Whether you are an early bird or a night owl, coffee it's probably part of your daily life. Since 2004, the number of American adults who enjoyed my daily cup of java jumped 37 percent, the highest level in more than 20 years, according to National Coffee Association. But coffee is hardly a new invention. Its roots go back to 850 AD, when coffee beans were first grown in the Arab colony of Harar near modern-day Ethiopia.
“From there, coffee was transported to Mecca and spread throughout the Arabian continent,” Brian Quoc Lenutritionist and CEO of Mendocino Food Consulting, says Popular Science. “But it wasn’t until the 1600s that Venetian merchants reported seeing a blackish brew resembling modern coffee and brought the coffee beans to Europe.”
Throughout this history, the way coffee is grown, prepared and served has changed. According to Only the Smurfsresearcher at the Coffee Center of Excellence at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, says not many other foods undergo the same level of processing as coffee, and every tiny step, from the soil in which it is grown to the temperature at which it is brewed, affects the taste.
Here's a guide to the trip that coffee bean required to go from simple root to morning latte.
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Let's start with seeds
The coffee plant is unlikely to imitate the deep, rich brown color you're used to seeing from a French press. In the ground, coffee is a lush leafy plant with bright red berries. According to scientists, there are more than 130 types of coffee, but only Arabica and Robusta are used in drinks around the world. Hannah NeuschwanderSenior Communications Advisor at World Coffee Research.
Arabica beans originated in Ethiopia but is now grown throughout the world, especially in Brazil. Robusta is grown in Africa, Indonesia and India and gets its name from its hardiness. The main taste difference between these two types of coffee is that Arabica has a lighter and fruitier taste, while Robusta produces a rich, intense drink that is ideal for… espresso.
But the beans themselves are just the beginning of the flavor profile. “One thing most coffee drinkers don't quite understand is that what we call the bean is actually the seed found inside the fruit,” Neuschwander says. Popular Science.
When it comes to harvesting and processing coffee, the ripeness of the fruit really makes a difference in flavor. This is because the fruit itself, even when removed from the coffee bean, leaves an imprint on the taste and aroma. There are several ways to obtain the fruit from the seed or process the coffee that eventually becomes the coffee bean. Removing or chopping the fruit entirely results in a more noticeable sour taste, Smrke says. Additionally, the washed process, which leaves some fruit on the seeds to ferment, will ultimately give your cup a fruitier flavor.
Time to fry
Once you've received your processed beans, there are still quite a few steps to go before they even smell anything like a cup of Joe. According to Smrke, these beans, also called “green” beans, are the precursor to the delicious flavors of java. However, compounds need to go through a awakening process called roasting. During roasting, several processes occur with the beans. The most important of which is Maillard reaction –According to Smrke, the chemical reaction of sugar with amino acids gives coffee its characteristic roasted smell.
From a flavor perspective, roasting can be viewed as a battle between two different flavor profiles: acidity and bitterness. The more you roast the coffee bean, the more acidic compounds are broken down. This means that if you're a fan of a more acidic brew, you'll want to stick with a lighter roast. The bitterness becomes stronger when fried. Thus, with a darker roast, you will taste more of the bitter flavor of classic coffee. There is a caveat to this battle of flavors, however: the origin flavors, or signature flavors that develop in the process long before roasting, tend to disappear with higher roasting.
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“Seemingly minor changes in the roast profile have a big impact on the final flavor of the cup,” William Ristenpartsays the director of the University of California Davis Coffee Center Popular Science.
Once the coffee beans are roasted, it is best to give them a short break before proceeding with the actual preparation. That's because freshly roasted beans contain a lot of carbon dioxide, Smrke says, meaning extracting it will be difficult. Dark roasts typically require a break of about a month to six weeks before moving on to the next step, but lighter roasts require a shorter period of time.
Making coffee
Just as there seem to be countless ways to make a coffee bean unique, the same can be said for brewing a cup of coffee. Generally speaking, coarser ground coffee is ideal for French press or cold brew. When you decide to use a moka machine, an espresso machine, or even a Turkish coffee, that's when finely ground coffee is needed to get the most delicious results.
The type of coffee and its age also play a role in how best to grind it. But to keep things simple, let's start with the ever-popular espresso. According to Smrke, to make espresso, lighter roast coffee needs to be ground finer than darker roast coffee. And the fresher your espresso beans, the coarser you need to grind them. A coarser grind helps balance out the frothiness of the crema—the fine foam at the top of the espresso.
“When coffee ages, carbon dioxide is lost,” he says. “This carbon dioxide creates the crema during espresso extraction, the crema affects how much you resist and how easily it flows.”
Water temperature also matters, they say Christina NolinProfessor of Chemistry at the University of Richmond. Nolin advocates brewing coffee at just below 205 degrees Fahrenheit for ideal extraction.
“At higher temperatures, the amount of bitter taste will increase due to more flavor molecules being extracted quickly,” she says. Popular Science. “Over-boiling water before brewing coffee will cause the coffee to lose oxygen, which also causes a bitter taste.”
But for baristas and hobbyists alike, the real way to discover your ideal drink is to play with different beans, roasts, equipment and techniques. Whether it's bitter or sour, caramelized or smoky, hot or cold, there are an almost endless number of ways to make yourself a cup of coffee that will simultaneously caffeine and pleasure.
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