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Where coffee beans grow and their distinguishing
attributes
Coffee beans are grown is three major regions of the
world: Central and South America; Africa and the Middle-East; and South
East Asia, particularly the islands of Indonesia.
Beans from the Americas are usually
characterized by mild acidity with tobacco flavors, or even a hint of
white chocolate. Beans from Africa are wine-like and very chocolatey,
while Indonesian coffee beans are usually very earthy-tasting.
There are two varieties of coffee plant: "Arabica", which is thought
to be indigenous to Ethiopia and was first cultivated on the Arabian
Peninsula. The other variety of coffee is "Robusta" which contains
up to 50% more caffeine than Arabica, and which is a far more hardy
plant, resulting in it's much wider dispersion around the globe.
Robusta, however, is considered an inferior coffee since it tends to
have less flavor, and exhibits bitterness. Nonetheless, because it
is more widely distributed and a more hardy plant, it is less expensive
than Arabica and used widely in coffee blends by the large industrial
coffee blenders and instant coffee makers. Good quality Robusta
beans are actually what provide the crema so essential to espresso
coffee, so are typically found in espresso coffee blends, especially
dark Italian espresso roasts.
Arabica coffee beans were traditionally called after the ports from
which they were exported, hence "Mocha" which was shipped out of Yemen,
and "Java", which was shipped out of Indonesia.
The coffee beans from each of these regions exhibit characteristics
that can be grouped as follows: Beans with light-body, high
acidity and sweet flavor come from Central and South America.
Coffee beans that exhibit medium body and acidity hail from Africa.
And finally, beans from South East Asia and the Pacific regions are
characterized by dark body, low acidity, and an earthy flavor.
You no doubt will see coffee beans sometimes being described as "100%
Colombian". This branding falls under the control of the Colombian
Coffee Federation founded in 1927 to promote the growing and marketing
of coffee from Colombia under the "Juan Valdez" brand.
Terminology Used to Describe Coffee Flavors
"Body" in reference to coffee refers to its feel in the mouth.
The flavor characteristics of coffee can be referred to with such
terms as "earthy", "sweet", "bitter", "smoky", "cardboard-like",
"citrus-like".
Coffee is naturally acidic. The pH of black coffee is around 5.
(A pH less than 7 is acidic.) Reference is often made to the
amount of acidity noticeable in a particular coffee bean
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