Craft coffee is a term that’s thrown around a lot these days, but what does it mean? Simply put, it means that the coffee beans are handled with care from the moment the farmer picks them until they’re made into your cup. There are four important factors that determine quality craft coffee: 1) Region, Climate & Season, 2) Origin & Blending, 3) Selection, 4) Roasting, 5) Grinding and 6) Brewing. Let’s take a closer look at each of these.
REGION, CLIMATE & SEASON
Central America, South America, Africa, and the Pacific Rim and Islands supply the world’s coffee over different harvest seasons. Humidity, temperature, shade, and soils will produce beans with different qualities.
Central America, South America, Africa, and the Pacific Rim and Islands supply the world’s coffee over different harvest seasons. Humidity, temperature, shade, and soils will produce beans with different qualities.
ORIGIN & BLENDING
Single-origin coffees come from one location and are chosen to exhibit that bean’s particular qualities. Roastmasters blend coffees from different origins to create a desired aggregate flavor profile.
SELECTION
Craft coffee requires the very best top 2% of Arabica beans. The rest go in lower quality coffee products resulting in undesirable bitter tastes and stale aromas.
ROASTING
Roastmasters must adjust the roasting temperature, time, and volume depending on the characteristics of the beans in the roaster.
GRINDING
Beans should be ground to different sizes for specific brewing methods to get the best flavor.
BREWING
Brewing methods change the outcome of a cup of coffee.
