Three Major Coffee Growing Regions: Differences in Coffee Bean Varieties' Taste and Flavor Characteristics

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Introduction to World Coffee Regions

First-time coffee enthusiasts visiting FrontStreet Coffee often don't know how to choose single-origin coffee beans that suit their taste preferences. With over 50 different coffee beans from around the world available at FrontStreet Coffee, this can be overwhelming. FrontStreet Coffee typically asks coffee enthusiasts whether they prefer acidic or non-acidic coffee, or perhaps a full-bodied brew. These flavor profiles correspond to specific growing regions, primarily divided into three major coffee regions: Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Asian single-origin coffee beans predominantly display unique herbal and spicy notes, while Latin American coffees feature nutty and cocoa flavor profiles as their main characteristics. African coffee beans are renowned for their bright fruit acidity and refreshing taste. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the characteristics of these three major coffee-growing regions worldwide.

African Coffee Growing Region

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, the African region's flavor characteristics are primarily known for their pleasant, bright, and refreshing fruit acidity. Among the most famous single-origin coffee-producing countries are Ethiopia, renowned for its specialty coffee, and neighboring Kenya. These two countries can be said to support the entire development of Africa's coffee industry.

Africa is also the birthplace of coffee, with a development history spanning several hundred years. Today, there are still many undiscovered wild coffee varieties in Africa. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce Ethiopia, the famous African growing region mentioned above.

Ethiopian Coffee Bean Growing Conditions

Since the first coffee tree was discovered in Ethiopia, the country has been cultivating coffee. Consequently, coffee has become an indispensable part of local life, integrated into daily routines, and serves as their primary economic source. The production of specialty coffee is abundant and diverse, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee's Sidamo Arsi coffee beans, and FrontStreet Coffee's Sidamo Guji coffee beans, all originating from this region. Each has its own distinct flavor characteristics without being repetitive, thus capturing the hearts of numerous coffee enthusiasts.

Ethiopia is located in East Africa and is currently Africa's largest coffee-producing country. However, only 60% of its coffee beans are used for export sales, while the remainder is used for various ceremonial purposes, such as weddings where people create mixtures of coffee beans and coffee pulp, coffee with honey, and various herbs to make remedies for dispelling misfortune. This demonstrates how coffee is an inseparable part of local life.

The reason Ethiopian coffee flavors are so exceptional is due to the country's high altitude, mild temperatures, and suitable climate conditions, which are ideal for coffee bean cultivation. As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned in previous articles, coffee beans grown at higher altitudes have better flavor profiles and richer acidity. This is the primary reason why Ethiopian coffee has such pleasant acidity.

Ethiopian Coffee Varieties

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Ethiopia, as the birthplace of coffee, still has many undiscovered coffee varieties. Ethiopian coffee varieties are collectively referred to as local indigenous varieties, also known as Heirloom (or long-berry indigenous varieties).

Ethiopian Coffee Bean Main Growing Regions

The Sidamo region of Ethiopia is the country's most famous coffee-growing region and holds international recognition. Notable examples include FrontStreet Coffee's Guji coffee and Arsi coffee beans, which originate from this region. This includes FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans, one of the most popular among coffee enthusiasts at FrontStreet Coffee. Although Yirgacheffe is located within the Sidamo region, its flavor is so distinctive that it can be easily distinguished from other Sidamo region coffees. Therefore, Yirgacheffe has been separated as its own growing region while also representing a specific flavor profile. This is sufficient proof that the Sidamo region is exceptionally suitable for producing high-quality specialty coffee.

Sidamo Coffee Growing Region

Sidamo region is located in southern Ethiopia and is an important growing area in the southern part of the country. The growing altitude ranges from 1400-2200 meters. The local terrain is diverse, with microclimates, fertile soil, and various soil types, creating unique coffee flavors. Sidamo coffee flavors are similar to Yirgacheffe, known for their floral and citrus notes.

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopian Sidamo Guji Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Sidamo

Altitude: 2250-2350m

Variety: Local Indigenous Varieties

Processing: Natural Processing

Flavor: Berries, Floral Tea, Honey, Lemon, Black Tea

This FrontStreet Coffee Guji coffee won first place in the natural coffee category of the African TOH coffee competition in 2017, hence its name "Guji" (meaning "champion"). It also comes from Sidamo, but not all coffee beans from Sidamo can be casually called Guji. This champion bean specifically refers to coffee beans produced by the Buku processing station in the Guji zone of Sidamo in 2017. Therefore, only coffee beans produced by the Buku processing station can be called Guji. Due to annual climate variations, coffee flavors may change to some extent, so it's quite normal for FrontStreet Coffee's Guji to have different flavors each year.

Yirgacheffe Growing Region

Yirgacheffe is subordinate to the Sidamo region but has been separated due to its unique flavor profile. In addition to the town of Yirgacheffe itself, it includes three sub-regions: Wenago, Kochere, Gelena, and Abaya.

