July 13, 2016
AcidityAcidity is a positive flavor attribute in coffee, also referred to as brightness or liveliness. It adds a brilliance to the cup, whereas low acid coffees can seem... in coffee refers to the fun, zingy, sharp, bright flavor notes that we taste in lemons or other citrus fruits, not the chemicals that burn holes in things. Some folks are scared of acidic coffees because they think this lively flavor attribute is going to be something that is going to eat away their stomach lining. Another term we use is “brightness”. It’s the same as “acidity” and you may have noticed it on our spider charts.
Imagine a key lime pie without the key lime or a pina colada without the pineapple …pretty boring, right? It might be a stretch but it would be kind of like a song without top notes and high hats/snare drums. Acidity comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s the main feature of the coffee and sometimes it’s the glue that ties together other flavor characteristics like fruit, chocolateA general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of chocolate. But what type? Usually described with more specifics.: Chocolate is a broad, general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of..., nuts, etc. Search on our site for “citrus” or “bright” and you will come up with 30+ results. Take your time and sort through them to find the type of brightnessA euphemistic term we use often to describe acidity in coffee. A bright coffee has more high, acidic notes. : A euphemistic term to describe acidity in coffee.... that you think you will like best. Also, check out this list of coffees with excellent top notes.
KenyaKenya is the East African powerhouse of the coffee world. Both in the cup, and the way they run their trade, everything is topnotch.: Kenya is the East... Muranga’a Githiga AA
At lighter roasts, the cup has an intense citric brightness that pulsates through the cup. It’s lemonade-like and provides a mouth-cleansing aspect in the finishSimilar to aftertaste, but it refers to the impression as the coffee leaves the palate. Aftertaste is the sensations gathered after the coffee has left the mouth. We.... Darker roasts develops dark berry, raw cacao nib notes, along with a pungentRefers to an aggressive, intense aroma or flavor, often related to spices (pepper) or roast tastes. Pungent foods are often called "spicy", meaning a sharp or biting character,... date sugar sweetnessSweetness is an important positive quality in fine coffees, and is one of five basic tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Savory (Umami). In coffee, sweetness is a highly... that intensifies in the finish. The interplay of fine cacao flavors and tangyAn adjective modifying a flavor descriptor, describing a sharp effect; tangy citrus, tangy bittersweet flavor, tangy green apple. citrus and berry notes is also tops as you near a Full City roastA coffee that has been roasted to the brink of second crack.: A coffee that has been roasted to the brink of second crack. The internal bean temperature... level.
EthiopiaEthiopia, formerly known as Abyssinia, or a coffee cultivar: Ethiopia, or more specifically the Empire under Haile Selassie, was known as Abyssinia. The name is Latin, derived from... Yirga Cheffe Buufata KongaThis coffee is undeniably clean, with a mouth-cleansing acidity. Fresh citrus flavors like Meyer lemonLemon notes, as well as other related citrusy flavors or acidities, are prized in coffee. These usually express themselves as a bright accent in the cup, or aromatic..., pink grapefruit, and mandarin juice ring out in the cup, while retaining a delicate structure. The sweetness is complexThe co-presence of many aroma and flavor attributes, with multiple layers. A general impression of a coffee, similar to judgments such as "balanced" or "structured", starting off honey-like and shifting toward baked sugar in the finish. The finish is clean, with an overt jasmineA very positive and intensely floral quality in coffee, usually with a strong aromatic component, reminiscent of jasmine flower or tea. There are many forms of jasmine; the... floralFloral notes in coffee exemplify the connection between taste and smell. Describing the taste of a specific flower is near impossible...we always default to “it tastes like it... note.
BurundiBurundi coffee bears resemblance to neighboring Rwanda, in both cup character, but also the culture surrounding coffee. Burundi is a small landlocked country at the crossroads of East... Mutambu RubandaThe cup flavor at City roastCity roast is what we define as the earliest palatable stage that the roast process can be stopped and result in good quality coffee. City roast occurs roughly... sees a tart lemon note hanging overhead, not puckering, but brisk and resonant. A grounding sweetness of cane juice is amplified as the coffee cools and is followed by notes of orangeOrange aromatics and flavors are prized in coffee, whether they take the form of sweet orange flesh and pulp, or orange peel. Orange flavors or aromatics can range... and tangerine, which are pleasant on the tongue. City+City+ roast is an ideal roast level that occurs roughly between 425 and 435 degrees Fahrenheit in many coffee roasters with a responsive bean probe where First Crack... roasts have a nice developed graham cracker sweetness (honeyed), and a red raspberry tang in the finish.
