Understanding the Flavor Profiles of African, American, and Asian Specialty Coffee Beans Coffee Flavor Differences

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The issue of coffee flavor troubles many students. There are so many flavors on the flavor chart, why can't I taste them? After all, not everyone has professional sensory abilities, or perhaps I taste plum flavor instead of peach flavor. The reason for such differences lies in cultural, lifestyle, dietary, and regional variations—different descriptions of the same cup of coffee. Therefore, the most important aspect of coffee tasting is communication. Share your feelings about this particular bean—different experiences naturally lead to different descriptions, but such communication can bring much enjoyment, can't it? Combining theoretical learning with coffee drinking and more sensory experience, coffee tasting | Three steps to teach you coffee appreciation: aroma, taste, and aftertaste.

Understanding Coffee Flavor Profiles by Region

Today, through several single-origin coffees, let's distinguish and understand the flavor characteristics of specialty coffee beans from Africa, America, and Asia:

Coffee Growing Regions

Coffee bean origins are mainly divided into: Africa, Central and South America, and Asia

Coffee trees are only suitable for growing in tropical or subtropical regions, so the zone between 25 degrees north and south latitude is most suitable for coffee cultivation. This coffee production zone is generally called the "Coffee Belt" or "Coffee Zone." The ideal growing conditions for coffee trees are: a warm climate with temperatures between 15℃-25℃, and annual rainfall must reach 1500mm-2000mm. Additionally, the rainfall timing must align with the flowering cycle of coffee trees.

Of course, besides the coordination of seasons and rainfall, fertile soil is also essential. The most suitable soil for coffee cultivation should be well-drained and contain fertile volcanic ash soil.

Coffee beans from the three major continents each have their characteristics. Simply put: [African beans] have rich tropical fruit flavors, [American beans] have balanced flavor and mouthfeel, with soft fruit acidity alongside nut and cocoa flavors, [Asian beans] tend toward quality herbal, spice, and caramel flavors, with a relatively thick texture.

African Coffee: Captivating Fruit Acidity

Flavor characteristics: Captivating fruit acidity

African bean flavors: Among them, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian coffee has a strong orange aroma, while FrontStreet Coffee's Kenyan coffee has rich berry fragrance, along with the sour aroma of plum juice and grapefruit, as well as the sweet aroma of sugarcane. The orange aroma of FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian coffee and the berry fragrance of FrontStreet Coffee's Kenyan coffee are the greatest characteristics of African beans, and what most fascinates coffee enthusiasts.

The general characteristics of African coffee are rich aroma and captivating fruit acidity. Its bright acidity is refreshing and invigorating, but African coffee's body is often somewhat thin, and sweetness is not very prominent. Due to drought and water scarcity in Africa, the natural drying method is often used to process green beans, resulting in uneven and often less attractive bean shapes with higher defect rates.

African Coffee Representative

FrontStreet Coffee Sidamo Natural

Among the Hambella production area in Sidamo, a famous representative bean called "Horse Champion" is also quite outstanding. Hambella is located in Ethiopia's largest coffee production area, Guji (GUJI), and administratively belongs to the Oromia region. Hambella's west faces Yirgacheffe's Kochore across mountains, with a highland barrier of 3200 meters altitude and about 30 kilometers width between the two production areas. To the southeast and north, it borders Guji's Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha sub-production areas, making it Ethiopia's highest altitude coffee sub-production area (Harrar is Ethiopia's highest altitude main production area). Among all these estates and processing stations, only natural processed coffee from "Buku Abel" estate and processing plant is called "Horse Champion." Buku Abel is a small village surrounded by mountains at an altitude of 2280 meters on the African continent.

FrontStreet Coffee's newly acquired FrontStreet Coffee 2018 new production season Ethiopia Horse Champion comes from the Hambella core production area, a micro-batch from the mountain spring processing station. It's a small village surrounded by mountains at an altitude of 2280 meters. December is its coffee harvest season each year. During this time, the mountains are covered with bright red, ripe coffee cherries, neatly arranged on African drying beds in the village—this is where "Horse Champion" is processed.

Most Ethiopian coffee estates remain in their original state, with local native varieties. Local coffee farmers pick the beans in the mountains. With red-brown organic soil, annual rainfall exceeding 1200mm, altitude, and day-night temperature differences, FrontStreet Coffee's Horse Champion only selects fully red, completely ripe coffee cherries, all hand-picked. They are dried on African scaffolding with limited fruit layer thickness and turned regularly 24 hours a day, fermenting at low temperatures in the estate's unique natural environment.