The so-called Yirgacheffe flavor refers to intense jasmine fragrance, lemon aroma, peach and almond sweetness, and tea notes. Traditionally, Yirgacheffe used the most ancient natural processing method. However, in 1972, Ethiopia introduced Central and South American washed processing techniques to improve coffee quality, making the jasmine and citrus notes of Yirgacheffe clearer and brighter. FrontStreet Coffee believes the fundamental difference between washed and natural processing lies in that washed processing presents the most basic flavors of coffee, directly reflecting the special characteristics of the growing region, while natural processing adds sweetness and fermentation notes to these basic flavors.

It was precisely because of the introduction of washed processing that Yirgacheffe leapfrogged to become a representative of world specialty coffee. After the 1970s, this region primarily used washed processing, becoming Ethiopia's most popular washed bean growing region.

However, in the 21st century, coffee merchant Baghshi, missing the traditional natural bean flavor and unwilling to see natural processing gradually replaced by washed processing, improved the natural bean processing method to enhance flavor and reduce defect rates. Therefore, many natural Yirgacheffe coffees can now be found in the coffee market, such as FrontStreet Coffee's FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Natural coffee beans, which have the unique aroma and fermentation notes of natural processing. This has also given coffee enthusiasts more choices.

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopian Gotiti Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe

Altitude: 1900-2300m

Variety: Local Indigenous Varieties

Processing: Washed Processing

Flavor: Tropical Fruits, Cream, Honey, Berries, Citrus

Gotiti Cooperative is located in the Woka region at the southeastern end of Yirgacheffe. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, it was originally part of the Woka Cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU).

However, as people pursued more traceability in green coffee beans, individual "single-origin" regions were gradually discovered. Therefore, in 2012, Gotiti, with approximately 300 farmer members, independently established the "Gotiti Cooperative."

At the same time, Gotiti village was one of the first village areas to be independently separated. Many small farmers were originally members of the Woka Cooperative, so their coffee production skills are excellent.

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe

Altitude: 2300m

Variety: Local Indigenous Varieties

Processing: Natural Processing

Flavor: Berries, Lemon, Strawberry, Fermented Wine Notes

The so-called Red Cherry coffee beans actually refer to the Red Cherry Project, jointly initiated by Dutch trader Trabocca and local farmers, aiming to improve the quality of small-scale farms. Harvesting coffee fruits requires not only picking fully red, ripe fruits but also doing so entirely by hand. However, these are just the most basic requirements. There are also corresponding requirements for coffee bean processing methods.

The Red Cherry Project encourages coffee farmers to invest more effort in the sorting and selection process, making these coffees relatively expensive. Additionally, the unique term "Red Cherry Coffee" belongs exclusively to Ethiopia. However, Red Cherry coffees exported will have the English name of Trabocca company printed on their jute bags.

The above covers the content related to Ethiopia, the most famous producing country in the African region. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the coffee beans from the Latin American growing region.

Latin American Coffee Growing Region

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Latin American coffee flavors are primarily characterized by nutty and cocoa notes. This is also due to Latin America's climatic conditions. Latin America is the continent with the most humid and hot climate in the world. Low-altitude areas are heavily humid and hot, while higher altitude regions are relatively drier, making it still quite suitable for coffee cultivation.

The coffee history of Latin America originated in the eighteenth century. At that time, it was deeply influenced by Spanish colonial rule, which is why many Latin American countries still use Spanish today. However, due to the colonial relationship, even though coffee cultivation increased significantly in the colonized Latin American countries, there were substantial quality issues. It wasn't until the concept of specialty coffee emerged that Latin American coffee-producing countries began to focus on refined production.

In terms of flavor, as FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Latin American growing regions are fragmented. Coffee flavors presented in high-altitude and low-altitude areas also differ. Therefore, Latin American coffees are often known for their balance. Besides nutty and cocoa flavors, almost all coffee flavors can be found in Latin America. Additionally, being American countries with good processing practices, the coffee beans from this continent are more uniform in size and have lower defect rates.

For example, the Brazilian coffee beans at FrontStreet Coffee display pure American nutty and cocoa flavors, while Costa Rican coffees have a relatively mild and smooth character with rich nutty and sweet aromas. These are sufficient to prove the flavor diversity of Latin America, with relatively balanced flavor characteristics. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce these two famous Latin American coffee-growing regions.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Growing Region

The characteristic of Brazilian growing region coffee beans is low acidity, heavy nutty and chocolate notes, and excellent body. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests that coffee enthusiasts who enjoy full-bodied, nutty, and cocoa-flavored coffee might choose Brazilian coffee beans—they will definitely not disappoint.

Brazil is currently the world's number one coffee-producing country and also the world's second-largest coffee consumer.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Growing History

Coffee was introduced to Brazil after the 18th century. In 1727, coffee was introduced to Belém, Brazil from Guyana, and has since taken root in Brazil, mainly distributed in the southeastern coastal regions of Brazil, namely the states of São Paulo, Paraná, Espírito Santo, and Minas Gerais.

