Coffee aesthetics tells you that coffee beans are also divided into grades

Analyzing the characteristics of various coffee beans, taking their strengths and making up for their weaknesses to create a better blend is a symbol of barista's skills. However, the desire to show off is universal. When talking about coffee, people always want to understand what "Blue Mountain", "Mandheling", "Mocha" are, or how to explain the more obscure but powerful "Brazil Santos No.2" and "Tanzania AA Kilimanjaro". Today, I will bring you some content about the quality of coffee beans, hoping that the onlookers will be interested.

1. Coffee Grading

Before the emergence of the "specialty coffee" identification standard in the 1980s, coffee grading was determined by the coffee bean producing countries themselves, and the methods of expression were also different. It was mainly determined based on the altitude of the origin, the size of the beans, and the number of damaged beans. Since the grading standards of many countries of origin are very simple (such as Colombia, which only determines the grade by the size of the beans), and the grading does not require cupping, the grade of coffee beans can only be used as a rough reference and cannot fully and truthfully reflect the taste of the coffee beans.

The classification standards of different countries are different, so it is easier to see them in a table. You can check this table if necessary:

Areas with high altitudes have lower average temperatures, larger temperature differences between day and night, and the taste of coffee beans is richer and mellower.

The unit used to determine the size of beans is "Screen size", which is the number of the screen used to screen the coffee beans, represented by S+number. For every increase in the number, the diameter of the screen hole increases by 1/64 inch. Therefore, "S18 and above" means "cannot pass through a screen with a screen hole diameter of 18/64 inch". Generally speaking, the larger the coffee beans, the richer the nutrients absorbed by the fruit and the better the taste. But it can only be used as a relative reference standard.

2. Classification

After grading, the coffee beans are sorted. Remove rotten, black, sour, over-fermented or unshelled coffee beans. This process requires eyesight, and the beans are placed on a moving leather bag for inspection and classification. Incomplete beans include green beans peeled from unripe berries, underdeveloped "shell beans", black beans caused by mildew or rot before harvest, worm-eaten beans, broken beans, berries with unremoved pulp; and also include foreign objects such as stones, corn kernels and even bird droppings mixed in during the drying process. They are the main source of coffee odor.

In addition to distinguishing the "Type" of Brazilian coffee beans by size and the number of broken beans, they will also be given a suffix indicating the taste quality through the tasting review, from high to low:

Soft = pure and soft taste, less odor

Hard = has a green and astringent taste, bitter taste

Rio = has a herbal, pungent smell

3. Premium & specialty coffee

Premium coffee does not need to be specially identified, nor does it strictly specify plantations. Instead, coffee sellers select the best quality coffee from the highest grade of coffee produced in various countries to increase its added value. The naming of high-quality coffee is generally composed of [producing country + variety + grade]. Common high-quality coffees are as follows:

Brazil Santos No.2 (or Type 2): Brazil does not have a "Type 1" grade, so Type 2 is the highest grade. Brazilian coffee is known for its aroma, refreshing taste, not too sour or bitter, and a sharp aftertaste similar to nuts. Overall, it is very stable, with neither advantages nor disadvantages. Personally, I feel that it smells better than it tastes.

Columbia Supremo : The highest grade of Colombian coffee, Supremo means "large bean". Since the grading in Colombia is based only on the size of the beans, the taste is not particularly uniform. Basically, it has a strong sour, bitter and aromatic taste, and is one of the most "coffee-flavored" coffees. The disadvantage is that the personality is not prominent enough, and the taste is not surprising. The advantage is that it is not expensive and suitable for daily drinking.

Sumatra Mandheling G1 (or Golden Mandheling): Indonesia's "Golden Mandheling". After deep roasting, it has almost no acidity and a full bitter taste. The taste is strong and bitter, but the aftertaste is refreshing like herbal tea. It is especially suitable for iced coffee or drinking with milk. It is also good to drink hot alone.

Kenya AA : The highest grade coffee produced in Kenya, especially popular in Europe, but less accepted in America and Asia. After proper roasting, the taste is mainly sweet and sour, but the bitterness is also very strong. The layers are very full, but a little less elegant.

Mocha Mattari : Coffee beans produced in Yemen and Ethiopia are called Mocha, which is the well-known "Mocha" today. It comes from the Yemeni port city of Mocha, which was once the largest coffee distribution center in the Islamic world. It is generally believed that the Mocha coffee produced in Yemen is of higher quality, and the highest-grade coffee beans produced in Yemen are Mattari. It has a strong taste, strong acidity, and an aftertaste close to floral fragrance, reminiscent of wine. As the earliest variety introduced to Europe, it is highly accepted in Europe and the United States, so much so that coffee shops such as Starbucks have specially invented Café Mocha (Espresso+Chocolate Syrup+Milk Foam) that uses Espresso to imitate the "Mocha flavor".

Tanzania AA Kilimanjaro : Tanzanian coffee named after Mount Kilimanjaro. Very popular in Japan and the United States. The taste is similar to Kenyan coffee, but the acidity and bitterness are stronger, and it has a more wild feeling. It's a bit too sour for me, but there are also people who love sour coffee and drink Kilimanjaro exclusively.

Guatemala SHB : Guatemalan high mountain coffee. If the taste of Mandheling is "masculine", Guatemalan coffee is feminine. The main flavor is caramel or chocolate sweetness and blueberry or raspberry sourness, and the bitterness is not very obvious. The taste is just right, and it will be a very elegant cup if brewed properly.

Blue Mountain No.1 : Blue Mountain coffee is too famous. Most of the coffee shops in China that claim to be Blue Mountain coffee are fake. The better ones are Jamaican coffees whose origin altitude does not meet the standard (if the origin altitude is less than 800 meters, even if it is the same type, it can only be called High Mountain). Most of them are simply using the name of Blue Mountain to sell dog meat. Blue Mountain is indeed an excellent coffee, with a sweet and sour taste like apples and a light floral fragrance that dissipates as it is swallowed, and there is absolutely no odor left in the mouth. It is a refreshing and elegant type. In general, Blue Mountain is good enough, but due to its outrageous price, the cost performance is very low, so it is enough to try it if you have the chance.

Hawaii Kona EXF : Extra Fancy, the highest grade Hawaii Kona, is grown in the volcanic ash soil of the Hawaiian Islands. From the table above, we can see that Hawaiian coffee has an extremely strict control over the number of defective beans. All coffee berries are hand-picked before being pulped, so the price is of course very high, only slightly lower than the No. 1 Blue Mountain. The most impressive thing about Kona is its aroma, which is like freshly baked bread or freshly roasted hazelnuts. It is not only strong, but also lasts for a very long time. It is hard to forget after drinking one cup - and other coffees will seem bland for a while.

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