You walk into a specialty coffee shop to buy that spectacular coffee for your morning mug. What should be a simple decision – which delicious coffee to buy – becomes more complex as soon as the barista opens her mouth.
“We have a Bourbon variety that is out of this world.”
Out of this world. That sounds good to you. But what is a variety and why are they calling coffee Bourbon? Is there whiskey in it?
What in the world is a coffee variety and more importantly, why should you care? In this article we’ll show you what a variety is, who should care about coffee varieties, and how to learn more about them.
What is a coffee variety?
There are two main species of coffee and thousands of varieties. However, don’t get coffee overwhelm thinking about all those differences.
There are just two species of coffee plants that are used commercially around the world. From those two species we get a handful of varieties. And most specialty coffee comes from just one particular species of coffee, Arabica.
(Varieties are also called varietals and cultivars, but in this article we’ll keep things simple and stick with the term variety).
If you have some doubts about what a coffee variety is, let’s take a minute and think of wine. You know what a Cabernet Sauvignon is, and why it’s different from a Chardonnay. You can immediately spot the difference when you look at those two grape varieties in the glass (one is red and one is white).
You’re used to hearing about different varieties of grapes in connection with wine. However, the idea of varieties may be new to you with coffee.
Just like each wine variety produces wine with different characteristics, each coffee variety produces different flavor profiles and other characteristics.
How important are coffee varieties?
How important are coffee varieties? Well, if you drink low quality coffee…they aren’t. You’ll be able to appreciate the importance of varieties when you get into higher quality coffee.
With better coffee you’ll be able to detect the differences due to the variety. There will be a complexity of flavors. The body will vary. The acidity can be wildly different. Some varieites produce intense coffees. Some are floral. Some have a tea-like body.
This is a good thing. With specialty coffee, you’ll never get bored with the endless choices. After all, if the only wine you could ever drink was Pinot Noir from one specific vineyard, wouldn’t you get bored with wine?
Who should care about varieties?
- If you simply love coffee, you’ll love it a lot more as you enter the fascinating world of coffee varieties and how they change the tastes in your cup. Soon you’ll be spouting poetry about that fantastic SL-28 you just tried (believe me, you will!).
- If you work in the coffee industry as an exporter or importer, you need to understand how varieties change the characteristics in coffee – and how they’ll change the price!!
- If you’re a roaster, you’ll want to understand varieties because you will roast differently depending on the variety. For instance, some beans are large while others are small, and you need to understand how differences in sizes (and density) will affect the final outcome.
Train your palate
How can you train your palate to distinguish different coffee varieties? The key is to practice. In time, you’ll know what to expect from a particular varieity.
Of course, you have to try many coffees to get to the point of tasting one and saying, “Ah, what an excellent example of a Yellow Bourbon!” While that might sound farfetched, it’s not. It’s similar to a wine connoisseur recognizing and marveling over an excellent Pinot Noir.
Naturally, an expert can only achieve that level after trying many, many glasses of wine. So take heart – with time and practice you can also learn to appreciate the subtleties of coffee varieties.
Want to see how a cupping is done? Check out Tim Wendelboe, a celebrity in the specialty coffee world, as he sets up a home cupping in this video.
Learn more about coffee in Latin America
Flavors of Bogota founder Karen Attman, coffee professor and author has an online coffee course, Slurp Fast! Crash Course in Latin American Coffee, that will teach you the fundamentals of coffee in record time.
Flavors of Bogota offers in-person and online specialty coffee workshops. If you’re looking for a quick overview of coffee, check out our guide to tasting specialty coffees and articles on coffee.
If you’re in the coffee industry and want to get a deeper look at coffee in Latin America, contact us about our Coffee Pro Workshop.
Do you have any questions about coffee in Colombia? Get in touch with Karen at coffee (at) flavorsofbogota.com or use the nifty contact form below.
