The Secret in the label: interpreting the name of Coffee Bean

Why do coffee beans have such a long name? Why is there a single item, deep roast and Italian style of coffee? How is this distinguished?

When you walk into a coffee store or open the website of a professional coffee and bean seller, you may be confused by the dazzling variety of coffee names. Why do coffee beans have such a long name? Why is there a single item, deep roast and Italian style of coffee? How is this divided? What does it mean behind these complicated-looking coffee bean names? This article will lead you to understand the meaning of coffee bean names item by item.

1. Indication of origin: "single product" and "comprehensive" coffee

The coffee beans sold in the market can be roughly divided into two categories:

Single coffee (Single Origins)

Mixed coffee (Coffee Blends)

"single coffee" generally refers to a single style of coffee beans from a single country or producing area. It can be compared to a coffee solo. If a bag of coffee is marked with the name of a coffee producing country (coffee beans are not produced in continental Europe, if the roll label is marked with the names of European cities such as Italy, Vienna, etc., it is not a single coffee.) Generally speaking, it means that this is a bag of individual coffee. Such as Ethiopia-Yega Snow Coffee (Ethiopia Yirgacheffe), Sumatra-Tawar Lake Manning (Sumatra Lake Tawar), Guatemala-Antigua (Guatemala Antigua) and so on, the specific coffee produced in specific countries, producing areas and estates is called "single coffee". Because each country or different region has its own climate, soil and natural environment, the coffee grown has its own characteristics. By tasting "individual coffee", you can understand the characteristics and flavor of coffee in a country or region.

"mixed coffee" refers to coffee beans mixed with several types of single coffee, which can be compared to a coffee concerto. Such as Huangding's Blue Coffee, Duck Coffee, Capri Coffee and so on. The blending method of integrated coffee can be very simple (such as the traditional "Mamba": Mantenin plus Brazil), or it can be a complex art. Through proper blending, individual coffee with different characteristics can be composed of more harmonious and wonderful movements. Usually the beans used in espresso (espresso, latte, cappuccino) are mixed coffee.

two。 Marking of baking degree: deep baking, Nanyi, Beiyi, Vienna, French baking

In addition to the labeling related to the place of origin, the most common is the marking of baking degree. Raw coffee beans need to go through the roasting process to release their unique charming aroma, and the roasting of coffee is closely related to its flavor. If you see "Italy", "Vienna", "Nanyi" and other signs on the coffee label, do not mistakenly think that the coffee beans have anything to do with the above place names-probably not, because traditionally, "Italy" and "Vienna" are synonymous with the degree of roasting (or blending) and do not mean that they are made in Italy or Vienna (as mentioned above). Coffee beans are not grown and produced in Europe. "Beiyi" represents the baking of light, light brown beans without oil; "Nanyi" refers to the deep baking of bright oil and dark brown on the bean surface; and "Italian baking" generally refers to deeper baking. "French baking (French Roast)" generally refers to the extremely deep baking with a near-black color, slightly coke flavor and no acid. "Vienna" usually refers to a mixture of coffee beans with different degrees of roasting.

The deeper the degree of baking, the higher the temperature of the roasting. The medium-shallow "Beiyi" baking flavor is more complex and bright, with fruit-like acidity and little or no bitterness. The deep high-temperature baked "Nanyi" has a low, full-bodied and slippery taste, with a sweet finish like caramel. The flavor of "French baking" is monotonous, but with a slightly coke flavor and no acidity at all.

3. Grading of coffee beans, small producing areas, farms, and other signs

At present, the grading system of coffee beans in the world is not consistent, so you may see the following words on the coffee label: "SHB", "AA+", "Supremo", "Extra-Fancy", "round bean / small bean fruit" and so on. These are the grading names of coffee beans. Baked beans on the market are sometimes marked with the grading of individual coffee, usually not.

The best coffee in Central and South America is graded on the basis of planting altitude. Beans above 4500 feet above sea level are marked "SHB". "AA+" is the highest grade of Kenyan coffee. Only batches with particularly excellent flavor and few defects are allowed to be marked "AA+", "AA" is the largest, "AB" is smaller, and "PB" is round beans. Colombia also uses the appearance size and defect rate of coffee beans as grading criteria, with "Supremo" indicating the largest particle. (please refer to the screen grading data of this site for details). It is worth noting that the appearance size of coffee beans has nothing to do with the flavor. The higher the altitude, the better the flavor.

The name of the country is immediately followed by the marking of small producing areas. Take Ethiopia-Ethiopia (Ethiopia Yirgacheffe) as an example. Ethiopia's Ethiopia is the name of the coffee-producing country, indicating that it is a "single coffee". The Ethiopia is a narrow, long, high-altitude producing area in Ethiopia's Sidamo district. Different small producing areas mean different flavor characteristics. For example, the famous Ethiopia-Haramoka (Ethiopia Harrar) is produced in southern Ethiopia near Somalia. Haramoka has wine-like aromas, blueberry or grape flavors, thick palate, fresh and bright Yega snow coffee, citrus or lemon peel aromas, and a thin palate.

However, some coffee beans have a string of names immediately after the name of the small producing area, which may be the name of a coffee farm or processing plant. The long list of names such as Guatemala-Antigua-Los Mokens (Guatemala Antigua SHB- Finca Los Volcanes 02 Crop) tells us the following information:

Producing country: Guatemala-Guatemala is a famous coffee producer in Central America.

Producing area: Antigua (Antigua)-this is the famous volcanic coffee producing area of the country.

Grading: extremely hard beans (SHB)-indicates that this coffee grows at an altitude of more than 4500 feet.

Production Manor: Finca Los Volcanes Manor-"Finca" is the Spanish word for "Estate", meaning farm.

Harvest year: 2002-the year is a reference for bakers, so the year is usually not marked on the market baked bean label.

In the coffee cooked beans sold in the market, in order to reduce the trouble and identification burden of consumers, they generally do not make such complicated labels. There may be great differences in the flavor of coffee beans in different small producing areas and different years. Professional roasters will taste the coffee beans of the same year in different producing areas every year, and adjust the way of roasting and blending, so that consumers can get products with stable flavor and small differences.