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Coffee Beans Guide

The Plant

Is a tropical evergreen shrub or small tree originating from Africa, two species of which, Arabica and Canephora (Robusta) are now grown in a geographical belt between 25 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the Equator.

The Bean

Is the seed found inside the skin and pulp of the cherry, the fruit of the coffee plant. Properly processed and prepared, the beans become a commodity, the production of which gives a living to as many as 20 million people, and results in a beverage called coffee!

Coffee

Is a drink consumed hot or cold by approximately one third of the world’s population. A drink which has been stimulating and delighting the world since its discovery around 1000AD in an area known today as Ethiopia.

Arabica Coffee

Is the most widely grown variety. A mountain crop growing best on steep slopes and requiring heavy rainfall. The berries have a distinctive aromatic flavour. Indigenous to Ethiopia this coffee is also grown in Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Jamacia, and Kenya.

Robusta Coffee

Is hardier than Arabica and grows at lower altitudes. It can manage with less rain. Indigenous to West and Central Africa, it is also grown in East Africa and Asia.

Liverica Coffee

Is very hardy with good resistance to disease. It can tolerate drought and neglect. Indigenous to Liberia and also grown on the Ivory Coast, in Equatorial Africa and Cameroon. The quantity traded is very small.

Roasting

Gives coffee its flavour and aroma. The coffee bean is vegetable matter and made up of fats, proteins, carbohydrates and organic acids. Roasting makes the beans expand, chemically alters the bean and coffee oil or essence it contains. It’s the water-soluble coffee essence which gives coffee its unique flavour and aroma. Coffee is usually roasted for 5-12 minutes. The longer it is roasted, the more intense and bitter the flavour becomes. Dark roast coffee develops a nutty burnt flavour which is less acidic and tangy than light and medium roasts. Roasting brings the coffee oil to the surface of the bean which is why a very dark roast has a glossy sheen.

Light / pale roast is most suitable for breakfast coffees

Medium roast produces an all-round any-time-of-day coffee.

High roast / full roast is a stronger darker cup of coffee suitable for after-dinner.

This is an extract of the coffee guide produced by Segafredo, Europe’s No. 1 Espresso coffee company. Segafredo Coffee is available from Qualitasse.

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