Altura, which means "high" in Spanish, indicating that this is high-altitude coffee. Papua New Guinea adds the name "Mile High" to mark coffee beans grown in the highlands and mountains.

On the other hand, due to the cold climate and slow growth of coffee in alpine areas, the density of raw beans is higher and the texture is harder, and the more mellow and aromatic the coffee is, and it has a supple sour taste; on the other hand, in lower areas, the density of raw beans is smaller and the texture is less hard, the worse the quality of coffee is, so some people classify it as "hardness".

Practice shows that the effect of altitude on quality has exceeded that of genotype on quality. However, I think that the classification of coffee beans based on altitude is more scientific and reasonable than simply grading by size and defect rate, because to a certain extent, altitude classification is indirectly graded by taste, and beans with low altitude grow rapidly and large. the defect rate can be changed by selection, but the altitude cannot be changed.

According to the measurement, compared with the same kind of coffee beans, the higher the altitude, the greater the acidity and the smaller the concentration; on the contrary, the smaller the acidity, the greater the concentration. Therefore, for friends who like sour taste and do not require high concentration, high-altitude coffee is very suitable for you, it is your good coffee; for friends who do not like sour taste and require high concentration of coffee, the higher the altitude, the more unsuitable for them. No matter how high its quality is, it is also a waste product for itself. Therefore, the choice of altitude should be based on personal taste.

How do we know if the coffee we buy is really high altitude? Coffee growth and reproduction has specific requirements for environmental conditions, sexual preference for calm wind, cool, shaded or semi-shaded environment. In other words, coffee can not be grown and produced in any environment, that is to say, coffee production is divided into different regions. Coffee producing areas in the world are mostly distributed in tropical plateaus or high-altitude mountain areas. The equatorial area has high calories and can be planted to about 2000 meters above sea level. The calories on both sides of the Tropic of Cancer are relatively low, most of which are below 1000 meters. In China, it is mainly distributed in Yunnan.