About Coffee - Processing

When you are learning to pick out the major attributes we suggest buying a coffee from one of the three major growing regions such as our New Guinea Purosa, Guatemala or Costa Rica, Ethiopian Sidamo or Yrgacheffe.  Others work equally as well; just don't use blends as they are developed by using several coffees with specific attributes to create complexity and balance.  That being said, if you see us with Bali, New Guinea, Kenya or Colombia go for it.  You can't miss; they all taste great.

Major Attributes:

• Acidity - Acidity is that dry snap or tingling sensation you feel on the undersides and top of your tongue when you sip coffee. This is a positive attribute and not to be confused with Ph or a bitter sensation.  Acidity should be bright and sweet in a coffee from Latin America or subtle and deep (like a dark ripe plumb) in a coffee from Latin America.  African coffees present the sensation in a crisp or crinkling way with exotic fruit notes mingled in.  The way acidity presents in Latin coffees creates a classic easy drinking cup with beautiful aromas.              
• Body - The body of a coffee refers to the thickness or weight of the coffee in your mouth. Imagine the difference between the feeling of skim vs. whole milk. The difference between a thin, medium and full bodied coffee is a similar experience.  Coffee from the Indonesian region of the world tend to be remarkably full-bodied and somewhat lacking in a lively spark brought about by a strong presence of acidity.  As a result, they tend to be very smooth. 
• Aroma - The aroma of a coffee is directly tied to its flavor profile and gives you a hint to what your will experience in your mouth. The sensation comes from your perception of the gases released from the coffee.  Examples: A wet-processed Ethiopian coffee should have a floral aroma, A coffee from Sumatra will have earthy or dried fruit notes, and a Guatemalan will be sweet with a nut-like notes. As roasts push darker they will pick up a roasty/carbony note that is a product of the roast not the coffee.  The aromas then become spicy and smoky.

Other Tasting terms:

• Balance - a measure of how well the three major attributes work together. 
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• Clean - free of confusing complexities.  Easy drinking and typically without a pronounced aftertaste.
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• Flavor - everything else you taste in a coffee that is not part of the Acidity/Body/Aroma realm.  Your memory will help you here.  This is where descriptions on coffee labels sometimes become seemingly over ambitious.  Don't despair.  With practice, the essence of nuts, fruit, flowers, earth, smoke, wood, sugar and other memorable experiences of your olfactory senses will emerge.  Again, trust your memory.  With hundreds of naturally occurring chemical compounds in coffee directly associated with coffee's flavor a lot is possible.  With time the nuances become firecrackers of fun.
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• Complexity - The coexistence of several taste and flavor sensations in the same coffee.  For example, our Colombian coffee offering is full-bodied, rich, aromatic of orange blossom, bright tasting and finishing with a touch of dutch chocolate and caramel.  On the other side of the spectrum is a natural processed coffee  from Ethiopia.  It has a uniquely pleasing flavor with a fruit forward profile.  To some people the exotic complexity and  the distinct fruitloops character is overwhelming.  To others, it is a surprising pleasing treat.   
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• Finish - this is the feeling and flavor left in your mouth after you swallow. Some coffees will leave a subtle citrus taste while others can leave a rounded note of sweet caramel.  Some coffees like our Panama start off sharply on the first few sips and then sweeten tremendoulsy as they cool. Pay attention to your experience; does the flavor linger or does it evaporate quickly after sipping?  Some coffees start with a spark and finish with the most incredibly balanced profile you might think you picked up someone else's cup!