Single-origin beans
The coffee plant belongs to the Rubiaceae family, from the gentian order, and is divided into four groups:
Eucoffea Paracoffea Agrocoffea Mascarocoffea (Wikipedia links)
The Eucoffea group provides the only coffee plant varieties that are of economic interest as all the others grow too slowly and their production is very limited.
These plant varieties are:
Coffea Canephora is generally known as Coffea Robusta.
Arabica coffee and Robusta coffee are the two major families used in coffee bean blends.
The Coffea Arabica plant thrives at altitudes between 400 and 2100 metres and at temperatures between 18° and 24°
Coffea Canephora grows from 0 to 900 metres and at an ideal temperature between 24° and 30°
The flavour of Arabica coffee is rather subtle and balanced, with fruity, floral notes and not much body.
The Robusta coffee variety has earthy, woody aromas with hints of dark chocolate. It is more full-bodied and can leave an almost medicinal after-taste in the mouth.
THE PLANTATIONS
Monoculture coffee cultivation involves the use of pesticides. These destroy all other plants and leave a plantation with nothing but coffee plants, hence the term monocultivar.
Coffee cultivation on high plateau plantations of cassava, lemon, banana, and papaya plants is known as mixed crop farming for the fact that there are multiple varieties of plants in the same plantation.
Coffee thrives in subtropical conditions and can be mainly found between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
The main countries that produce coffee are Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and Peru.
COFFEE BLENDS
Coffee blends are produced from two coffee varieties, Arabica and Robusta. Depending on the country of production and the type of farming, these can have different sensory qualities in terms of taste and smell.
As a result there are numerous coffee blends with very differing flavours and aromas.
Coffee shop blends, espresso maker blends, stove-top coffee maker blends, Americano blends, Filter coffee, coffee bean blends and ground coffee blends.
