Coffee science knowledge: teach you three minutes to get to know coffee beans and master the most basic knowledge of coffee

Not long after they first come into contact with coffee, many people are confused by the mysterious and profound coffee culture. It is obvious that everyone knows what to drink at so-and-so, how big a cup is the most cost-effective, and how to frighten the cashier with an accurate sound order. But do you know where the coffee you drink comes from on earth? What kind is it? And why does it smell like this?

In the last popular science post, Toy King mentioned the process of coffee beans from the tree to the coffee cup, so this time, we need to understand one of the links: how to choose the coffee beans that suit us.

When buying coffee beans, there are generally three choices: raw beans, cooked beans, and coffee powder.

Raw beans: unbaked beans, which can be preserved for a long time and have almost no coffee flavor, need to be roasted in a special roaster to stimulate the taste. If you bake by yourself, you not only have to buy a roaster, but also have high technical requirements for the baker. Beginners are advised to buy carefully.

Cooked beans: coffee beans that have been roasted are ground by themselves. Roasted coffee beans are easy to lose their taste, so choose freshly roasted coffee beans when buying.

Coffee powder: coffee beans are ground into powder and can be used directly. After grinding coffee beans, the contact surface with air is greatly increased, compared with coffee beans, it is easier to lose flavor and damp, and it is very easy to deteriorate.

To sum up, Toy's advice is: buy fresh coffee beans, and buy as few as possible, preferably the amount you drink within a week. When you need to drink, drink and grind now. In the process of preservation, it should be moistureproof, sealed and protected from light.

[varieties of coffee beans]

First of all, I would like to introduce the varieties of coffee. There are more than 6000 varieties of coffee trees. There are four major coffee trees in the world. Only two of them have real commercial value and have been planted in large quantities. The quality of the coffee beans produced is also better than that of other coffee trees.

Different varieties of coffee beans have different tastes, but even the same varieties of coffee trees have their own unique flavor due to the influence of different soil and climate.

Comparison of the shapes of three common beans

1. Arabica species

Arabica beans, world-famous Blue Mountain Coffee, Mocha Coffee and so on, are almost all Arabica species.

Shape: the shape of the bean is small, the front is long oval, the middle crack is narrow and tortuous, and the arc on the back of the bean is flat, uniform in size and shiny in color.

Origin: Arabica coffee is grown in Brazil, Colombia, Central America, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico and Ethiopia in South America. Coffee beans that are generally familiar to everyone, such as Santos in Brazil, Mantenin in Sumatra, Yemenmoka and the Blue Mountains in Jamaica, are all high-quality coffee beans grown in Arabica.

Climate requirements: Arabica coffee is difficult to grow. They prefer mild days and colder nights, need to be grown on sloping slopes at high altitudes, and thrive on highlands (600-1800 meters). And it requires special climatic conditions-areas with an average annual temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius and abundant rainfall without defrosting. Only more than 50 countries in the world have such conditions, all of which are about 160 kilometers north and south of the equator. Its harvesting must be carried out manually, which is more difficult.

Because Arabica coffee beans have excellent aroma, balanced taste, and low caffeine content, which is only about half that of Robasta, it accounts for about 70% of the total coffee planted, and the price is relatively high.

two。 Robasta species

Robasta species accounts for about 20% to 30% of the world's output.

Shape: the bean shape is larger, the front is gradually round, the back is round and convex, and the crack is straight.

Origin: Robasta Coffee Tree originated in Madagascar in west-central and eastern Africa and Indonesia in Asia.

Climate demand: Robasta coffee tree is suitable for planting in the lowlands below 500 meters above sea level, has strong adaptability to the environment, can resist bad climate, resist the invasion of diseases and insect pests, and does not need much artificial care during soil preparation, weeding and pruning. It can be allowed to grow in the wild, and it is a kind of coffee tree that is easy to cultivate.

But its finished product tastes more bitter than Arabica, its caffeine content is higher, and its quality is much lower, so it is mostly used to make instant coffee. Since it is mainly produced in Africa, most Africans drink robastian coffee.

3. Liberian species

The Liberian species, the large-grained species, is native to Liberia in Africa, as well as a few countries such as Malaysia.

Its cultivation history is slightly shorter than the other two coffee trees. Liberian coffee trees are suitable for growing in lowlands. Its trunk is high and strong, it is 18 meters high, its leaves are large and tough, and its fruits and coffee beans are also very large. Its seed coat is close to the seed kernel and is scarlet when it is mature.

Strong flavor, medium caffeine content, strong irritation and poor quality. Because of its unique taste, low demand and small cultivated face value, it produces less than 5% of the world's coffee production.

4. Esselsa species

Ethel sa, which was discovered in 1904, is native to the Charlie River Basin in Africa, with small fruit and high yield per plant, especially a drought-resistant variety.

The product has a strong flavor, slightly bitter taste and less cultivation.

[flavor wheel]

The flavor of coffee beans is affected not only by different tree species, but also by soil and climate. When buying coffee beans, you sometimes see a variety of incomprehensible descriptions: tropical fruit flavor, caramel flavor, nutty flavor, cocoa flavor. When you really taste it, you find that there is no such flavor, or even it is difficult to distinguish between these different flavors of coffee. You may think it is because you "do not understand coffee" or "born dull", but these descriptions are not true and apt. They come from the flavor wheel made by SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America).

