Where Is Your Coffee From? How Different Origins Can Change Your Cup

Coffee's origin has an impact on the way we roast it.

Today, we live in a multicultural world that has filled our lives with contrasts and new experiences. Back in the day, people mostly knew only about their traditions and ways of life, having little to no contact with other cultures. However, between the 20th and 21st century, that changed quite rapidly. The third wave of coffee marked a period in which coffee drinkers became influenced by these changes and started to take an interest in their coffee's details and specifications. How was it harvested? Which methods were used for processing it? And one very special and important question: where do those coffee beans come from?

Just like any other plants, coffee trees not only come in different species, but they’re also heavily influenced by climate conditions of the region in which they grow. Actually, you can’t grow coffee plants anywhere you like. They require weather that’s neither too cold nor too hot for them to grow healthy, as well as soils that are rich in nutrients. The better the climate is, the better the resulting coffee bean will be. And of course, the better it will taste.

For example, coffee cherries harvested in colder climate conditions and higher altitudes will ripen slower and develop more sugars. This means that once the beans are roasted, they’ll have a sweet flavor and they’ll feel denser and firmer. You can find these types of beans in the mountainous regions of Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ethiopia. On the other hand, Brazilian, Jamaican and Hawaiian coffee is generally grown at lower altitudes (around 900 meters above sea level). Roughly speaking, any altitude above 4.000 ft. A.S.L. is considered high. This is how your coffee can change depending on which height it was farmed:

Below 2,500 feet (762 meters) will be soft, mild, simple, and bland.
Around 3,000 feet (914 meters) will be sweet and smooth.
Around 4,000 feet (~1,200 meters) may have citrus, vanilla, chocolate, or nutty notes.
Above 5,000 feet (~1,500 meters) might be spicy, floral, or fruity.

Understanding how origins can change your cup o’ joe is even more complex than just looking at climate conditions. Acidity, flavors, and earthiness are all characteristics that change depending on a specific country’s coffee culture and traditions. Well-balanced coffees, with chocolate and hazelnut notes, are very popular all across America. East African coffee production tends to be juicy and fruity. Kenyan coffee, for example, is very tea-like and acidic.

Within every country, a universe of microclimates exists, altering coffee structure depending on different regions. Indonesia is known for its spicy coffee beans, as well as their earthy ones. And Brazil is so big and has so many different harvest seasons that it’d take a while to know all nuances and characteristics from all of its production.

And as we’ve said before, what truly brings out coffee's flavors is actually the coffee roasting process. Before that, coffee beans don’t have any taste in them. A good roaster will know how to understand all complexities behind every bean and will use a specific technique for every one of them. At That Coffee Roasters, years of experience have made us experts in that field! Try different coffees coming from different regions all over the world and start to expand your universe and coffee culture like never before!

Different climate conditions and soils will change your coffee's properties! 

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That Coffee Roasters

Phone Number: (305) 821-8811

2697 W. 76 Street, Hialeah, Florida 33016

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