During the harvest and processing season (December-January), its unique growing environment and natural climate create the distinctive flavor of FrontStreet Coffee's Horse Champion. We only begin the refined natural processing when the sugar content of the picked red cherries reaches above 30. For the first two days of natural processing, the moisture of the red cherries must be maintained to allow their fructose to fully begin fermentation reactions. The processing station's nighttime temperature can drop to around 12 degrees Celsius. At night to prevent sudden rainfall, thick plastic sheets are used for wrapping, allowing the red cherries to ferment and dehydrate at relatively low temperatures. During midday when temperatures are higher, shading is provided to prevent sunburn on the red cherries. After 18 days of natural processing, when the moisture content of the green beans drops to around 13%, the natural processing is stopped, and they are packed in jute bags. Under natural conditions of 12-22 degrees Celsius and 40-50% humidity, they are placed in warehouses for about 50 days of bean resting and further dehydration.

FrontStreet Coffee's Horse Champion coffee flavor: It has obvious cantaloupe and fermented wine aroma, strawberry jam. The entry brings a jackfruit-like soft acidity, with strawberry berry flavors emerging in the middle section, along with some sucrose aftertaste, creating a rich layering.

FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Thika AA

Kenya is a famous coffee-producing country in East Africa. Coffee production areas are mainly concentrated in the plateau regions represented by Mount Kenya. The tropical climate and acidic red volcanic soil provide a naturally suitable growing environment for coffee, at altitudes around 1550-1750 meters. It is most famous for seven major production areas, including Nyeri, Thika, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Ruiru, Murang'a, and the west side of Mount Kenya. The main production areas such as Nyeri and Ruiru in the central region have tropical climates and acidic red volcanic soil that provide a naturally suitable growing environment for coffee.

The main varieties cultivated are SL-28 and SL-34, the most respected varieties produced by Kenya's Scott Laboratories in the 1930s. Although Scott Laboratories no longer exists, it is now the National Agricultural Laboratory, part of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization. Both varieties are Bourbon-derived cultivars. SL-28 was developed from drought-resistant varieties originally planted in Tanganyika, part of modern Tanzania, and is generally considered the highest quality but not as productive as other commercial Arabica varieties. SL-34 is a variant originally discovered near Kabete that performs well at low altitudes. Both SL variants show bronze-colored young leaves.

In terms of processing, the washed method uses a repeated process of fermentation followed by washing. On the day of harvest, the highest quality coffee cherries are selected for depulping and fermentation, with a fermentation time of 24 hours. After 24 hours, clean river water is used for washing. Then, clean river water is used again for another 24 hours of fermentation, followed by washing again. This cycle is repeated 3 times to reach 72 hours, hence called the Kenyan-style 72-hour fermentation washed processing method, abbreviated as K72. This processing method allows coffee beans to ferment for a long time at low temperatures, giving the beans brighter, cleaner, yet fuller flavors!

FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya AA coffee flavor: The wet aroma has ripe tomato and floral notes. The entry brings cherry tomato and plum flavors, with bright acidity, clean mouthfeel, and medium body. The middle section has prominent sweetness with a juice-like sensation, and the aftertaste has berry fragrance and brown sugar sweetness, along with green tea aroma.

Central and South America: Balanced and Mellow

Flavor characteristics: Balanced, moderate acidity and mellow aroma

Central and South American bean flavors: Overall, the flavors are relatively conventional. FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rican coffee is gentle and smooth, with sour aroma, sweet aroma, and chocolate fragrance blended together in perfect balance.

The overall flavor of Latin American coffee is known for its balance—all coffee flavors can be found in Latin American coffee. Good processing processes also make their bean shapes larger and more uniform compared to African coffee, with lower defect rates.

American Coffee Representatives

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Honey Process

Costa Rica was the first country in Central America where coffee was introduced for cultivation. Located in the Central American Isthmus, with numerous volcanoes throughout the country, it has natural advantages of sunshine and land. Climate-wise, it is influenced by Pacific and Atlantic ocean currents and sea breezes, producing coffee with characteristics of local microclimate terroir conditions. The earliest cultivation sites were on the slopes of Poas and Barva volcanoes, which is today known as the Central Valley region. After years of development, Costa Rica currently has eight main production areas: Guanacaste, West Valley, Central Valley, Turrialba, Orosi, Tres Rios, Tarrazu, and Brunca.

The honey processing method is called Honey Process. The so-called honey processing refers to the process of making green beans by drying them with mucilage. The juice produced during coffee berry processing is used to soak the parchment beans during processing. Because the berry juice contains quite high sweetness and unique enzymes, the processed parchment beans contain richer flavors and more complex positive notes!

The more mucilage retained in processing, the richer the final coffee flavor and higher sweetness. The mucilage part is where the coffee fruit's sugar content is highest and is an important component of coffee processing fermentation. It can be said that this part determines 80% of the nutritional supply during processing. Yellow honey retains 60% of mucilage, red honey retains 75% of mucilage, and black honey removes almost no mucilage. The sugar and acidity from the mucilage layer become more concentrated during drying, and these sugars penetrate into the coffee beans.

