Have you ever wondered what those fancy words mean on your bag of coffee?
Then this is the article for you. In this article, I will tell you everything you need to know about your coffee beans.
I will begin by covering the various types of coffee beans, their processing and roasting methods, and providing additional information about your coffee beans.
Let's begin!
Which coffee beans are there?
Let me start by explaining the various coffee bean families that exist. I will cover the two most commonly used coffee beans on the planet: Arabica and Robusta.
These two coffee beans are not alone; there are also coffee beans that are much rarer and are used exclusively to produce the finest quality coffee on the planet.
I'm referring to the Liberica and Excelsa coffee beans. These coffee beans are much harder to find in your local supermarket because there just aren't enough coffee beans produced to go around.
The Arabica coffee beans
Let's start with the Arabica coffee bean, the most popular coffee globally. Arabica coffee is harvested from the Coffea Arabica plant.
It is believed that this is one of the first species of coffee to be recognized. Coffea Arabica accounts for over 60% of the world's coffee production.
Arabica is the general name for all coffee beans of the same species. Typica is considered the original variety. From here on out, numerous mutations are known.
Here are some examples of coffee varieties:
- Bourbon
- Caturra
- Catuai
- Mundo Novo
- And many more
The bourbon coffee plant, for example, is a natural mutation of the Typica coffee plant. Mundo Novo is a hybrid of the Typica and Bourbon coffee plants.
Every region has its own kind of coffee plant. The coffees from these plants all have a distinct flavor.
The Arabica coffee plant usually grows from 900m to 2000m (3000ft to 6600ft) and up. The further up the mountains the coffee plants grow, the more expensive the coffee beans will be.
This has everything to do with the amount of space the coffee farmer has on his mountain. But also because hard-to-reach places involve more hard labor.
What are Robusta coffee beans, and how do they grow?
Robusta coffee comes from the Coffea canephora plant (that's the scientific name). It's the second most common coffee species used commercially, after Arabica.
Together, Arabica and Robusta account for almost all coffee produced worldwide, with Arabica typically making up the larger share.
Robusta beans are known for a stronger, more intense cup, and the plants are generally hardier than Arabica, which is one reason they're popular with farmers.
This is why most coffee farmers choose to have a mixture of coffee plants on their farms.
However, there are even more advantages to growing Robusta beans on the farm: the Robusta coffee plant takes approximately 2-3 years to mature fully, compared to the Arabica coffee plant, which can take up to 7 years to reach maturity and produce coffee beans ready for plucking.
Robusta is often described as stronger and more bitter, with a heavier, harsher edge than Arabica. That's one reason it's commonly used in blends and espresso for extra punch.
This coffee bean is most commonly used in a coffee blend. This is because the coffee beans add a nice flavor profile, combined with a high-grown Arabica coffee bean.
When you read along, you will find everything you want to know about coffee blends. This will provide a more general understanding of what I just discussed.
Liberica coffee, how rare are these coffee beans?
The Coffea Liberica coffee plant is scarce.
Growing in only a few places on earth, the coffee beans from this coffee plant are sought after.
Liberica is rare globally and makes up a very small share of the coffee market (often described as around 1-2%).
The coffee beans produced by Coffea Liberica are larger than those of Arabica or Robusta coffee beans.
It also packs more caffeine than Arabica coffee beans but less than Robusta.
The Excelsa coffee bean: What is it, and is it that much more different than the rest of the coffee beans?
I wanted to include this coffee bean from the Coffea Excelsa coffee plant on this list because it is even rarer than the Coffea Liberica coffee.
Excelsa is commonly treated as a type within Liberica (often referred to as Coffea liberica var. dewevrei), even though it's still marketed as 'Excelsa' in the coffee world.
Having a normal coffee bean size, the coffee beans pack a unique flavor profile.
It is highly sought after by coffee enthusiasts because it is difficult to obtain a substantial quantity of these delicious coffee beans.
If you ever get the chance to try a nice cup of coffee made from either Excelsa or Liberica coffee beans, I would suggest taking it.
What is a peaberry, and how do they differ from regular coffee beans?
The beans inside a coffee cherry come in pairs.
Most of the time, when you break open a coffee cherry, there are two sides of a coffee bean. You can compare this to a peanut, which uses a similar growing technique.
