Coffee, like wine, has a language all its own. Learn what the words mean and you’ll be on your way to finding the best beans to suit your taste and your philosophy, and brewing up a fantastic cup of joe. 

Fair Trade

Fair Trade Certified is an organization that promotes social and environmental causes at the coffee farm level. Fair Trade requires that farmers and workers receive a fair price for their crop, promotes environmentally-sustainable farming practices, decent working and living conditions, and investment in the local community. The farms are small and coffee can be traced back to the particular farm or co-op.

Organic Coffee

Organic coffee refers to coffee grown without using commercial fertilizers and pesticides.

Single Origin

Single origin means that a coffee came from a particular country, state or estate (farm). Single origin coffees allow consumers to understand and appreciate the unique characteristics of the particular growing region.

Roasts

During the roasting process, coffee roasts from the outside inwards. As the roast deepens between light, medium, and dark heat transfers from the outside of the bean to the center.

Light -Light roasts could have an under-developed flavor profile because the bean hasn’t been exposed to heat long.

Medium - The next stage beyond light roast where more heat has moved to the center of the bean which allows for more flavor characteristics to develop (ie. floral, citrus, nutty).

Dark - A dark roast is where a coffee bean is exposed to high heat for a longer period of time. During the roasting process the bean will expand and the bean will become oily. Dark roast coffees often result in a smoky profile.

Espresso - Espresso is a particular brewing style, not a coffee blend or roast style. Espresso is coffee brewed through a special machine which brews the coffee for a short period of time (approx 30 seconds) at high pressure.

Grinds

Coffee beans should be ground appropriately for the brewing style; otherwise the coffee will be over or under extracted which will result in a bitter taste.

For French Press style, the coffee should be ground coarse. The coffee grounds will be exposed to hot water for four minutes and will result in a full-bodied cup of coffee.

Home drip coffee brewers should have coffee ground on “auto-drip.” This is the preferred brewing choice for most consumers.

Swiss Water Process

Coffee can be decaffeinated with or without chemicals. Swiss Water Processed is the only 100% chemical free decaf where the green coffee bean is submerged in water for approximately 10 hours and the caffeine is slowly removed from the coffee bean. At the end of this process, the coffee bean is 99.9% caffeine-free.

What is specialty coffee?

Specialty coffee refers to the top 3% of coffees grown globally. Specialty coffee is grown in higher elevations and oftentimes on smaller farms

Specialty Coffee Growing Regions

-Africa: These coffees tend to have a wide range of flavor and body characteristics from Ethiopian to Kenyan.

-Central America: Grown in high mountains and wet processed for bright, clean taste.

-South America: Colombia and Peru produces coffees of nutty, chocolate profile. Medium-bodied coffees.

-Indonesia: Heavy bodied and aromatic coffees come from the islands of Java and Sumatra.

Information provided by Red Cedar Coffee Company