RwandaA Bourbon cultivar variant from Rwanda and Burundi. Bourbon coffees are named for the island in the India Ocean where French colonists grew it. Some history from the... Nyamasheke Nyungwe CooperativeCity to City+ will yield the highest level of complexity and acidity. It’s not “showy” in the way Ethiopian or Kenyan coffees can be, no jasmine florals or “wild” fruit characteristics here. Instead, this all bourbonA coffee cultivar; a cross between Typica and Bourbon, originally grown in Brazil: Mundo Novo is a commercial coffee cultivar; a natural hybrid between "Sumatra" and Red Bourbon,... lot boasts an incredible sweetness like brown sugarBrown sugar is a type of sweetness found in coffee ...a sweetness characterized by a hint of molasses, yet quite refined as well. Since Brown sugar of the... dissolved in water, overt and balancing. It has a flavor of tart, fresh-squeezed orange juice (slightly pulpyCan refer to fruited flavor or sometimes mouthfeel. In terms of flavor, which is how we normally use it, pulpy fruit, it tends toward the rustic side of...), that emboldens structuring, citric acidity as well. Don’t expect ‘hit-you-over-the-head’ citric brightness, but light roasts will still be “brilliant” and mouth-cleansing in this regard.
Burundi Kibumbu KayokweKayokwe is a bright cup with a bracing grapefruit juice note that defines the acidity. A caramelCaramel is a desirable form of sweetness found in the flavor and aroma of coffee, and is an extension of roast taste. Extremely light or dark coffees will... flavor couples with sweet lactic notes, sort of like the top layer of a “flan” cake. From City to Full City, you can expect a sachet of dry spice notes dotting the cup profile. Fruit accents pull out of the shadows in the cooling cup, appleAn acid that adds to favorable perceptions of cup quality; malic acid often adds apple-like acidity, and perhaps other taste aspects recalling apples. Malic acid is yet another..., nectarine, and white grape notes adding to the overall cup complexity. We pulled a shot of espressoA small coffee beverage, about 20 ml, prepared on an espresso machine where pressurized hot water extracted through compressed coffee.: In its most stripped-down, basic form, this is... and were wowed by the resonant syrupy sweetness, and ‘snappy’, up-front lemon flavors.
Kenya Nyeri Kagumoini PeaberryA peaberry is a green coffee "bean" that has a rounded form: Coffee is the dried seed from the fruit of a flowering tree - each fruit having...The cup is vibrantly bright and tangy, with sweet mandarin orange acidity. There is a caramel sweetness that is nicely offset by a rindy citrus in the finish. Kagumoini offered a refreshing fruitedIn some coffee taster’s lexicon, “fruity” means the coffee is tainted with fruit, and “fruited” means a coffee is graced by positive fruit notes. We don't exactly see... sweetness in our City and Full City roasts. If you’re looking for the snappy brightness of a Kenya cup, you’ll be rewarded in the City/City+ range. Acidity intensityWe have a simple scale to rate intensity in our coffee reviews, from Mild to Bold. Low intensity does not mean low quality!: We have a simple scale... tones down to subdued hues with heavier roasting, while still retaining a fruit-forward cup character.
ColombiaColombian coffee is highly marketed and widely available in the US. They have been largely successful at equating the name Colombian Coffee with "Good" Coffee. This is half-true.... Inzá Pequeños GranjerosSomewhere between City and City+ the warm expressed beautiful acidity, very much in line with the stone fruit flavors that are also sensed. Sweetness shows wonderful development at this level too, a bit like orange blossom honeyIn coffee, honey-like sweetness is often found, but we use terms such as refined honey (highly filtered and processed) as opposed to raw honey rustic honey sweetness. This... fading to raw sugar in the aftertasteAftertaste refers to lingering residual sensations in the mouth after coffee has swallowed. It might be distinguished from "finish" which is the final sensations of the coffee while.... It’s a beautiful cup, boasting top notes like white peach and grape as the cup cools. Full City roasts have more of a cocoa matrix – from bittersweetBittersweet is from the language of chocolate, and describes the co-presence of positive bittering compounds balanced by sweetness. It is directly related to caramelization, but has inputs from... powder, to high % cacao bar – and an underlying sweetness throughout.