It is a coffee bean with a natural mutation, resulting in a single bean within the coffee fruit.
Peaberries are a natural mutation, and they're often estimated at around 5% of harvested beans (with some grading systems tolerating up to 10% mixed into 'flat bean' lots).
Peaberries are rounder because only one seed develops inside the cherry.
Some people love them and claim they taste different, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're of higher quality. It depends on the coffee, sorting, and roast.
The peaberry coffee beans are usually roasted alongside the rest of the coffee beans, but are picked out of the bunch for a separate sale afterward.
Picking these peaberries out of the rest of the coffee beans is all handwork, which is why peaberry coffee tends to be more expensive when bought separately.
How are coffee beans processed?
Does the quality of the coffee bean change when using a different process?
A great coffee can come from any process, but processing can significantly alter the flavor, and it can also introduce defects if done poorly. So yes, the process matters.
This is where the real change in flavors begins.
I will cover the three processes used in the coffee industry. The natural process, the washed process, and the pulped natural process are most commonly referred to as the semi-washed process.
In most cases, the process used can be found on the packaging of your coffee.
If you cannot find it on the packaging, you can always ask your local coffee roaster for assistance. They will always have an answer to these coffee-related questions.
Using the natural process
With this process, the whole coffee cherries are left to dry. This mostly happens on big patios just outside the farmer's house. Sometimes drying beds are used.
This method of drying coffee beans is used to increase airflow around the beans. This results in a more even drying process.
The coffee cherries are covered at night and when it is raining. The drying process will take up to six weeks.
The coffee beans are then separated from their fruit. What remains is a clean, green bean, ready to be shipped off and roasted.
How the washing process works
In this process, the coffee cherries receive a gentle bath.
The coffee cherries will run through a stream of fresh water. The good cherries will stay afloat. The bad ones will sink to the bottom and will be thrown out.
They are then sent to the next washing station, where a pulping machine will remove the outer skin. The beans are then left to ferment.
This can take up to a few days. This will reduce the mucilage that remains after passing through the washing station.
The coffee beans will then be ready for drying. Drying typically occurs in the sun in most places.
Some farmers also use a drying machine, as the weather is very unpredictable. If the beans get wet from rain, it will take longer for them to dry fully.
The pulped natural (honey) / semi-washed process
The pulped natural or semi-washed process involves removing the outer skin using a pulping machine, similar to the process used in washing.
The coffee beans are then stored until the next morning.
In a pulped natural (often called 'honey') process, the skin is removed, but some sticky fruit mucilage is left on the bean while it dries.
This often creates a cup that tastes sweeter and rounder than fully washed coffees, with more body.
To sum up, processing the coffee cherry can bring out a distinct flavor profile.
Usually, coffee beans with a bit of mucilage from the coffee cherry on them tend to be slightly sweeter than those from the natural process.
Some people swear by the washed process, while others prefer the natural process.
How does the roasting of the coffee beans impact the flavor of coffee?
Historically, much mass-market coffee was roasted darker for consistency and shelf stability.
Dark roasts can emphasize roast-driven flavors (smoke, cocoa, toasted notes), while lighter roasts tend to showcase more origin character.
Nowadays, this is no longer necessary due to the emergence of specialty coffee farms.
Coffee from these farms is usually light to medium roasted.
When light to medium-roasted, these coffee beans bring out a complex flavor profile.
So what exactly is the difference between a light, medium, and dark roast?
When looking at this overview, you can see the difference in taste.
In general, lighter roasts preserve more origin detail, while darker roasts shift the flavor toward roast notes. Neither is 'more complex' by default; they're just different.
Large-scale roasting is often faster and hotter than specialty roasting; however, roast times vary widely depending on the equipment and style. What matters most is the final flavor balance in the cup.
The downside to roasting coffee beans this way is that the beans don't have time to develop their full flavor.
What does slow-roasting coffee beans mean?
The benefits of slow-roasting coffee are as follows: you can achieve a more complex-tasting cup of coffee by fully bringing out the flavor profile you prefer.
If you want espresso that tastes less bright and more chocolatey, roast development can shift the balance in that direction.
The goal is usually a rounder, sweeter cup.
