Know Your Java Jargon – by Benedict Neel
Next to oil, coffee is the most widely traded commodity. The consumption of coffee is about 400 billion cups a year and continues to grow. Like any other popular commodity, coffee has its share of controversies.Over the years and across the globe, controversies over coffee have arisen. It had been called the drink of the devil, the drink that caused men’s impotence, an evil brew and many other expletives. Over a cup of coffee literary masterpieces, national testaments and oratories were created, medical advances and huge business deals that have changed the course of history have all been conducted. All of these advances, of course, were not due to the coffee, but are perhaps indebted to it.
But a coffee isn’t just a coffee. The world loves it, for good reason.
Fine coffee, like wine, takes special preparation. Coffee is the antithesis of wine, but it requires the same amount of dedication, specialized processes and cultivation. Wine relaxes the body and tends to slow the mental processes. Coffee has quite an opposite effect. Coffee is calming, rather than intoxicating. It stimulates the senses, rather than dulling them. Someone once said that “It cheers the spirit without making one mad.”
Coffee requires blending and brewing, along with various other preparations that go into creating wine and other excellent beverages. There is also an entire vocabulary associated with coffee. If you wish to be truly familiar with your friend “coffee”, here are some of the terms that you must know:
Acidity
The acidity in coffee contributes to its special liveliness, color and brightness. Carrots and coffee have roughly the same levels of pH.
Arabica Coffee
Arabica is one of the primary types of coffee. The other is Robusta. Coffee Arabica contains less caffeine, but it is harder to cultivate as it grows best at altitudes between 3,500 to 7,000 feet. It has a superior full bodied taste compared to Robusta and is consequently more expensive.
Bourbon is an African variety of Arabica coffee. The cultivation was not seriously pursued for some time because, although it has delicious character and taste, crop yields are smaller than the other Arabica varieties. The growing popularity of coffee, however, has increased the cultivation of this wonderful bean.
Coffee Blends
The art of blending coffee is much like an artist mixing colors on the palette. Coffee blenders use beans from various coffee-growing regions, and then mix them to craft a specialized flavor that cannot be achieved with coffee of single origin.
Full Body
The “body” of the coffee is a term used to describe the way it feels in the mouth. The body may be thin, delicate, light, syrupy or buttery.
Decaf/Decaffeinating
This process is used to minimize the caffeine content of the coffee beans. Several processes can be utilized to remove the caffeine content. One is a method using chemicals, another makes use of a variety of water processes, while the third method uses carbon dioxide. In each of these decaffeinating processes, the chief concern is to preserve the natural flavor of the coffee bean.
Coffee Grades
Coffee beans are classified by their size and density. Premium coffee is the highest possible grade and it is sold at the highest price.
Methods of Processing
The separation of the flesh from the bean. The two types of processing are the dry and washed processes. With dry processing, the cherries are spread across the ground to dry out in the sun. The beans are raked several times each day so that drying is even. After two to three weeks, the dried flesh cracks off of the bean. Dry processing produces an earthy flavor and a syrupy texture in your coffee.
With washed processing, the skin is cut from the coffee beans and the beans are allowed to stand. When the beans begin to ferment, the skins are easily washed off with water. Then, the beans are dried. With this washing process, the natural flavors of the coffee are preserved.
Now that you can talk the talk, it’s time to walk the walk. Meet your friends for coffee and wow them with your inside knowledge of everyone’s favorite bean.
Columnist Benedict Neel contributes to several web magazines, on recreation and leisure and other hobby subjects.
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