Origin Coffee: Discover the Rich History and Flavor

Inform your audience of coffee’s origins, processing methods, types, and preparation methods.

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Origins

Coffee has become an indispensable cash crop in many developing nations, serving as the main export for Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, providing income to over one hundred million people in Africa and Central America.

But coffee also has a longstanding history of cultural and political conflict.

Coffee’s origins can be traced back to 15th-century Yemen, where it was first grown as a drink at Sufi shrines and eventually exported.

According to legend, Sufi Baba Budan smuggled out seven seeds that later developed into Indian Arabica cultivars still grown today.

Researchers have utilized genetic sequencing technology to analyze 39 samples of coffee plants, including Carl Linnaeus’ 18th-century specimen used to describe it.

Their genetic sequencing analysis determined that wild varieties originated from across Africa and Asia’s Great Rift Valley while most cultivated varieties stemmed from closer to Yemen’s Bab al-Mandab Strait in eastern Yemen.

These results support the hypothesis that early escapes of C. arabica germplasm likely originated in East Africa, the center of diversity for this plant species.

Yemen may also have served as an early dispersal point, though its impact remains difficult to measure as genetic variation escapes through Yemen and into East Africa.

Flavor

As coffee production varies drastically across the globe, we cannot expect that every cup will taste exactly like described on its packaging.

Just like with wine, the taste of our favorite beverage depends on where it came from – such as region, country, or even farm (such as microlot coffee).

We analyzed each coffee with an ion chromatograph to measure its organic acid content (flow injection analysis using an IC 761 compact with suppression, conductivity detector from Metrohm in Switzerland).

Furthermore, 40ml of coffee brew was also analysed according to the Folin-Ciocalteu method for citric, malic, quinic, lactic, and formic acids.

Results revealed that different processing methods influenced both aroma compounds and the total polyphenol content of brewed coffee.

Dry processing yielded the highest polyphenol concentration while wet processing decreased it significantly.

An effective way to experience the distinctive flavors of coffee is using a coffee wheel, which enables you to identify which sort of flavour you sense in your mouth.

South American coffee features sweet and mild notes while African options boast vivid citrus and berry notes; finally Asia/Pacific coffee offers smooth syrupy herbal taste notes.

Roasting

The roasting process is crucial to the end product as it is what makes a coffee taste good or bad. It is also where the chemical changes that give rise to flavor occur.

The study analyzed seven different roast profiles using a 5-kg batch roaster (P5 model 2, Probat GmbH, Emmerich am Rhein, Germany) powered by natural gas.

The experiments were performed on African-washed arabica beans. The TA development dynamics were investigated across these profiles by collecting samples every minute from the roaster.

It is well established that the TA of green coffee beans increases up to a peak value during roasting and then decreases due to the formation of formic, acetic, and succinic acids1,4.

These organic acids are released by the breakdown of carbohydrates and water in the coffee beans.

Our research shows that a simple spectral fingerprint can be used to distinguish coffee samples based on their geographical and genetic origin, as well as the postharvest processing method.

This was achieved by analyzing a set of 120 commercial roasted and ground coffee samples from the Mexican states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco, and Veracruz.

In addition to conventional chemical analysis, which measures moisture, ash, and fat content, the NIR spectra of the coffee samples were separated into a variety of groups using SIMCA class modelling and clustering.

Tasting

Coffee lovers should know that the flavours of a particular cup of coffee can differ slightly from those described on its packaging.

This is because taste is a personal experience and our senses are affected by our experiences, memories and associations.

If you are familiar with the taste of buttered toast, for instance, a coffee that smells like this might make your mouth water and remind you of this pleasant memory.

Similarly, the flavour of coffee varies depending on where it was grown. A coffee from Latin America, for example, can be characterised by lush flavours ranging from citrus to berry, combined with herbal, earthy notes.

Coffees from Africa, on the other hand, often have a vibrant, fruity flavour and an exceptionally vivid acidity.

You can also discover coffees with a sweet and syrupy consistency, such as the ones produced in the Asia / Pacific region.

This is partly due to the beans’ processing method, which involves being deprived of oxygen.

This gives the coffee a unique flavour that reminds you of maple syrup or caramel, and it is reminiscent of juicy redcurrants too.

Another way that coffee’s taste can vary is because of its roast level. When the beans are light-roasted, for example, the prepared coffee will unveil a refreshing, airy and fruity aroma that is complemented by milk-chocolate hints.

Dark-roasted coffee beans, on the other hand, will have a more smoky flavour and remind you of wood and chocolate.