Coffee

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. The coffee plant, known as Arabica, first grew in the Ethiopian region called Kaffa. Ethiopians call coffee ?bun? or ?buni.?

Ethiopian coffee is available from various regions today, some of it comes dry-processed, some comes washed. The differences between the dry-processed varieties and the washed varieties are significant. In brief, the washed version exhibits the characteristics of a lighter-body and less earthy notes in the flavor and aroma. The dry-processed varieties are wilder, more earthy, and fuller-bodied coffees.

Ethiopian variety

Coffees from Ethiopian are typically characterized as having some of the most unique flavors in the world. They are very fascinating and complex coffee beans, grown in coffee’s most natural environment. Also, coffee originating from different Ethiopian regions vary greatly.

It is widely believed that the coffees grown in lower regions or middle regions are the better coffees. Ethiopia also has a large variety of organically grown coffees and these are probably some of the best certified organic coffee beans in the world.

The three main regions of coffee production in Ethiopia are: the Harrar region, the Ghimbi region and the Sidamo or Yirgacheffe region.

Dry-processed Ethiopian beans

The coffee beans grown in the Harrar region are grown on small coffee producing farms on the eastern area of Ethiopia. Harrar coffee is dry-processed. These coffees have very specific labels, for example, the larger beans are the longberry beans, the smaller are called shortberry, and there is also the Mocha bean.

Ethiopian coffee is known for its strong and dry character. It has a druity acidity, much like wine. And best of all, a rich and pungent aroma with a heavy body. If you focus on a good brew, you will no doubt taste the blueberry or blackberry aromatic overtones. Coincidently, Harrar coffee beans are often used for espresso, because the pungent aromatic are much desired in the espresso’s crema or froth.

Washed coffees

The washed coffees that are produced in Ethiopia come from the Ghimbi and Yirgacheffe regions in the west of the country. These Ghimbi beans tend to have a more balanced flavor with a heavier body and a taste that seems to last much longer than the dry-processed variety.

On the other hand, it seems that the Yirgacheffee bean, with is grown in the southern part of Ethiopia, is especially favored amongst Westerners. That’s probably because it is a milder coffee, exhibits fruity overtones, and is brilliantly aromatic. This coffee is often referred to as Sidamo, which is the region from which it originates.

Brewing the perfect cup

As with all coffees, the raw product is just as important as the process of brewing. You’ll know you’ve brewed the perfect cup of Ethiopia coffee if you’ve chosen the bean to your liking and the level of roast is to your taste. But when it comes to the perfect cup of Ethiopian, it is not just about taste, but smell also. Close your eyes and focus on the smell. You will be transported to place of origin, to Ethiopia, where coffee was born.

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Ethiopia is the widely recognized home of Arabica coffee. Unlike many other countries that carefully partition their coffee plantations, Ethiopia is the only country where even wild coffee trees account for the active harvests. But one thing in common about premium gourmet coffee, their beans are all hand picked and not machine harvested.

The downside to Ethiopian coffee is that due to wild coffee trees accounting for parts of their harvests, their products have some rough sediments that may slip into each cup especially when a percolator or French Press is used. Ethiopian coffee is best served using a filtered, drip coffee maker.

Aside from tracing their origins to the Arabica, many of today’s premium coffees owe their rich and unique taste to geography and nature. Here are three of the world’s finest which trace their roots to Arabica:

• The Ethiopian Harrar coffee. This type of coffee is grown in the eastern part of Ethiopia. Being an arid area, coffee from this region are traditionally dry. Its fruit is allowed to dry on the bean then milled to remove the fruit and husk. Due to this drying process of allowing air to circulate around the coffee, a fruit flavor is retained. In fact, some coffee reviewers have described Ethiopian Harrar as remarkable and complex with a hint of wine simply because of this sweet, fruity flavor that borders on blueberry interacting with the aroma.
• Hawaiian Kona coffee. Another one of the world’s top coffee types grown in the Kona coast of Hawaii. This Hawaiian offspring of Arabica found its way into the Kona coast by way of Brazil when a missionary first planted it in the region in the early 19th century.

  The Kona region is not as hot and dry as Ethiopia but rather tropical. Days are sunny with some rainy afternoons. What probably contributes most to the Kona bean’s distinctness is the rich volcanic soil on which it grows. Like Ethiopian Harrar, Kona coffee is sometimes identified by a flavor that hints of wine which is probably due to the same fruity property it shares with its African cousin.

• Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.This coffee type is grown in mountainous areas that reach 5,500 feet and these are known as the Blue Mountains. The climate is similar to the Kona region, cool in the day but with much more rain. Because of its height, it is not uncommon to see mist and cloud covering much of the Blue Mountains. The locals say that it is the interaction of the mist with the coffee plants that give their coffee a bluish-green hue. Unlike Kona though, the Blue Mountains are not volcanic but its soil is made rich by its sheer altitude.

  Coffee beans were not indigenous to Jamaica. It was in 1728 that its governor brought the first Arabica beans into the islands from Martinique. And almost 300 years later, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is one of the world’s finest and rather hard to find at times.

As you can see, the Arabica bean has travelled the world and is already rooted in many parts. The images of Ethiopia are sometimes sad, with pictures of babies being held by their mothers all reduced to only skin and bones as a result of crushing poverty. But to those who are fortunate to find work picking the coffee berries, they have become a source of blessing for all coffee enthusiasts.

You may own the top of the line coffee maker, you may drink from the shiniest of cups, but were it not for the sweat and labor of these Ethiopian farmers, there would be none of the best coffees that money can buy.

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Ethiopia produces some of the most unique and fascinating coffees in the world. Ethiopian coffee is a great choice anytime but it is particularly good as an after dinner coffee.

The three main regions where Ethiopia coffee beans originate are Harrar (or “Harar”), Ghimbi and Sidamo (“Yirgacheffe”). There is historical controversy surrounding the term “Sidamo” instead of the historical correct name of “Sidama.” While there are calls to identify coffee from Sidama by the name of “Sidama” instead of “Sidamo,” the reality is that “Sidamo coffee” is an established label for this coffee used worldwide.

There are several Ethiopian origin coffees. For example,

• Wollega (Nekempte) Coffee: produced in Western Ehiopia. Medium to bold bean with a fruity taste. Good acidity and body, sold as a blend or as an original gourmet or special origin flavor.
• Limu Coffee: spicy and winey flavor. Washed Limu coffee is a premium coffee. Medium sized bean, mostly round in shape.
• Sidamo coffee: washed Sidamo coffee has balanced taste and good flavor. Often called “sweet coffee.” Fine acidity and a good body, produced in the southern part of the country, blended for gourmet or specialty coffee.
• Yirgacheffe coffee: intense flavor known as “flora.” The washed Yirgacheffe is one of the best highland grown coffees. Fine acidity and rich body.

One of the coffees, “Harrar Coffee” evokes the original mocha coffee from classic longberry mocha beans sought after all over the world.

• Harrar coffee is known for its full body, medium acidity and distinctive classic deep chocolate mocha flavor with a fruity blueberry tone.
• The Harrar coffee bean is medium in size with a greenish to yellowish color.
• It is this coffee bean that is blended with top grade Java Estate Arabic bean coffee to make the Classic Mocha Java Blend.
• Harrar is situated in the high mountains in Eastern Ethiopia above the Gulf of Aden and is the home of great coffee.

But, where does the name Harar come from and what does it represent to Ethiopians? Harar (spelled with one “r”) is a city of mosques, minarets and markets. This is a city that long ago struck its own local currency and still has its own unique language. In many ways, it is a city of mystery, romance and beautiful wild forests where coffee grows naturally.

Harar is situated high overlooking surrounding plains. The view is beautiful and the climate is balmy and inviting. In the “old days,” Harar could be reached only by caravan or mule journey. Sometimes, it would take days or even many weeks to reach. Today, the city is a few hours drive from Dire Dawa, a modern Ethiopian railway town with an international airport and many other amenities for locals and visitors.

The drive from Dire Dawa to Harar provides panoramic views of the torrid lowlands and cool highlands. The mountain scenery is amazing; particularly because of the abundant vegetation that includes acacias, eucalyptus, cacti, coffee and many other plants. Harar is in a rich agricultural land with many springs, streams and rivers. The crops include wheat, millet, maize, other grains, a large variety of fruits and vegetables. Coffee is everywhere. In this region, coffee has been cultivated for many centuries in gardens around the city. The city of Harar was designated in 1989 as part of the cultural heritage of humanity as a whole.

Ready to enjoy a specialty coffee that has rich, pleasing aroma, a bold and complex flavor with a snappy acidity and hints of fruit or citrus? What about a cup of delicious Ethiopian Longberry Harrar coffee freshly roasted to order? Or, why not have it in a cup of Mocha Java coffee?

Timothy (“Tim”) S. Collins, the author, is called by those who know him “The Gourmet Coffee Guy.”
He is an expert in article writing who has done extensive research online and offline in his area of expertise, coffee marketing, as well as in other areas of personal and professional interest.

