Coffee Glossary – P Q R S

Parchment Coffee, In Parchment, En Pergamino.  Describes wet-processed coffee shipped with the dried parchment skin still adhering to the bean. The parchment is removed prior to roasting, a step called milling.

Parchment, Pergamino.  A final thin, crumbly skin covering wet-processed coffee beans after the coffee berries have been skinned, the pulp removed, and the beans dried.

Pare, Mbeya.  Market names for coffee from the south of Tanzania.

Patio Drying.  Drying coffee directly after picking (in the dry-processed method) or after fruit removal (in the wet-processed method) by exposing it to the heat of the sun by spreading and raking it in thin layers on open patios. A more traditional alternative to machine drying.

Peaberry, Caracol.  A small, round bean formed when only one seed, rather than the usual two, develops at the heart of the coffee fruit. Peaberry beans are often separated from normal beans and sold as a distinct grade of a given coffee. Typically, but not always, they produce a brighter, more acidy, but lighter-bodied cup than normal beans from the same crop.

Percolation.  Technically, any method of coffee brewing in which hot water percolates, or filters down through, a bed of ground coffee. The pumping percolator utilizes the power of boiling water to force water up a tube and over a bed of ground coffee.

Pergamino, Parchment.  A final thin, crumbly skin covering wet-processed coffee beans after the coffee berries have been skinned, the pulp removed, and the beans dried.

Peru.  The best Peru coffee is flavorful, aromatic, gentle, and mildly acidy. Chanchamayo from south-central Peru, and Urubamba, from a growing district farther south near Machu Picchu, are the best-known market names.

Piston Machine.  An espresso machine that uses a piston operated by a lever to force brewing water at high pressure through the compacted bed of ground coffee.

Plunger Pot, French Press.  Brewing method that separates spent grounds from brewed coffee by pressing them to the bottom of the brewing receptacle with a mesh plunger.

Polishing.  An optional procedure at the end of coffee processing and milling in which the dried, shipment-ready beans are subjected to polishing by friction to remove the innermost, or silverskin, and improve their appearance. Polishing does nothing to help flavor and may even hurt it by heating the beans, hence most specialty coffee buyers do not encourage the practice.

Portafilter, Filter Holder.  In espresso brewing , a metal object with plastic handle that holds the coffee filter, and clamps onto the group.

Primo Lavado, Prime Washed.  A grade of Mexico coffee that includes most of the fine coffees of that country.

Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Yauco.  Yauco coffees from Puerto Rico are a revived specialty origin that, at best, display the qualities that made Jamaica Blue Mountain famous: A deep, vibrant, yet restrained acidity and balanced, gently rich flavor. However, this potentially finest of Caribbean coffees is often marred by inconsistency.

Pulping.  Process of removing the outermost skin of the coffee cherry or fruit. See Wet-Processed Coffee.

Pump Machine.  An espresso machine that uses a pump to force brewing water at high pressure through the compacted bed of ground coffee.

Pyrolysis.  The chemical breakdown, during roasting, of fats and carbohydrates into the delicate oils that provide the aroma and most of the flavor of coffee.

Quakers.  Defective coffee beans that fail to roast properly, remaining stubbornly light-colored.

Regular Roast, American Roast.  Coffee roasted to traditional American taste: medium brown.

Richness.  A satisfying fullness in flavor, body, or acidity.

Rio.  A class of dry-processed coffees from Brazil with a characteristic medicinal, iodine-like flavor deriving from invasion of a micro-organism during drying. The term Rioy or Rio-y has come to be applied to any coffee with similar taste characteristics. The Rio taste is considered a rank defect by North American buyers, but is sought after by some buyers from Balkan and Middle-Eastern countries.

Robusta, Coffea Canephora.  Currently the only significant competitor among cultivated coffee species to Coffea arabica. Robusta produces about 30% of the world’s coffee. It is a lower-growing, higher-bearing tree that produces full-bodied but bland coffee of inferior cup quality and higher caffeine content than Coffea arabica. It is used as a basis for blends of instant coffee, and for less expensive blends of preground commercial coffee. It is not a factor in the specialty coffee trade except as a body-enhancing component in some Italian-style espresso blends. See also Coffea Arabica.

Sanani.  A comprehensive market name for coffees from several growing regions west of Sana’a, the capital city of Yemen. Usually a lower-toned, somewhat less acidy version of the Yemen style.

Santo Domingo.  Coffee from the Dominican Republic. High-grown Dominican coffee is a fairly rich, acidy coffee with classic Caribbean characteristics. Lower grown Dominican coffees tend to be softer and less acidy.

Santos, Bourbon Santos.  A market name for a category of high-quality coffee from Brazil, usually shipped through the port of Santos, and usually grown in the state of São Paulo or the southern part of Minas Gerais State. The term Bourbon Santos is sometimes used to refer to any high-quality Santos coffee, but it properly describes Santos coffee from the Bourbon variety of arabica, which tends to produce a fruitier, more acidy cup than other varieties grown in Brazil.

SCAA, Specialty Coffee Association of America.  An important and influential association of specialty coffee roasters, wholesalers, retailers, importers and growers headquartered in Long Beach, California.

