Where does the flavor of coffee beans come from?

5. Processing:

• • This can be considered one of the most influential factors in flavor and aroma.
  • There are three main methods used: Wet/Washed, Semi-wet/Honey, and Natural/Whole-dried.
  • The wet/washed method will highlight the acidity and terroir. The coffee beans are “washed” by removing the skin and the pulp around them.
    • This can be done in several ways: through fermentation, with or without water, or mechanically.
    • The result is an experience reflecting the coffee variety’s reaction to the environmental conditions (as mentioned above).
  • The semi-wet/Honey method is when the pulp of the coffee cherry is removed but a thin layer of mucilage is kept.
    • It has the sweetness of pectin/sugar surrounding the coffee bean during drying.
    • This increases sweetness, smooths out acidity, and gives a fuller body/mouthfeel (this is also my favorite processing method for most coffee varieties).
  • The natural method: The coffee cherry is harvested and dried with the whole skin and pulp intact.
    • This results in beans that have the flavor and aroma of fruits, usually similar to berries.
    • This method often reduces or amplifies characteristics that would be detectable in the same variety processed wet; however, this is not always the case.

6. Drying:

• • Too hot and too fast, and the coffee beans will have a woody and papery taste. Too slow and insufficient, and the beans will taste moldy.

7. Storage:

• • If dried properly (slowly and evenly), green coffee beans (unroasted) can be stored for 10-14 months without significant deterioration, or only minimal loss in quality, under stable storage conditions.
  • However, this is a subjective experience.
  • The longer you store the beans, and depending on the storage conditions, the acidity will decrease, the body will become heavier, and the flavor will tend toward a woodier taste.
  • It all depends on how you want to experience it.
  • The storage period of coffee beans can yield impressive results in the cup you’re drinking.

8. Roasting:

• • If roasted too dark, coffee will taste nearly the same, like charcoal.
  • This is because the organic compounds that create the differences in coffee beans undergo carbonization.
  • Again, this is a matter of personal perception.
  • But the roasting process can determine a lot when it comes to whether you taste buttery toffee or peach flavors, even from the same batch of coffee beans.
  • Everything could be perfect before this stage and then end up as a failure if the roasting process is not done carefully.
  • Therefore, roasting coffee is both an art and a science: highlighting the desired characteristics while eliminating the undesirable ones (including flavor, body, sweetness, acidity, aftertaste, and the intensity of all these characteristics).

9. Brewing:

• • This is easy to understand… well, not exactly. Here are the factors/variables that affect the quality and characteristics of the cup of coffee:
    • Grind size: Particle size and consistency
    • Water used for brewing: Temperature, hardness/softness, pH level
    • Brewing time: The amount of time the coffee grounds are in contact with water
    • Pressure: Espresso, Aeropress, moka pot, siphon
    • Type of contact: Drip, full-immersion (e.g., French-press)
    • Filtration: Whether or not the coffee is filtered (not water filtration, but coffee filtration)
  • This is the struggle and beauty that coffee brings: You can mess up at any step from the coffee bean to the cup you hold.
  • It’s precisely because of the complexity and delicacy of coffee that you are always chasing that elusive but harmonious balance.
  • A “perfect” cup of coffee is an experience of the rare and harmonious interplay of countless variables, transcending space and time.
  • There are so many hidden or unclear variables that explain why a cup of coffee at one location can taste different from the same type of coffee brewed in a café nearby.