That Coffee Roasters: Coffee Definitions for Coffee Businesses

miércoles, 11 de abril de 2018

Coffee Definitions for Coffee Businesses

To be a coffee professional, you must know what an espresso is and what does "fair trade" means.

If you want to enter the world of coffee business, you must be familiar with all the terms and elements that help you to understand the processes and elaboration of your future product. In every industry, the fundamental requirement is to know the basics and understand the market, and for that, you need to learn the most important concepts. Taking all these aspects into account, That Coffee Roasters offers you a set of coffee definitions that could help you plan your next steps into the coffee world.

That Coffee Roasters’ dictionary: Coffee Definitions

You may find that the coffee terminology is simple, you don’t need much knowledge to know the differences between types of preparations and coffee. However, this statement couldn’t be more mistaken. Coffee goes through so many processes, transformations, preparations and transactions that it’s difficult to identify and define each one of the related terms. That’s why That Coffee Roasters has put together a list of coffee definitions that will serve as a short introduction to the real coffee field.

Acidity: this term does not refer to the amount of acid or pH in coffee, but to the kind of fruity or wine-like taste that can be perceived in some Arabica coffees.

Aged coffee: this is not stale coffee, but green coffee kept in warehouses for an extended time period to change its taste, reduce its acidity and increase its body.

Air roaster: a machine that uses hot air streams to roast coffee beans. It’s a method in which the beans are in constant movement to ensure that they are roasted evenly.

Americano: it’s usually a mixture of one or two shots of espresso with a little hot water. Depending on the amount of water it can have a stronger or less strong taste.

Arabica: it’s one of the oldest and most cultivated species of coffee. It represents 70% of the produced coffee in the world. It’s grown at high altitudes and has a lower level of caffeine.

Blade grinder: a machine that uses spinning blades to crush coffee beans and turn them into ground coffee. The problem with this method is that the grinding is not consistent, there are particles of different sizes.

Blooming: this is the effect that occurs when freshly roasted and ground coffee comes into contact with hot water. Coffee puffs up like a mushroom because the roasted beans are not properly degassed.

Brewing: it’s the action of preparing coffee through any method that includes mixing hot water with ground coffee.

Burr grinder: it’s a coffee grinder that uses metal discs with sharp ridges to obtain a uniform grind. This tool can be adjusted to produce fine or coarse coffee particles.

Caffeine: Caffeine is an alkaloid found in coffee beans. It’s a stimulating substance that can keep you awake and alert. Today, you can find caffeine in beauty products and medical treatments.

Cappuccino: this is one of the most famous coffee preparations. It usually contains 1/3 of espresso topped with 1/3 steamed milk and 1/3 milk foam.

Cherry: it’s the term given to the fruit of the coffee tree. When they are ripe and red, they are harvested, and the skin, pulp, and parchment are removed.

Coffee roasting: it’s the process by which green coffee is transformed into roasted coffee. The taste of these seeds changes and varies depending on the coffee roast, which can be light, medium, dark-medium or dark.

Coffeol: it’s the oil that can be seen when the coffee bean has been roasted. It mostly appears during the dark-medium or dark roasting.

Cupping: it’s a sensory evaluation of coffee performed by experts taking into consideration the aroma, acidity, taste, and body of the product. In general, hot water is poured over the ground coffee, and the resultant liquid is tested both cold and hot.

Degassing: it’s the process by which freshly roasted coffee beans are left to stand for a time so that the carbon dioxide produced during roasting can be released. Depending on the type of coffee, this process can take more or fewer days.

Dry-processed coffee: it’s the drying coffee method by which the husk and pulp of the coffee cherry are removed after it has been sundried.

Espresso: it’s a way of preparing coffee in which hot water is forced under pressure through finely ground coffee. The result is a strong, thick liquid.

Fairtrade: fairtrade is the purchase of coffee directly from farmers at a fair price. This method seeks to ensure that farmers receive a fair payment that will help them to continue the production and to improve their life quality.

Green coffee: this is the unroasted bean, which has gone through several processes before roasting, such as harvesting and drying.

Grind: it’s the action of reducing the roasted coffee bean to small particles or powder. There are several types of grind: fine, medium, and coarse.

Latte: it’s another of the most popular coffee preparations. Like the cappuccino, the latte contains a shot of espresso, steamed milk, and milk foam. However, in this case, the steamed milk ratio is higher.

Mochaccino: this is also a very popular way to drink coffee. The biggest difference between cappuccino and latte lies in the chocolate that’s added.

Pulping: it consists of removing the pulp from the fruit. It’s part of the wet method for processing and drying coffee.

Robusta: it’s one of the most widely used coffee species in the industry. It grows at low elevations and is very resistant to pests. The coffee bean of this tree is usually smaller and bitter.

Specialty coffee: it’s a concept that was born in 1974, and made reference to a specific profile of coffee with a unique flavor that came from microclimates. Currently, coffees that score 80 to 100 points are defined as specialty coffee.

Wet-processed coffee: it’s another type of coffee processing and drying method. In this case, the cherries are first immersed in water and then go through several processes before reaching the drying stage, which is carried out by exposing the coffee seed to the sun or drying it with a machine.

A lot of coffee definitions, don't you think? However, this is only a fraction of all terms related to the coffee industry. If you want to know more about coffee and its processes, and learn new coffee definitions, follow us through our social networks as That Coffee Roasters and become an expert in coffee roasting!