Primarily Caturra is cultivated, with lemon or citrus acidity in flavor. In terms of sweetness, it doesn't match Typica and Bourbon because Caturra's sweetness depends on the frequency and dosage of fertilization by growers. It has high yield capacity, but to maintain production capacity, continuous fertilization and pruning are required, so the plants are short with many branches. Although production capacity has increased, because the harvest period takes 2 years and care costs are higher, production is still somewhat limited.

FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica honey process coffee flavor: It has floral and creamy aroma, with lemon, plum, sweet orange, and peach flavors, grapefruit-like juice sensation, natural sweetness, and delicate mouthfeel—perfectly balanced overall.

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Miravalle Estate

Flavor characteristics: Bitter and aromatic, excellent mouthfeel

Guatemala's coffee grows in the high-altitude cloud forest zone, where large temperature differences between morning and evening create climate conditions that prevent coffee from growing too quickly. The Chinese translation of the place name Huehuetenango Highlands has great character. Located in northwestern Guatemala, the highlands have fertile soil and sufficient rainfall. The unique circular valley terrain creates cloud forest zones—nature's best gift for coffee growing environments. Therefore, the Huehuetenango Highlands are world-famous for producing exceptional quality coffee, with most winning coffee beans in Guatemala's annual coffee competitions coming from the Huehuetenango Highlands, receiving excellent international reviews.

FrontStreet Coffee's Miravalle Estate grows in this production area and has fertile volcanic soil. The volcanic ash has moisture-retaining effects, preserving sufficient moisture and temperature, protecting the region's coffee from frost damage, with delicate citrus acidity as its obvious flavor characteristic.

In terms of processing, it uses a washed method followed by drying. After harvesting, they are placed in water tanks to remove debris and unripe beans, then put into depulpers to remove pulp and skin, placed in fermentation tanks to decompose mucilage remaining on the parchment, put into washing pools to remove mucilage to obtain parchment beans, and finally placed on drying patios or in dryers for sun drying processing.

More commonly cultivated are Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai, with wonderful sweetness, balance, and complex, variable flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee's Miravalle Estate coffee flavor: Obvious yet soft sweet and sour sensations, with rich chocolate and nut flavors, prominent tea-like notes, slight smokiness in the later section, soft fruit acidity, high body, and high clarity.

Asian Coffee: Deep Flavors and Rich Body

Flavor characteristics: Deep flavors and rich body

Asian bean and island flavors: Higher body than Central and South American beans and African beans, but with lower acidity, flavors with hints of deep wood, herbs, spices, and earthiness. The low, mellow aroma is more prominent than the bright acidic fragrance. Island beans are relatively light and mild, with an elegant tone.

Asian Coffee Representatives

FrontStreet Coffee Lintong Mandheling

Indonesia's main coffee production areas include Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi islands, with Sumatra's "Mandheling" being the most famous. Lake Tawar in the north can be called Aceh coffee or Lake Tawar coffee, while the Lintong and Lake Toba areas can be called Mandheling. There are eight provinces in total, but only two provinces grow coffee in large quantities—Aceh Province and North Sumatra Province. The most representative coffee production areas in these two provinces are the Gayo mountains around Lake Tawar in Aceh Province, planted by local indigenous Gayo people.

North Sumatra Province coffee is planted around Lake Toba. This lake is extremely large, being the world's largest volcanic lake. Mandheling from Lake Tawar and Lake Toba is the famous "Two Lakes, Two Mandhelings," and south of Lake Toba is the Lintong production area.

FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling grows on plateau mountainous terrain at 1000-1500 meters altitude, with numerous volcanoes and many volcanic lakes within its territory. The most famous coffee growing area is located around the freshwater Lake Lawar. Fresh soil comes from volcanic mud—a primitive brown gray substance mixed with quite a lot of organic matter. Combined with the local tropical rainforest climate and sufficient year-round rainfall, it provides the most suitable geographical and climatic environment for coffee growth.

The commonly used processing method is [Wet Hulling], which makes the flavor profile full-bodied and intense, with a very distinct personality. Because Indonesia's humidity is between 70-90% year-round with constant typhoons, in such humid climate conditions, it's necessary to accelerate the drying efficiency of coffee cherries. First, the skin and pulp are removed, leaving parchment and mucilage to ferment in water pools, then the mucilage is washed away, and the parchment is sun-dried for 2-3 days until moisture content reaches 20-24%. The parchment is then removed, allowing sunlight to directly hit the green bean surface, causing the coffee green beans to dry quickly—2-3 times faster than washed processing. Therefore, the beans are more easily crushed and form small gaps—this is what we often call "horseshoe" or "sheep hoof" beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling coffee flavor: Sweet herbs, cinnamon-like spices, full-bodied and intense sweetness, caramel, cream, walnut, chocolate. The fruit acidity is deep and gentle, the aroma has rich cantaloupe fragrance, light spices, and herb notes with a full-bodied, intensely sweet character.

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