What Makes High-Quality Coffee Beans and What Are the Main Components in Coffee?

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FrontStreet Coffee - Arabica Coffee Beans & Composition Introduction

Coffee beans are the essence of a cup of coffee. If the quality of coffee beans is not ideal, even with the most advanced coffee machine or professional barista, the resulting coffee will not be excellent. To make a good cup of coffee, you must first understand the knowledge of coffee bean varieties. Coffee beans can be basically divided into three major varieties: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica.

In fact, there are as many as 40 species of plants in the coffee family, but only the above three major varieties are used for commercial purposes. Each of these three coffee bean varieties has its own characteristics and can be roasted to different degrees to suit taste preferences.

Arabica coffee beans originated from the Ethiopian highlands. They were originally consumed as medicine and developed a roasting habit in the 13th century. In the 16th century, they were introduced to Europe by Arabs and became a favorite among Europeans. Following the footsteps of European colonists, they became one of the most popular beverages worldwide. Currently, Arabica varieties account for about 59% of global coffee bean production, making them the most popular coffee bean variety in the world.

Arabica coffee beans have a milder taste, with high-quality acidity and aroma, fruity and nutty aftertaste. The acidity is not too strong, and the caffeine content is also lower. They are the most suitable coffee variety for direct drinking among all coffee varieties, so they usually don't need to be mixed with other coffee bean varieties to make coffee.

The drawback is that this variety doesn't have strong resistance to leaf rust disease, the biggest enemy of coffee trees. It can only be grown in highlands, coupled with low environmental adaptability, so the cultivation cost and market price are relatively higher. The main countries producing Arabica coffee beans include Brazil, Colombia, Kenya, Ethiopia, etc. In terms of appearance, Arabica beans are flat and oval.

During roasting, the flavor and aroma of coffee develop, and aromatic compounds are formed through many chemical reactions in the raw coffee beans.

During the roasting process, the degradation of monosaccharides and polysaccharides produces sweetness and caramelized aroma. Conversely, the degradation of hydroxycinnamic acids (a phenolic compound) produces spicy aromas. Hydroxy amino acids such as threonine and serine convert into volatile compounds called pyrazines and pyrroles, producing the characteristic smell of coffee roasting.

But what does this have to do with processing methods? Processing methods affect the chemical substances released from raw coffee beans when they enter the roaster, thus affecting the coffee aroma produced during roasting.

How Do Processing Methods Affect the Chemical Composition of Coffee?

Coffee cherries usually have two seeds. The seeds are covered by endocarp and pectin layers, with pulp and skin on the outer layer. The pulp of coffee cherries itself contains a large amount of sugar. Processing methods are simply ways to extract seeds from the fruit. Different traditional and innovative techniques exist around the world, but coffee is usually processed through natural or washed methods. When using natural processing, coffee is dried directly in the sun with skin and pulp intact. Washed processing removes pulp and skin before drying, while honey processing is介于两者之间, meaning the pulp and skin are removed before drying, but some pectin is retained for processing.

Processing methods affect flavor and aroma because the sugar changes in the pulp left on natural or honey-processed coffee, which significantly changes the chemical composition of the raw beans. These changes are reflected in the sweetness and body you taste in the final coffee. Let's take a closer look at what happens.

Knowledge Expansion: Caffeine accounts for 0.9%-1.4% in Arabica varieties; Canephora usually accounts for 2%, sometimes exceeding 3%

In Summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research center, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation just to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three coffee promotion events with deep discounts because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for 6 years!

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