But many people think that this flavor wheel is too old for reference. So a new flavor wheel is made, and this is another version, which divides the flavor into two parts: the taste and the aroma.

[judge the quality of coffee beans]

Freshness is the most important factor affecting the brewing quality of coffee. After selecting the variety to buy, you should first judge whether the coffee beans are of high quality:

Look: fresh and good coffee beans are round in shape, big, fat and shiny. It also depends on whether the internal color of the coffee beans is consistent with or close to the outside. The coffee with the same appearance is naturally roasted well and belongs to high-quality beans. If the coffee beans are different from each other inside and outside, it shows that the firepower is too fast or the heat is not well mastered when baking.

Press: gently press the beans in your mouth or hand, the fresh beans are crisp and fragrant.

Pinch: it is best to pinch it with your hands and feel whether it is solid or not. Solid is the best.

Chewing: when shopping, it is best to take one or two coffee beans to chew, fresh coffee beans crisp sound (indicating that the coffee has not been damp), teeth and cheeks stay fragrant.

Smell: fresh coffee beans smell rich in the original aroma of coffee, while stale or over-oxidized coffee beans will be poor or basically tasteless, serious will be moldy, earthy, iodine and even fermented.

[selection of finished beans]

When selecting finished beans, in addition to judging the flavor according to the introduction of the merchant and the fixed attributes of the existing goods, it can also be judged according to the degree of baking:

Coffee beans will show different colors depending on the degree of roasting. The sour taste of the lighter coffee bean itself is very heavy, with the deepening of the baking degree, the sour taste of the coffee bean will slowly disappear, while the bitter taste will rise step by step.

The roasting degree of coffee beans can be divided into light baking, moderate baking, and deep baking. These three main categories can be subdivided into eight subcategories, which are listed in detail as follows: shallow baking, meat baking, moderate baking, deep baking, urban baking, full baking, French baking, Italian baking, of which Italian baking is the deepest.

There are many sellers of baked beans, most of which are sold after baking. They generally indicate which manor they come from, the way the coffee beans are treated, the grade, the depth of baking and the flavor. So you can choose according to your favorite flavor, and there is no special recommendation from the store.

Toy Jun can introduce some varieties of finished beans, but because of the large number of beans, can not be introduced one by one, here only choose some of their own drink, more common to introduce.

Manning:

Produced in southern Sumatra, Indonesia, it has relatively high alcohol thickness, obvious bitterness, low acidity and deep baking degree.

In particular, to mention "Golden Manning", PWN selected full-grained, larger-sized beans named Golden Manning and registered trademarks. So only beans produced by PWN can be called Golden Manning.

Yega Xuefei:

Produced in the Sidamo producing area of Ethiopia. It is usually described as "strong floral aroma, subtle acidity, soft bergamot and lemon flavor". There is indeed a hint of flower and fruit on the smell, but it is sour on the palate. If you like the sour taste, Yega Xuefei is a cost-effective choice.

Yega Xuefei has two kinds of grading system. First, according to the SCAA, it is divided into water washing: G1, G2, sun: G1, G3, G4, G5; second, according to the standard established by the Ethiopian authorities a few years ago, Yega Xuefei is divided into A1 and A2. For both standards, the smaller the number, the higher the grade.

Blue Mountain:

The "most expensive and best" coffee in the minds of most people. Produced in the Blue Mountains near Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, prices remain high because of small production and monopolized by Japan. Now authentic Blue Mountains can also be bought in China, with three more common brands: M.B.C.F, Konastair and Wallenford.

The most important feature of Blue Mountain Coffee is the balance of flavors, grading from high to low is divided into Blue Mountain No.1, No.2, No.3 and Blue Mountain mixture. And the special blue mountain round bean (PB).

In addition to Blue Mountain Coffee, coffee grades in other Jamaican producing areas are also classified from high to low: Alpine Coffee, Jamaican quality and Jamaica selection.

KONA, Hawaii:

There is a saying that Blue Mountain is the king of coffee and KONA is after coffee.

Due to the island topography and volcanic soil, Hawaiian coffee has a very special taste, not too strong, not too sour and mellow, with pleasant wine aromas and acidity.

KONA coffee is divided into four grades, which are the most advanced Extra Fancy, Fancy, Prime and Gr. No.1 et al. With low output and high production cost, with the increasing demand for boutique coffee in recent years, the price of Kona on the market is catching up with the Blue Mountain of Jamaica, and the best Kona beans are becoming more and more difficult to buy.

Rose summer:

Rose summer is a new variety that has become popular in recent years, with higher quality in Latin American countries such as Panama, Guatemala and Colombia, and now its reputation and price are catching up with Blue Mountain and KONA. The flavor is mainly fruity and an aroma similar to oolong tea.

Brazilian coffee:

Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world, with the largest total output in the world. Its coffee taste is mild, slightly sour, slightly bitter, no major defects, no special advantages, more moderate, mainly used as matching beans.

Columbia Coffee:

The second largest producer of Colombian coffee. The overall quality of coffee beans is higher. Medium-bodied, low acidity, sweet taste, with some nutty flavor, suitable for medium or deep baking, drink alone, mix are good.

Source: network