What even is coffee?
- Coffee is the seed of a fruit — a cherry grown in the tropics.
- Arabica is sweeter and more complex; robusta is harsher with twice the caffeine.
- Green beans are nearly flavourless. Roasting invents the flavour.
A fruit, of all things
Coffee beans are the seeds of a cherry-like fruit grown on trees in the “bean belt”, between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Ethiopia, Colombia, Brazil, India, Indonesia: a diplomat’s itinerary.
Four layers, one seed
Under the skin and pulp sits a sticky sugar layer, then a papery husk, then the seeds — usually two to a cherry, flat sides facing. How it grew shapes how it tastes.
Where it grows
Coffee grows in one band around the globe. Which one?
Answer: Between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn — the bean belt. Ethiopia, Colombia, Brazil, India and Indonesia all sit inside it.
Two species, one rowdy
Arabica: sweeter, more complex, most specialty coffee. Robusta: harsher, cheaper, twice the caffeine and a rugby forward’s manners; it fills instant coffee and some espresso blends, for kick and crema.
Sort them by species
Put each trait with its species.
- Arabica
- sweeter, more complex
- most specialty coffee
- most of the world’s crop
- Robusta
- twice the caffeine
- cheaper and harsher
- thick crema, and instant coffee
Arabica is the sweeter, fussier one behind most specialty coffee. Robusta is hardier and cheaper, with twice the caffeine, and brings kick and crema.
Robusta’s day job
Why do some espresso blends put robusta in on purpose?
Answer: For the kick and the thick crema. That hardiness and price are also why robusta fills most instant coffee.
Green, then brown
Beans start green, as tasty as a wet afternoon. Roasting sets off hundreds of chemical reactions that build the flavors you love. Which is why the roast level (coming in Lesson 5) changes everything.
“A fruit, a species and a fire, in that order; most breakfasts improve once that is understood.”