Semi-Dry-Processed Coffee, Pulped Natural Coffee, Semi-Wet-Processed Coffee.  Coffee prepared by removing the outer skin of the coffee fruit (a process called pulping) and drying the skinned coffee with the sticky mucilage and the inner skins (parchment and silverskin) still adhering to the bean. This processing method, situated between the dry method and the wet method, has no consensus name. It is one of three processing methods practiced in Brazil, and is used sporadically on a small scale by farmers in Sumatra and Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Shade Grown, “Bird Friendly.  ” Describes coffee grown under a shade canopy. Arabica coffee is traditionally grown in shade in many (but not all) parts of Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, and in some other parts of the world, including India and some regions of Indonesia and Africa. Elsewhere arabica coffee is traditionally grown in full sun, or near full sun. The importance of maintaining shade canopies to supply habitat for migrating song birds in Central America has led to a controversial campaign by researchers at the Smithsonian Institute and their supporters to define “shade grown” in rather narrow terms (shade provided by mixed native trees) and label coffees grown under such a native canopy as “bird friendly.” Farmers who traditionally have not grown coffee in shade but maintain extensive forest reserves on their land understandably object to the concept, as do those who use non-native trees to shade their coffee. On the other hand, shade grown coffees most definitely are much easier on the environment than sun grown coffees, and the better tasting traditional varieties of arabica, bourbon and typica, are, in Central America at least, best grown in shade.

Sidamo, Washed Sidamo.  Market name for a distinguished light-to-medium bodied, fragrantly floral or fruity wet-processed coffee from southern Ethiopia.

Silverskin.  The thin, innermost skin of the coffee fruit. It clings to the dried coffee beans until it is either removed by polishing or floats free during roasting and becomes what roasters call chaff.

Single-Estate Coffee, Estate-Grown Coffee.  Coffee produced by a single farm, single mill, or single group of farms, and marketed without mixture with other coffees. Many specialty coffees are now identified by estate name, rather than the less specific regional or market name.

Single-Origin Coffee, Straight Cofee.  Unblended coffee from a single country, region, and crop.

Sivitz Roaster.  Type of coffee roaster named after inventor Michael Sivetz. Also known by the generic terms Fluid Bed Roaster, Fluidized Bed Roaster, and Air Roaster, A roasting apparatus that works much like a giant popcorn popper, utilizing a column of forced hot air to simultaneously agitate and roast green coffee beans.

Soft Bean.  Often used to describe coffees grown at relatively low altitudes. In the same context, coffees grown at higher altitudes are often designated hard bean. The lower altitudes and consequently warmer temperatures produce a faster maturing fruit and a lighter, more porous bean. Soft bean coffees usually make a less acidy and less flavorful cup than do hard-bean coffees, although there are many exceptions to this generalization. The hard bean /soft bean distinction is used most frequently in evaluating coffees of Central America, where it figures in grade descriptions.

Spanish Roast, French Roast, Heavy Roast.  Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast considerably darker than the American norm; may range in color from dark brown (see Espresso Roast) to nearly black (see Dark French Roast) and in flavor from rich and bittersweet to thin-bodied and burned.

Specialty Coffee.  Practice of selling coffees by country of origin, roast, flavoring, or special blend, rather than by brand or trademark. The term specialty coffee also suggests the trade and culture that has grown up around this merchandising practice.

Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA).  An important and influential association of specialty coffee roasters, wholesalers, retailers, importers and growers headquartered in Long Beach, California.

Steam Wand, Nozzle, Pipe, Stylus.  The small protruding pipe on most espresso machines that provides live steam for the milk-frothing operation..

Straight Coffee, Single-Origin Coffee.  Unblended coffee from a single country, region, and crop.

Strictly High-Grown.  Highest grade of El Salvador coffee.

Strictly High-Grown Washed.  Highest grade of Haiti coffee.

Sulawesi, Celebes.  Single-origin coffee from the island of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes), Indonesia. Most come from the Toraja or Kalossi growing region in the southeastern highlands. At best, distinguished by full body, expansive flavor, and a low-toned, vibrant acidity. At worst, many display unpleasant hard or musty defects. Some display an earthiness which many coffee lovers enjoy and others avoid.

Sumatra.  Single-origin coffee from the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Most high-quality Sumatra coffee is grown either near Lake Toba (Mandheling, Lintong) or in Aceh Province, near Lake Biwa (Aceh, Gayo Mountain). At best, distinguished by full body, deep, expansive flavor, and a low-toned, vibrant acidity. At worst, many display unpleasant hard or musty defects. Some display an earthiness which many coffee lovers enjoy and others avoid.

Sun Drying.  Drying coffee directly after picking (in the dry method) or after fruit removal (in the wet method) by exposing it to the heat of the sun by spreading and raking it in thin layers on drying racks or patios. A more traditional alternative to machine drying.

Sun Grown.  Describes coffee that is not grown under a shade canopy. Arabica coffee is traditionally grown in shade in many (but not all) parts of Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, and in some other parts of the world, including India and some regions of Indonesia and Africa. Elsewhere arabica coffee is traditionally grown in full sun, or near full sun.

Supremo.  Highest grade of Colombia coffee.

Sustainable Coffee.  At this writing, a contested and vaguely defined category of environmentally friendly coffees. A caucus in the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) is attempting to evolve reliable guidelines for what constitutes a genuine sustainably grown coffee. Supporters of organic coffees object to the concept as dangerously fuzzy.

Swiss Water Process.  A trademarked decaffeination method that removes caffeine from coffee beans using hot water, steam, and activated charcoal rather than chemicals or solvents.