Come visit the author’s website: http://www.ourgourmetcoffee.com
Also visit: http://www.squidoo.com/coffee-lensography-TheGourmetCoffeeGuy

Copyright – Timothy S. Collins. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

Author: Timothy S. Collins
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African coffees tend towards the exotic in flavors as compared to the more well know Latin American coffees. These flavors include what’s described as fruity and floral with high acidity and medium body. Let’s review several of the more popular African coffee growing countries.

Kenya

The king of African coffees, washed Arabica Kenya coffee, is considered overall to be of the highest quality on the continent as a result of years and years of production, very high standards, superior milling facilities and coffee experts. Located on the east coast of Africa, Kenya’s Mombasa port has been a natural focal point of commerce for ages. The famous Rift Valley of Central Kenya where most of the people live. A fertile land from the tropical coasts, semi-desert north and the savannahs in the south, Kenya’s agricultural products, primarily tea and coffee, contribute to half of the country’s exports.

The primary coffee growing regions are located around Mt. Kenya, just north of Nairobi, the country’s capital. This region has two distinct rainy seasons; the first is April-June which results in what’s called “fly crop” and the second is October-December with its increased rain produces the “main crop.”

Characteristics include a high acidity, full body, intense floral and fruity flavors.

Growing regions include: Meru, Kirinyaga, Muranga, Nyeri, Embu and several others.

Ethiopia

By most accounts considered the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia is located in northeast corner of Africa just north of Kenya, next to Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan. It is interesting to note that Ethiopia is the leading coffee consuming country in Africa, consuming almost half their annual production.

Ethiopian coffee is a prized coffee for its very unique flavors, most often a result of a combination of soil, terrain, weather and often the natural drying process of the coffee cherries in contrast to the washed processing of most Arabia coffees considered high quality Specialty varieties.

Characteristics depending on the variety may include: balanced medium body and acidity with winey sweet or floral flavors and blueberry notes.

The most popular varieties in the United States are Harar, Yirgacheffe and Sidamo.

Tanzania

The mainland is primarily a savannah plateau lying east of the famous Rift Valley, Tanzania includes the island of Zanzibar. In the north lie Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti National Park. With its tropical climate people are concentrated on the coastal region and in the north. Coffee is one of its main exports. Tanzania has several regions, north, south and west where coffee growing is found.

These Arabica coffees are mostly of the washed and fully washed varieties with the harvest season extending from April through December.

Characteristics include a balanced body with bright acidity and flavor. In the south we find more fruity flavors.

Popular varieties include Kilamanjaro, Makambako, Songea and Bukoa.

Burundi

This very small, but densely populated country borders Tanzania, Congo and Rwanda with a mountainous high plateau and tropical climate. A very poor country, most of its population survive through subsistence agriculture. Its coffee and tea earn 90% of its export dollars.

Primarily a washed Arabica variety, the harvest season extends from February through June.

Characteristics include a full body and bright acidity, typical of east African coffees. A long way from the ocean, processed coffee must be transported across land through Tanzania to the port of Dar es Salaam or through Kenya to Mombasa.

Zambia

Like Burundi, Zambia is a landlocked country lying just north of Zimbabwe, but actually bordering seven countries in all. With its tropical climate and high savannah plateau, Zambia has a long rainy season which goes from November through May.

Although primarily an Agrarian country, its economy is dependent on mining Copper, but reserves are declining. As a result, the government is promoting agriculture and coffee production is increasing. The harvest season extends from October through March producing a full-bodied washed Arabica coffee with the general qualities of an average African variety.

Raising quality is a priority and government experimental farms are helping to improve growing, harvesting and production techniques that are being shared with the coffee growing community.

Malawi

Another landlocked coffee growing country located at the southern end of the famous Rift Valley between Zambia and Tanzania, Malawi produces a small but good quality washed Arabica coffee harvest.

With a subtropical climate, its economy is primarily agricultural with 90% of the population living in rural communities. Although the country is a ward of the IMF and World Bank, independent coffee, tea, sugar and tobacco farmers are producing the main exports.

Coffee production is difficult as irrigation is required as a result of recent drought conditions and unpredictable rainfall. This situation restricts coffee production resulting in a small but quality coffee crop each year.

The washed Arabica beans are processed as fully washed coffee harvested from April through September producing a coffee of medium acidity and light body.

Author, Steve Josephs is CEO of Intellidon Marketing Solutions, whose family office coffee service business, the Great American Coffee Company, http://www.GourmetOfficeCoffee.com, is a premier Specialty coffee roaster and office coffee service provider in the Denver, Colorado metropolitan business community.

Copyright 2009 The Great American Coffee Company and Intellidon Marketing Solutions, Inc.

All rights reserved. Reprints are permissible when this Copyright statement and website link are included.

