Coffee has become an indispensable drink for many office workers every day. For a severe coffee addict like me, I rely on coffee to "turn on" my brain in the morning, and I cannot do without it for meetings in the afternoon.

Maybe you already know that instant coffee is bad and creamer is unhealthy; you also know that most coffee shops are mainly places for conversation, and people don’t go there to “taste” coffee…

But what makes a “good” coffee?

Can you recognize this as a coffee fruit?

▫ Why do many businesses emphasize that they use Arabica beans ?

▫What effect does light, medium, and dark roasting have on the taste of coffee?

▫ Is specialty coffee better than machine-made coffee?

Today's little popular science article can help you quickly learn about coffee. There is also a recommendation for those who want to buy coffee at the end of the article, so be sure to read it patiently!

Start by knowing beans

Just like only high-quality wool can be used to weave a soft and comfortable sweater, a good cup of coffee ultimately comes down to the quality of the beans.

There is a saying in the circle that the quality of raw beans determines 60% of the final quality of the coffee, roasting will affect 30%, and production will play a role in about 10%.

There are two common types of coffee beans on the market, Arabica and Robusta. The latter is cheap and has a high caffeine concentration, and was once the mainstay of most instant coffees. However, most of the higher-quality coffees now use Arabica beans.

The following table will give you a quick overview of the advantages, disadvantages and features of the two:

High altitude is often considered an important criterion for the taste of crops. Because the temperature difference between morning and evening is large and the sunshine time is long, more water and sugar can be retained and the maturity period is longer.

Coffee farmers take good care of

Arabica only grows on high-altitude mountain slopes and is more susceptible to leaf rust and anthracnose than Robusta, so it requires more careful care.

At this point, you will definitely understand why many businesses emphasize that the beans they choose are Arabica beans, because they are indeed of more noble origin and better quality.

The Art of Baking

The simplest and most basic principle is that the fresher the coffee is roasted, the better it tastes. If the coffee you drink tastes sour, bitter, or burnt, it is likely that it has been stored for too long. Generally, the best tasting period for coffee is within 1-2 months, so try to follow this principle when choosing coffee.

Coffee being roasted

What effect will different degrees of roasting have on the taste? Let me give you a summary table:

Simply put, light roasting can better preserve the floral and fruity aroma of coffee as a crop, while medium roasting can enhance the aroma of nuts and caramel , and dark roasting can best highlight the woody aroma .

As the degree of roasting deepens, the taste of the coffee itself is less retained. Therefore, if you want a softer and more balanced taste, it is safer to choose a light medium roast to medium dark roast.

There is no difference between espresso and fine products

We have learned about the characteristics of the two major types of beans, but there is a premise that you must also know: most of the commercial coffee you drink is made by blending many different kinds of beans.

The reason is very simple. If you want a cup of coffee to have richer characteristics and more comprehensive flavor, it is extremely difficult to expect to achieve it with just one type of bean from a planting perspective.

Hand brewed coffee equipment

The third wave of specialty coffee, which emphasizes drinking "single variety", has only started to rise in recent years. It does not emphasize the overall flavor, but focuses on expressing certain prominent characteristics of a single variety, using a more simple way: dripping and hand brewing to express the flavor of the coffee itself. Currently, less than 10% of coffee shops in China are doing this type of coffee.

Italian coffee machine

I think there is no difference between these two methods, just different preferences. You should know that many people's favorite latte, cappuccino, and orecchiette all need to be made based on espresso.

Espresso is more than just a cup of concentrated coffee. Its essence lies in the barista's fine control of the machine pressure, grinding fineness and hot water temperature. The rich foamy fat floating on the coffee cannot be produced by drip or hand brewing.

Rich oil

So, if you want to know what flavors coffee beans from Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia and other regions can show? How will different processing methods such as sun drying, washing and honey processing change the taste of coffee? You can drink a single variety of boutique coffee to understand.

If you want to find a more comprehensive and balanced taste, and don't want to figure out the characteristics of so many producing areas, it is a good choice to identify a blended bean and drink it for a long time. For ordinary consumers, it is of course difficult to distinguish by themselves. At this time, it is very simple and direct to refer to the results of some authoritative organizations and competitions.

Barista doing cupping

For example, the IIAC (International Coffee Tasting) international coffee tasting competition that just ended not long ago is equivalent to the "Oscars" of the coffee industry, and the award-winning beans there are very valuable for reference.

High quality and cost-effective choice

Now I would like to recommend a type of coffee to those who are asking for money: Luckin Coffee.

The most important thing, of course, is the quality of the beans. The coffee beans currently used by luckin coffee are the gold medal winners of the IIAC 2018 International Coffee Tasting Competition . They stood out from more than 300 beans and received praise from professional judges.

This blend of Ethiopian sun-dried Sidamo beans was optimized by the WBC World Barista Champion team based on feedback from millions of users and taste preference tests. Compared with previous beans, the aroma and thickness of the coffee is significantly improved, and the aftertaste is more lasting.

WBC World Barista Champion Team

In terms of roasting, unlike many chain coffee brands, Luckin Coffee does not choose deep roasting due to mass production and standardization. Luckin Coffee chooses medium-dark roasting, which not only retains the natural flavor of the blended beans, but also highlights the caramel taste, making the taste more fragrant.

Luckin Coffee uses award-winning coffee beans in all its coffee drinks

At present, there are more than 1,800 luckin coffee stores in 21 cities across the country , and pick-up and delivery are very convenient. I work in Beijing North Third Ring Road, and sometimes the coffee is delivered 10 minutes after I place an order. I can drink it whenever I want, which is a great experience.

The most surprising thing is its price-performance ratio. Now all coffee drinks have a "buy 5 get 5 free" promotion , which means that the already inexpensive price can be discounted by 50%. A large cup of Americano costs only 10.5 yuan, which is much cheaper than similar coffees under the premise of high quality.

If you have any questions about coffee, please tell me in the comment section.