Factors That Affect The Taste Of Coffee

While many may think of their cup of coffee as just another hot drink it has been shown that coffee is just as complex, if not more so, than that glass of wine you had yesterday. So, if coffee is such a complex drink what factors can affect the way it tastes? Well, you’d be surprised just how much the taste of coffee can be affected by various factor including where the coffee was grown and even how it was harvested. We take a look at some of the factors that make coffee taste the way it does.

1. The Species and Cultivar

In the world of coffee, there are basically two varieties, Arabica and Robusta. Most of the coffees sold at speciality coffee shops tend to be Arabica while Robusta is seen as a cheaper and lower quality alternative, although certain espresso blends do include high-quality Robusta beans. Most of the coffee planted across the world tends to be Arabica mainly due to its exceptional taste. The downside is that Arabica coffee is more suspectable to diseases. Robusta on the other hand, while not necessarily know for its great taste, is less prone to get diseases and has a higher caffeine content. Most of the world’s Arabica coffee is grown in Guatemala while the bulk of the Robusta is grwon in Vietnam.

2. Where it is grown

As mentioned, many factors that influence the taste of wine can influence the taste of the coffee. So, where your coffee is grown plays a very important role in how your morning cup ends up tasting. How can soil affect the taste of coffee? Well, soil provides many of the minerals and nutrients that the coffee plant absorbs in order to grow. These minerals and nutrients, in turn, affect the flavour, body and acidity of the coffee bean. For instance, coffee grown in volcanic soils of Kenya will taste completely different to coffee grown in more clay-rich soils of Guatemala’s Cobán region.

3. The climate

If you want high-quality coffee beans you need the perfect balance of sun, rain and temperature. The climate of a region can greatly impact the quality of the beans. There has been a lot of concern over climate change recently and how it affects the production of quality coffee. You see, the longer the coffee bean takes to ripen the more time it has to develop the complex flavours we all love, but with rising temperatures coffee beans ripen more quickly which affects the taste and quality of the coffee bean and makes it overall less flavourful.

4. The elevation

Elevation plays a large part in what variety of coffee is planted. For instance, if you are thinking of planting Arabica then you’ll need to choose a higher elevation with a cooler climate than if you were thinking of planting Robusta which fairs much better in warmer climates. Higher elevations tend to produce hard dense beans with a more concentrated and complex flavour. where lower elevations tend to produce beans with less flavour due to the better-growing conditions. Basically, it boils down to the more the coffee bean struggles to grow the more flavourful it ends up being.

5. Harvesting process

No matter how hard we as humans try to control mother nature, she mostly ends up victorious in the end. Coffee cherries will always ripen at various times and picking the cherries when they are at their optimal ripeness is crucial. It is therefore important that cherries are picked by hand and by pickers who are well trained in picking the cherries at the right time. Where machinery is used cherries are all picked at once which means that you end up with a mixture of perfectly ripe cherries and unripe ones. It is also important to start processing the cherries as soon as they are picked to prevent mold or rotting, which brings us to…

6. Processing

Once all the coffee cherries have been harvested, they need to be processed as quickly as possible. Believe it or not but drying coffee seeds (which eventually are roasted and turned into coffee beans) can happen in various ways each affecting how your cup of coffee will taste.

Natural/ dry processing – This process has traditionally been used in Africa. The coffee seeds are dried while still in the cherries. This process requires less water and allows the natural sugars from the fruit to penetrate the seeds. The downside is that the cherries need to continually be turned in order to avoid crop spoilage. Beans processed in this way ends with a fruitier flavoured, low acidity coffee bean.

Washed/ wet processing – This process is seen as a more modern one and involves letting the cherries ferment briefly and then removing the seeds from the fruit. This means that there is less risk of spoilage. Beans processed in this way ends up with higher acidity and more clarity.

Honey processing – This process combines the best of both of the previously mentioned processes. Basically, this process sees some but not all of the outer layer of the cherries removed, finding a balance between the Natural and Washed processes. Beans processed in this way ends up with more acidity than the dry processed beans but less than one would find in wet processed beans.

7. Roasting profile

After all the growing, harvesting and processing is done the green (unroasted) beans ends up at the roaster. It’s up to a skilled roaster to unlock the full flavours of the coffee bean. By fine-tuning among other things the temperature, drum speed and air flow, the roaster affects the flavour profile of the end product. This is arguably one of the most crucial steps in ending up with a good quality coffee or one you would rather pour down the drain.

8. Brewing

The last step in defining how your coffee will taste is the brewing process. The grind size, brew ration(coffee to water), extraction time and even water temperature are all factors that affect how your final cup of coffee will taste like.

Diesel Coffee only uses the best quality Arabica green (unroasted) beans sourced from farmers in Columbia and Uganda. The beans are roasted locally in order to bring you the freshly roasted, quality Diesel Coffee you love. #likedieselcoffee