We often hear the word terroir when we talk about coffee, but what does terroir mean? Does it have anything to do with coffee flavor? Why should we care about terroir?

The Tarraju region of Costa Rica, with its volcanic soil and high altitude

What is terroir?

The word terroir comes from the French word Terroir, and is most often used in English when talking about wine. Terroir literally means soil. The environment around the soil is the terroir.

But when it comes to agriculture, terroir is more complex. We can understand it as: soil composed of specific substances, combined with the surrounding environment's temperature, rain, microorganisms, bacteria, climate , and the above conditions can be applied to agriculture.

For the above description, terroir actually combines everything about the environment in which coffee is grown. Not just the soil and climate, but the entire environment, including the influence of local residents and local agricultural knowledge.

High altitude coffee farmland in the Taraju region

Why is terroir important?

The terroir brings out the characteristics of the variety.

Because of the differences in terroir, the characteristics of the varieties will develop in different forms. In simple terms, terroir is actually the reason why Colombian coffee is different from Brazilian, Ethiopian, and Indonesian coffee.

For example, even if the same variety of coffee is grown, the coffee grown at an altitude of 1,400m in Costa Rica will taste different from the coffee grown at an altitude of 1,900m in Panama. Even though the two countries are adjacent, Panama's higher altitude and colder climate give the coffee more acidity and higher sweetness.

For consumers, terroir affects the flavor of coffee. But it has a more profound impact on roasters and farmers. When roasters choose the degree of roasting a coffee, in addition to considering the potential flavor and aroma of the beans, they must also consider the molecular composition of the coffee beans, which is deeply affected by the terroir.

Farmers need to adjust their planting methods and green bean processing methods according to the terroir, which includes geographical conditions, climate, and the distribution of agricultural resources.

In fact, understanding terroir is much more important than growing coffee, because terroir will determine the growth of coffee trees, and terroir will also affect coffee quality, cost-effectiveness, pest resistance and production capacity.

Ripe coffee berries photographed in the Tarrajuk region of Costa Rica

The good and bad of terroir

The definition of good and bad is very subjective, despite this, it is still very common to hear sentences like "I like this region..." and "The coffee from this region is great..."

In fact, there is no such thing as bad terroir, there is only terroir that is more suitable for the growth of certain varieties.

If you grow special varieties, they may not be suitable for certain production areas or countries. For example, if you use a cupping scoring system, a score of 80 or above is considered specialty coffee, and a score of 90 or above is considered rare and expensive coffee.

In the field of specialty coffee, consumers have a better impression of coffee from some countries. For example, farmers in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Ethiopia are rich in relevant knowledge and are good at growing coffee. Brazil and Indonesia often produce coffee in the same way as cash crops.

This hints at the many limitations of terroir. Despite the above impressions of Brazilian coffee, they can still produce coffee that can participate in the Cup of Excellence competition, and in 2017, they scored more than 90 points in the Cup of Excellence competition with 9 natural and honey-treated coffees.

The terroir of some countries may be suitable for the growth of specific varieties, which indirectly affects the flavor and cupping score of coffee, but it does not mean that these countries cannot produce other varieties.

Mountain scenery in the Tarraju region of Costa Rica

Three key factors affecting terroir

In fact, there are three key factors that determine what kind of terroir conditions can produce good coffee:

• soil

Since terroir means land, the first key is of course the soil. The minerals in the soil will affect the body and acidity of the coffee. Volcanic soil is very suitable for growing coffee because it is rich in nutrients such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and zinc, which are all nutrients needed for plant growth.

In addition, volcanic soils are deeply drained, and when the soil has more air circulation and is rich in organic matter, it can retain more water during the rainy season in preparation for the dry season. The soil also directly affects the absorption of nutrients and minerals by plants.

• climate

Coffee is usually grown in producing countries located in the "coffee belt", which extends all over the world, from the equator to Mexico and Myanmar in the north and Brazil and Tanzania in the south.

Even within the coffee belt, there are many different climate types, including small-scale weather and large-scale climate. Some coffee experts talk about microclimates in coffee farms, meaning that the climate in a small area is significantly different from the rest of the region, perhaps because of a nearby canyon.

Among these, it is important to have distinct wet and dry seasons. The wet season helps the coffee trees and berries grow, and the coffee trees can absorb the nutrients they need. But when it comes to the harvest season, rain is not a good thing, because rain may damage the berries, slow down the efficiency of drying green beans, etc. As for the dry season, it helps the harvest period, because the dry season helps the coffee trees bloom, and flowering helps the growth of new berries.

• altitude

The higher the altitude, the sweeter and better the fruit. One reason is that the high altitude increases the acidity of the fruit, which brings sweetness, similar to wine.

But the altitude we are talking about here is actually more like the climate. The climate and temperature will vary depending on the altitude, and a cooler environment will create higher acidity in wine and coffee.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Region

Altitude directly affects the ripening process of the fruit. Fruits that mature slower have higher sugar content, so the flavor is richer and the bean density is higher.

Altitude is a useful reference when comparing two estates in the same region, but it is less useful when comparing different countries, such as Ecuador and Mexico, or Yemen and Kenya.

Coffee cherries ready for processing

Is terroir the most important thing about coffee?

Talking about terroir is like the earth talking to you directly. When you hold a bottle of wine, you may not think that it is a product of the earth. For this reason, in recent years, some people in the wine industry have begun to advocate wines made from natural cultivation, with minimal human intervention.

But does this also apply to coffee? Is terroir everything for coffee, too?

Relatively speaking, processing is more important than terroir. If you know the impact and significance of each processing step, processing will be more important than terroir. Because processing is the process of removing the coffee seeds from the fruit. Depending on the coffee harvesting method, fermentation, drying and storage process, processing can bring positive flavors or negative defects, and can improve or reduce the quality of coffee.

Terroir can improve the quality of coffee, but it cannot guarantee the quality of the final cup of coffee. The management of fruits and green beans is very important, from the selection of planting sites to the process of drying green beans.

Of course, as we discussed above, the processing methods vary depending on the climate of each region. For example, Brazil is famous for its sun-dried and honey-processed coffees, which bring sweetness and body because Brazil has a dry climate, which is suitable for these processing methods. Kenya is also famous for its washed processing method, which improves the cleanliness of the coffee and amplifies the natural regional flavor of the coffee.

However, sometimes farmers experiment with different processing methods, even going against local traditions, and this goes beyond the constraints of terroir.

The pulp and skin of coffee fruit after removing the seeds

Impacts of climate change

Climate change has a great impact on terroir. The same place that could produce sweet and acidic coffee can no longer produce the same quality coffee due to rising temperatures. People try to find higher altitudes to grow coffee in order to obtain better quality. Some wine farmers even produce varieties that are more suitable for growing in warmer climates in response to climate change.

More than 100 million people in the world depend on coffee for their livelihoods, but researchers say that by 2050, climate change will make 50% of today's coffee farmland unsuitable for growing coffee. What is the future of farmers in the next decade? Terroir is changing with climate change.

How does this also affect coffee, wine, and other crops like cocoa? How far can we go? How can we achieve consistent crop quality despite changes in terroir? Perhaps only time will tell.