Good coffee?

Hearing someone say "They have good coffee there.." makes you wonder. What does it actually mean good coffee? Is it based on personal preferences? Is there something more that can caracterize coffee as good? Let´s find out.

Where does your coffee come from?

First coffee plant was originally discovered in Ethiopia, but today coffee is being imported from all over the world- and grows in only specific regions of continents forming so called "Coffee bean belt".

Why does it grow there?

Coffee plant (Yep, coffee comes from a plant!) is really specific and needs to have specific environmental conditions in order to survive. Tropical climate,rich soil and high altitudes are the perfect environment for this plant. Since countries in this part of the world dispose with such conditions- your favorite drink found its home exactly there.

Your coffee beans travel long time before they find you

Wait..You mean there are different coffee varieties?

Yes. Now that we know where coffee beans can come from, we also need to know that exactly these environmental conditions (soil and climate) affect the flavor of the beans- which can in some way also affect your personal preference towards coffee. If the beans have zitrus aroma they tend to be sour and strong, where on the other side they can have chocolate aroma and taste sweet. There are dozens of different coffee varieties and subspecies, but when it comes to your daily cup, only two of them matter: ARABICA AND ROBUSTA.

What´s the difference?

Arabica beans are sweeter, they have softer taste with mainly sugary, fruity and berry notes. Acidity in these beans is higher. On the other side Robusta has stronger taste with peanutty aftertaste. Robusta beans contain twice as much caffeine as Arabica beans and they tend to be considered as beans of "higher quality" compared to Arabica. Now, you´ll be able to taste difference in your espresso. Paradoxal, robusta is easier to grown and has lower price, while Arabica needs higher altitudes and because of that has higher price.

It´s not only beans..

From planting to harvest, from processing to exporting to roasting and finally brewing, every single step of coffee production affects the taste of the most popular drink in the world. Sometimes, when you drink your cup of coffee and think "Mmmm..this is so good" it is the result of a chain of people doing their jobs with great skill, dedication, passion and attention to detail. In the end- however you also must remember that-like anything else in life- what is described as “good coffee” is really all about perception and a person’s individual preferences.

Well, if you are addicted to coffee and love it as much as I do you can jump into the abyss of the coffee world. Before I start writing about coffee places, I wanted to let you know what it means "coffee is good" for me.

There is a place in Brussels, I simply adore. If I had to describe perfect cappucino, this would definitely be it.

Perfect cup?

I won´t settle for anything in life, and definitely not for bad cup of coffe. There are few things that matter to me in order to say "It´s good".

1.Quality

Absolute number 1. The highest level of quality is categorized as specialty coffee. The reason they call it like this is because it´s grown in ideal climate with perfect soil type and has no damage. All of this- makes it also extremely expensive. I tried the most expensive coffee sort while I was in Copenhagen and surprisingly it wasn´t that good. (As I said, everything is based on personal preference).

If quality is really important to you-ask your favorite cafe about the minimum quality specification when sourcing coffee they serve. Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) rated coffee quality within 100 points. So, if it´s anything above 80- you´re good.

2.Roasting

This process affects the taste of coffee a lot. If it´s poor roasted coffee has poor taste as well. I am the weirdo that sometimes asks about these things if they don´t write it on their website haha.

Sorry, but since when do you have this?

My coffee doesn´t necessarily have to be fresh but if they are serving me old coffee beans, I will notice it. How? It tastes extremely bad and this "freshness" and smell are simply not there. It tastes more like feet than like coffe. Ugh. That´s why I prefer local roasters and cafes which grown their own coffee (I´ll present you some of them in the future posts). However, this item comes in more handy when I´m buying coffee for my home- I have a local roaster in Bosnia and I always get fresh turkish coffee at home. When I get bored of this sort, I buy coffee doses for my coffee maschine in local cafe.

3.Brewing

Now.. I could write a novel about this since I used to work as barista, but I will just say mention few things. How often they clean maschine in your favorite coffee house, the way and how hard they press it and how they grind it also affects the taste.

4.Milk or not?

Keep in mind that milk can sometimes kill the taste of your coffee or make it better in some cases. If you drink cappucino, than it is more important to have well formed cream at the right temperature. Milk can sometimes cover the traces of poor taste coffee.

If you drink long espresso- there is a chance your barista may end up serving you with more hot water than it usually should be there. This can also kill the taste and you´ll end up with nothing else but something that looks like tea.

Espresso can sometimes be too strong for those who don´t like their coffee like that, but it can actually give you the best insight into the real taste of your coffee.

To finally end this extremely long post (Sorry for that!)- what matters is- that you feel good and energized after you´ve had your coffee. My preferences might not be like yours, but this is what you can expect from this blog. This is the grading system a coffee has to go through before it ends up on my blog like a recommendation to you :)

Have a brewtiful week :)

Iron babe