Coffees and the Coffee Roasting Process

[ Coffee Roasting Process ]
 

Coffee is cultivated in over fifty countries, but as it is easily killed by frost it can only be grown in the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Within this area, three major coffee growing regions exist: Latin America, Africa & Indonesia.

Some generalizations about regional characteristics can be made, but within each regional category significant variation exists.

A few coffees strongly assert their uniqueness while others elegantly typify a regional quality. With all of Ahrre's Coffees, careful selection, roasting, and handling is emphasized in order to exhibit the delicate combination of flavors that make each coffee distinct.

The following are some useful generalizations, but please bear in mind that good coffees, like good friends, are distinguished by nuance as well as individuality:

Latin American Coffees are known for their slightly sweet, lively acidity. In some of our coffees the acidity sparkles clearly above the other flavor components and in others it delicately provides a subtle but crisp accent.

African Coffees often have sweet, fruity flavors reminiscent of the aroma from a bowl of fresh fruit. This fruitiness is balanced by a somewhat tart acidity. The varying flavor balances reveal coffees that range in character from mellow and softly textured to vibrant and zesty.

Indonesian Coffees are generally rich and somewhat nutty. Most can be described as smooth and sometimes the coffees of this region exhibit a slightly dry quality (like a good Cabernet Sauvignon).

Coffees Listed by Growing Region and Country of Origin

About the Coffee Roasting Process

Coffee can be roasted for various lengths of time to achieve the desired result. Roasters commonly recognize several distinct shades of coffee roasts; from the lightest to the darkest, these are the Cinnamon roast, the Medium High roast, the City roast, the Full-City roast, the French roast and the Italian Espresso roast.

The ideal roast in terms of fully developing the character and quality inherent in the coffee bean is the Full-City roast, therefore, all of the coffees here at Ahrre's Coffee Roastery -- except where noted -- are roasted to a "Full City" roast.

This style of roasting takes longer, requires more skill than other methods, and results in a coffee that is slightly darker than coffee found elsewhere. This degree of roasting is also more expensive, since the longer roasting time removes more moisture from the beans, which would otherwise add weight to the coffee sold.

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