Author: Steve Josephs
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We know the first thing added to coffee beans were cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and anise. Today that has expanded beyond spices to sugars and flavorings. What is responsible for all this expansion is called coffee aroma along with the mouth-feel, sweet, salt, bitter and sour taste attributes that are perceived by the tongue. All the present day specialty coffee flavor attributes are desired because of the aroma first. Instant coffee and decaf coffee have components that are responsible for stimulation of the taste buds. Instant coffee is different in that it lacks most of the aromatic volatile compounds that create a decrease in the overall flavor of the coffee.

There are many decisions to be made before anything is added to the coffee beans to alter its flavor. There many kinds of coffee beans that came from all over the world. These beans, it is believed, all originated in Ethiopia and were taken by merchants back to Yemen and Pakistan where they were crushed and boiled the beans in a coffee maker called an ibrik to make the first coffee. From there they ended up in Europe where Dutch traders took them to different parts of Asia, the Caribbean and South America. English sailors brought coffee beans to America and later brought coffee plants. These beans were known as Arabica because they came from Arabia. However, these beans when planted in the different soils around the world took on different tastes. Today, we have Ethiopian coffee, Brazilian coffee, Java coffee, Kenyan coffee, Jamaican coffee, Sumatran coffee, Haitian coffee, Vietnamese coffee and Argentine coffee are just a few of the beans from countries around the world that have there own unique taste. These new tastes were created by the new soil in which they were planted.

How you make the coffee from all the different coffee makers makes an added difference in the taste. We have French press made coffee, percolator coffee, pourover drip coffee methods, and espresso machines and other modes to make our coffee. This is just the beginning before adding anything to the beans. However, we can mention at this point that your taste buds may want to add a sweetener and /or a dairy product such as cream, milk, half and half, or soymilk. The flavored creamers available also add to change the taste of your favorite cup of coffee.

We have not even started on the spices that at added to the roasting process or are added when the beans are ground. Sometimes spices are added to hide the bitterness of the taste of the coffee from certain beans. This was certainly the case with the original coffee drinkers. Beans were ground and spices were added because they boiled the beans for hours until there was a thick sludge at the bottom of the coffee maker. The coffee was drunk by straining it through ones teeth. Since the beginning and even today cinnamon is used to sweeten the coffee taste. One must be careful in the amount added here as it may become too sweet or bitter. Cinnamon also absorbs the oils while infusing the flavorful mask of bitterness. Cloves has a stronger taste that adds a woody flavor and rich earthy overtone that makes one of the pleasant scents; this reminds of the scent coming from a home-baked ham. Cardamom remains the most popular spice in Saudi Arabian even today and cardamom coffee, gahwa, remains a symbol of hospitality. Gahwa is crushed green coffee beans and green cardamom pod seeds along with saffron or ground cloves are added along with a sweetener then boiled for two or three minutes. The coffee is then strained through a filter and served. Anise is the last of the oldest spices that were added to coffee and has a licorice-like flavor and odor. Anise, too, has been used for ages to cover up bitter tasting coffee.

Today, nutmeg, is a smooth, sweet, yet highly spicy addition used with eggnog coffee and chocolate (cocoa) flavored coffees. Cloves and nutmeg added to coffee are said to create a pure cup of goodness. Vanilla with its sweet scent and deep flavor has become one of the most used sweeteners in coffee today with French vanilla coming in at a close second. Both do an excellent job of hiding a bitter taste in coffee. Add cocoa to coffee and you have Mocha. Love your real bitter sweet chocolate? Add a little sugar to your shredded chocolate and coffee and you have a rich bodied barista’s Mocha.

Other flavors added to coffee include honey, clover honey is the most popular, but don’t dismiss all the flavored honeys that bee keepers are offering. White refined sugar, raw sugar and organic sugar cannot be left out of the picture, and we cannot forget brown sugar either.

Last, but not least, are the different kinds of roasts. City roast is the lightest gourmet roast while a full city roast is slightly darker and produces a heavier and slightly caramel flavor. French roast produces a slightly burnt taste without the acidity that many find most enjoyable. The darkest roast is Italian espresso roast. The beans are black, brittle and shiny with a very distinct burnt flavor without any acidity. Espresso machines help create the favorite coffee for espressos and cappuccinos. For flavored coffees, the highest grade of one hundred percent Arabica beans is used in the infusion process of actual flavor ingredients into the beans. There of hundreds of flavored coffees you can buy, but I thought I would leave you with a few of my favorites. They include: Coconut and Swiss Chocolate, Orange and French Vanilla with a touch of cream (Orange-Sicle) and Mint Chocolate.

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Author: Joyce Kaaland
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