When roasting the coffee beans to a less acidic level, the other flavors of the coffee beans are preserved.
This technique will take approximately 30 minutes, depending on the desired roast level.
Fun fact: Have you ever wondered why your dark roast coffee has an oily consistency then?
The longer you roast the coffee, the more oil the coffee beans release.
This is why you will most commonly see this phenomenon occur with espresso-roasted coffee beans.
How does altitude affect coffee?
I have recently started buying more from a local coffee roaster.
The quality is amazing, and most of the coffee beans they sell are from certified coffee farms.
Sometimes, when you buy the coffee beans, you get a coffee sheet. On this sheet, you can read where your coffee comes from, from which year the crop is, and at which altitude the coffee grows.
When conducting research, I discovered that altitude can significantly impact the flavor of your coffee.
This is largely due to the altitude at which the coffee farm is situated.
Higher elevation often means slower growth and denser beans, which can create more distinct flavors, but quality still depends on farming, picking, and processing.
High altitudes above 900m-1500m (3000ft-4900ft) and higher provide the ideal growing conditions. This isn't true for most smaller producing coffee farms, though.
You can still get a very good-tasting coffee bean, for example, from a farm situated at 500m (1600ft), where the beans get lots of sunlight.
Whether the coffee plants receive a lot of sunlight or are in the shade most of the time makes a significant difference as well.
When coffee plants receive ample sunlight, they produce coffee beans more quickly compared to those that remain in the shade at all times.
The cooler the mountain, the slower the coffee beans grow, which provides a more complex flavor profile.
The soil also makes a significant difference. When coffee beans grow in fertile soil, they develop a much deeper flavor.
Soil and climate influence how coffee develops, but bean size and cup quality depend on many factors (variety, shade, rainfall, picking, processing), not just 'better soil'.
What is a coffee blend?
A coffee blend is made by combining multiple single-origin coffees. Where single-origin coffees have a more pronounced taste, a coffee blend has a more well-balanced flavor.
In most cases, the cup of coffee you drink in the morning is a blend of coffee.
This is because it is most commonly used in the coffee market. Most blends consist of a mixture of Arabica and Robusta beans.
Here, you combine the best flavors, using the Robusta beans, which pack more bitter notes, and Arabica for the sweeter notes.
You can always see what type of coffee beans you buy, for example, in your local supermarket. You can check whether your coffee is a blend of a single-origin coffee by looking at the label.
It will usually say that it's a mixture of coffee beans, like 60% Arabica and 40% Robusta. This means it is a blend.
When searching for a single-origin coffee, look for a label that contains 100% Arabica coffee beans, for example.
What is single-origin coffee?
Single-origin coffee is coffee grown on either a single farm, multiple farms in the same area, or coffee from multiple farms in the same country.
Wikipedia
This means you get a more general idea of where your coffee comes from. This is what sets it apart from a coffee blend, which I will discuss later.
Most commonly, single-origin coffee is made from Arabica beans due to their distinctive taste profile.
As more specialty coffee shops open around the world, coffee enthusiasts and drinkers alike are increasingly interested in the transparency that single-origin coffee offers.
Single-origin coffee usually has a more pronounced flavor profile. This is because you can get a coffee bag made on one farm, for example, from the Simbu Province of Papua New Guinea.
This is the third-largest producing region of the island. The coffee from this region often has wonderful complexity and a great sweetness.
Once you start tasting coffee from all around the world, you will notice a big difference in taste.
This is why most people prefer single-origin coffee over blends.
When tasting side by side, you can discern the distinct flavors in each coffee.
If you taste enough coffee, you will start to understand the importance of drinking a single-origin over a blend.
I have been drinking coffee for quite some time, and I prefer it from Costa Rica.
Coffee from Costa Rica has a nice, balanced flavor profile, which I really like. As you dive deeper into the world of coffee, you will undoubtedly find a favorite too.
Conclusion
In this article, I have addressed a few questions I had when first exploring the world of coffee.
I've explained to you the various types of coffee beans available and how the processing and altitude of the coffee can affect the final outcome of your cup.
These are some fun and intriguing questions to which you now have the answer. I will see you in the next article. Read on, and enjoy the coffee journey!
More coffee articles
Down below, I've listed a few articles that might be of interest to you:
