We recently saw on social media that a roastery was promoting an Ethiopian coffee, emphasising that the altitude of 2,000m above sea level at which it was grown was impressive!!!! And this made us think about how incomplete the information we receive is and how little is known about all the factors that influence the cultivation of coffee and its impact on quality. Because altitude alone does not tell us much, if it is not accompanied by latitude (location of the place where the coffee has been grown with respect to the Equator), microclimate, soil quality, species, variety, process, etc.
All this information boils down to the need to produce denser coffee beans. Density in coffee is synonymous with quality, because a bean grown at the right altitude and latitude is most likely to grow in a cold microclimate with less oxygen, which will slow down the ripening of the cherry on the plant. Slow ripening is essential to produce quality coffees, because the longer the cherry spends on the plant, the more sugars the cherry will absorb during its development and the more complex its flavour will be.
Also, during roasting is important, because denser beans with a more compact structure will firstly absorb and transfer energy more efficiently and not break as easily as a less dense bean; and secondly, denser beans have a more compact cell structure which creates a better potential scenario for developing sugars and acids during roasting.
The further away from the equator the coffee plant, farm or crop is located, the lower the altitude needed to obtain a given density. For example, a coffee grown in the Jimma region of Ethiopia at 2000 masl with a latitude of 7º North can have the same density as a bean grown in the Nuwakot region of Nepal at 800 masl with a latitude of 27º North. Both coffees are Arabica and will have exactly the same density. Although in this case the difference in quality will be determined by other factors, such as atmospheric humidity, rainfall pattern, soil quality, variety, processing, among others. It is not necessarily the height at which a coffee is grown that determines its particular density, let alone its overall quality.
Information is power and we must deliver it in the most complete way possible. Enjoy your coffee!
The further away from the equator the coffee plant, farm or crop is located, the lower the altitude needed to obtain a given density. For example, a coffee grown in the Jimma region of Ethiopia at 2000 masl with a latitude of 7º North can have the same density as a bean grown in the Nuwakot region of Nepal at 800 masl with a latitude of 27º North. Both coffees are Arabica and will have exactly the same density. Although in this case the difference in quality will be determined by other factors, such as atmospheric humidity, rainfall pattern, soil quality, variety, processing, among others. It is not necessarily the height at which a coffee is grown that determines its particular density, let alone its overall quality.
Information is power and we must deliver it in the most complete way possible. Enjoy your coffee!
RSS Feed