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AA |
Capital letters usually indicate the grade, or size of a bean. E.G. Kenya AA. AA is Kenya’s highest grade involving large beans and a limit on the number of defects allowable per specified unit weight. |
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Acidity |
Liveliness, carrying the high notes of flavor in a coffee. When coffee is unripe, poorly roasted or poorly brewed acidity can become overly pronounced becoming tart, sharp or sour, as in vinegar. |
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Arabica |
“Coffea Arabica” is the species name assigned to the coffee tree by European botanist Linnaeus. Arabica coffee accounts for 67% of the world’s coffee production.. Arabica typically has less caffeine than other commercial species of coffee, popularly referred to as Robusta. Arabica is the starting point for producing good coffee; nevertheless, most Arabicas are no better than Robustas, due to poor production procedures. Arabicas are more expensive to grow than Robusta. |
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Aroma |
The smell that is released from freshly ground coffee (dry aroma) and from freshly brewed coffee. |
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Body |
The perceived thickness, creaminess or viscosity of brewed coffee. A full bodied coffee is one with a rich, almost heavy, mouthfeel. The perception of body can be created by sediment, produced by certain brewing methods, and, a mark of quality, by the amount of lipids (fats, oils and waxes) in the coffee. |
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Bourbon |
An heirloom botanical variety of Coffea Arabica. First identified on the island of Bourbon (today called Reunion) in the Indian Ocean in the eighteenth century. Produces relatively low yields but is prized for its quality. |
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Cappuccino |
A hot drink made with espresso and foamed milk. The european style of cappuccino calls for 1/3rd espresso, 1/3rd hot milk, 1/3rd foam in a cup holding approximately 5 ounces of beverage. Named after the Catholic Capuchin monks in Italy who wore robes that looked similar to the foam of the espresso drink. |
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Caturra |
An Arabica cultivar developed from Bourbon. Small in size but quite dense with growth, it requires greater inputs than older Arabicas but rewards the grower for it with higher yields and fine quality. |
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Chaff |
Pieces of the innermost skin of the cherry (the silverskin) that clings to the green coffee after processing. This skin comes loose in the roaster. |
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Cherry |
The ripe fruit from a coffee tree. Typically contains 2 beans, or 1 peaberry. |
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Clean |
A term used to describe coffee with no discernible defects in its flavor. |
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Cup of Excellence® |
The brainchild of George Howell, Cup of Excellence® is a stringent three-stage yearly competition to find the very best lots of green coffee produced in a particular country, followed by a worldwide internet auction of those coffees, the first of its kind. The third stage of the competition involves an international jury composed of Specialty coffee buyers (judges from the last Brazil competition were from: Finland, Norway, Holland, France, Greece, England, Italy, the USA, India, Australia and Japan). Only a few lots win each year. Six countries are participating in 2005: Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. Farms whose coffees have won the Cup of Excellence® are given credit and exposure through the web, through the press and through participating merchants who have bought the coffees. These farmers are thus given a rare opportunity to step out of the anonymity which guarantees their dependence on the commodity market – regardless of the quality they produce. Cup of Excellence® began in 1999. See the definition of lot for further information. |
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Cupping |
A process used by professionals to sample and evaluate coffees. Similar to a wine tasting.
Every coffee that is considered for purchase must be carefully cupped. The cupping process first involves detection of any defects or inconsistencies that might appear from cup to cup; one bad bean can destroy even a pot of coffee. Specialty coffee cupping then proceeds to explore for positive traits. Coffees that are chosen for quality purchase must be outstanding in clean cup (no defects, taints or muddiness), sweetness, refined acidity, smooth body, distinct pleasant flavor, elegant aftertaste and good balance. All coffees must be measured for correct moisture content before purchase as is done by Terroir™. This is critical since wetter, unstable coffee deteriorate rapidly. |
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Decaffeinated |
Coffee that has had at least 97% of its caffeine removed is classified as decaffeinated. |
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Drip Brewing |
Water is poured through coffee grounds in a filter (paper or sieve) into a receptacle below. Paper filters will emphasize the aromatics and flavor layers of a brew while a sieve, by permitting sediment and more oils through, will favor body. |
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Espresso |
An intense tiny portion of coffee brewed by forcing hot water at high pressure through tightly packed coffee grounds. A single espresso is approximately 1 liquid ounce. Espresso cannot be kept. After only two minutes it begins to lose its crema (foam) and smoothness of taste. It should (ideally) always be served in porcelain and enjoyed on the spot. |
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French Press |
Coffee grounds and water are steeped together. After the grounds sink to the bottom of the coffeemaker a strainer plate is pushed down to separate the beverage from the spent grounds. This brew is thicker bodied than drip coffee since the coffees oils and extreme fine sediment have not been filtered out. |
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Full Flavor Roast |
Terroir’s Signature roast style. It is a specifically designed roast that achieves a balance of very complex factors. The Full Flavor Roast offers a harmonized articulation of unique, rare volatile aromatics (floral and fruit), a light touch of caramelized roast flavors, refined yet enlivening acidity and appropriate rounded body. |
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Green Coffee |
Raw coffee, ready for roasting. |
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Hulling |
Removal of the coffee bean’s skin, called parchment, just prior to sorting. |
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Lot |
Green coffee is packaged in jute bags usually weighing from 132 to 154 pounds, depending on origin. These are then typically batched into lots of 250 to 300 plus bags which fit perfectly into standard shipping containers. Such lots tend to be blends of coffee from a region and almost always represent a fair average quality at best. Roaster’s coffee blends and single origin coffees without farm or cooperative labeling are typically made of such lots. The cutting edge of specialty coffee is the production of smaller lots from a single day’s harvest from a single producer, leading to higher quality and a clearer expression of terroir. |
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North Italian Style Roast |
A “light” dark roast in the tradition of Northern Italy (Milan – Trieste), typically used for espresso. |
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Organic Coffee |
Coffee that has not come into contact with herbicides, pesticides or other chemicals. |
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Peaberry |
Coffee fruit carries two seeds which face each other. When extracted and properly dried these are called coffee beans. On rare occasions (3 to 5% of the time) one of the two seeds aborts and the remaining one takes on a rounded peppercorn-like shape, called a peaberry. Peaberries can be sorted out and sold separately, often for a higher premium. They are not in themselves of higher quality than other beans. |
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Robusta |
Robusta coffee accounts for 33% of the world’s coffee production. It is cheaper to grow than Arabica since it is a much heartier plant. Robusta typically has up to twice the caffeine content of Arabica. Because of its low cost and high caffeine it is used for most commercial brands of coffee.
Brewed Robusta adds more brown pigment to the brewed cup, giving it a “richer” look, and produces an un-sweet, neutral to harsh tasting cup; tastes similar to what a wet brown paper bag smells like. |
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