What Are Coffee Regional Flavors and What Factors Influence the Flavor of Arabica Coffee Beans?

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Introduction

Recently, a FrontStreet Coffee fan left a comment asking: "What affects coffee flavor more - variety or growing region?" Regarding this question, Dr. Francesco Illy, founder of illy coffee, once explained: "70% of coffee bean characteristics and body are determined by genetics, while the remaining 30% depends on the ecosystem of the growing region." In other words, while coffee variety is certainly important, factors such as latitude, altitude, soil, sunlight, temperature, and humidity of the growing region all affect the flavor expression of the same coffee variety.

What Does Latitude Affect? Where is the "Coffee Growing Belt"?

Latitude affects the intensity of sunlight and temperature levels. Most coffee-growing regions worldwide are located in tropical areas between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn (including the equator), specifically in tropical or subtropical regions within 25 degrees north of the equator and 30 degrees south of the equator. The coffee growing belt has an average annual temperature between 16-25°C, no frost, and annual rainfall of 1600-2000 millimeters.

The Impact of Altitude on Coffee Flavor

FrontStreet Coffee often mentions that the higher the altitude of coffee-growing regions, the richer the coffee flavor will be. Why is this? Research shows that for every 100 meters increase in altitude, the regional temperature decreases by 0.6 degrees Celsius; for every 300 meters increase in altitude, the sucrose content of coffee beans from the same variety increases by 10%, and sucrose can produce more aromatic acidic substances during the roasting process.

Therefore, when the altitude is higher, the temperature difference between day and night becomes greater, which slows down the growth rate of coffee cherries, thereby forming more flavors. This also explains why coffee beans from high altitudes are more acidic than those from low altitudes.

The Impact of Soil on Coffee Flavor

Coffee beans produced in Central America have charming fruit acidity while maintaining good body, thanks to volcanic soil. Volcanic soil contains high concentrations of sulfur and sulfides, which are essential elements for forming aromatic acidic substances in coffee. At the same time, volcanic soil is also rich in potassium, which helps enhance coffee body. The content of these substances in the soil affects the intensity of certain coffee flavors.

In addition to minerals affecting coffee flavor, phosphates in the soil can also change the acidity of coffee. For example, the soil in Kenya contains large amounts of phosphates, giving Kenyan coffee beans very prominent aromatic acidic flavors.

The Impact of Sunlight and Temperature on Coffee Flavor

High temperatures generated by sunlight accelerate the metabolism of coffee cherries, and ripening also occurs faster. However, such accelerated ripening means coffee cherries don't have enough time to develop more flavors, making the coffee taste plain or even dull. To solve this problem, shade trees were introduced.

Planting local native trees taller than coffee trees blocks most of the sunlight, preventing coffee trees from being directly exposed to intense sunlight. This slows down the metabolism rate of coffee cherries, helping to develop more flavors.

The Impact of Humidity on Coffee Flavor

According to research, coffee beans from high humidity regions have more intense fruit flavors when tasted, such as those from the Cobán region of Guatemala. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee conducted cupping comparisons of coffee beans from eight producing regions in Guatemala, and found that the fruit sweetness and acidity of Cobán region coffee beans were indeed more pronounced than those from the other seven regions.

The reason is that the Cobán region belongs to a tropical rainforest area, where high humidity can increase the concentration of malic acid in coffee pulp and help with sugar generation. The fruity components in malic acid are absorbed by coffee beans, and sugars also produce more aromatic acidic substances during the roasting process, ultimately presenting the coffee with rich fruit sweetness and acidity flavors.

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