From the late 18th century to the 1920s was the golden age of Brazilian coffee production. At one point, Brazil's coffee production accounted for 75% of the world's total production. For a long period, coffee exports accounted for 2/3 of Brazil's total export income, making Brazil the undisputed "Coffee Kingdom." However, the economic crisis that erupted in 1929 sharply reduced world coffee consumption, delivering a heavy blow to Brazil's coffee economy.

Since then, the proportion of coffee production in Brazil's export income has declined sharply. In the past 30 years, with the rise and development of modern Brazilian industry, particularly steel, shipbuilding, automobile, and aircraft manufacturing, the status of coffee in the national economy has declined year by year. However, it remains one of Brazil's economic pillars, and Brazil is still the world's largest coffee producer and exporter.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Growing Conditions

Compared to other Latin American countries, Brazil has lower altitudes and lacks microclimates. Additionally, there's a习惯 of planting coffee trees without shade trees. This has resulted in Brazilian coffee having a somewhat plain flavor without remarkable characteristics. For this reason, Brazil is very committed to improving coffee bean quality, continuously improving Arabica coffee varieties and investing considerable effort in processing method research.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Processing Methods

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, the most commonly used processing methods in Brazil currently include natural processing, pulped natural processing, semi-washed processing, and washed processing. Among these, washed processing started relatively late in Brazil and has not yet gained high market acceptance.

Natural Processing: Select ripe coffee fruits and place them directly in the sun to dry. The coffee fruits need to be turned occasionally to ensure even heating and drying until they reach 12% moisture content, then remove the fruit skin and pulp.

Pulped Natural Processing: After selecting suitable coffee fruits, remove the fruit skin, pulp, and some mucilage, then dry with a small amount of mucilage until reaching 12% moisture content.

Semi-washed Processing: The difference from pulped natural processing is that the mucilage is completely removed before drying until reaching 12% moisture content.

Washed Processing: Similarly, select suitable coffee fruits, remove the fruit skin and pulp, and use water soaking and fermentation to remove mucilage. This process can create acidity in the coffee beans, which are then dried until reaching 12% moisture content. Both pulped natural and semi-washed processing use mechanical methods to remove mucilage, which differs from the washed processing method.

Among these, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the coffee bean that best represents the flavor characteristics of the Brazilian growing region is FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate Coffee Beans

Country: Brazil

Region: Mogiana

Altitude: 1400-1950m

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Processing: Pulped Natural

Flavor: Nuts, Creamy Peanuts, Fermented Fruit Notes, Sugarcane

This FrontStreet Coffee coffee comes from Queen Estate in the Mogiana region of Brazil. The estate covers 280 acres and is located in Vale da Grama, an ancient volcanic valley in Brazil.

In 2011, the estate won the championship in Brazil's Cup of Excellence (COE) competition. Queen Estate is owned by the renowned and respected coffee family Carvalho Dias family. The four major estates under Carvalho Dias have won awards every year since the first Brazil COE competition in 1999, with more than 12 awards in 7 years. In 2004, they even swept the championship, 9th place, 11th place, and others, which is sufficient proof of the estate's outstanding quality and also helped restore the reputation of Brazilian coffee.

The estate is a member of a medium-sized farm organization in the local Grama Valley, primarily exporting Bourbon variety specialty coffee. Environmental protection is thorough, and due to the higher altitude and non-plain terrain, machines cannot be used for harvesting—all fruits are picked entirely by hand. They also cultivate low-yield, high-quality Bourbon varieties as the essence of Brazilian premium coffee. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that this estate's coffee best represents Brazil's premium coffee.

Costa Rican Coffee Growing Region

Costa Rica was the first country in Latin America to introduce coffee cultivation, so its organization and sales systems are well-developed. Additionally, Costa Rica is located in the Central American isthmus with good drainage, rich volcanic soil, mild and suitable climate, and stable precipitation. Therefore, coffee produced in Costa Rica has a very pure flavor and pleasant aroma, with good balance in both acidity and body. Coffee enthusiasts who come to FrontStreet Coffee to taste Costa Rican coffee also express their appreciation.

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Varieties

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Costa Rica is very suitable for Arabica coffee cultivation, so there are quite a few coffee varieties grown in Costa Rica, including Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, Villalobos, and others.

However, the more common variety is Caturra. For example, the FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Canet Estate Musician Series coffee beans at FrontStreet Coffee are almost all produced using Caturra variety beans.

Caturra is a single-gene variant of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. It has better productivity and disease resistance than Bourbon, and the trees are shorter, making harvesting convenient. Unfortunately, like Bourbon, it has the problem of biennial production cycles.

Caturra's flavor is comparable to or slightly inferior to Bourbon beans, but more importantly, it has extremely strong adaptability and doesn't require shade trees—it can thrive even when directly exposed to strong sunlight, commonly known as "sun coffee." It can adapt to high-density cultivation but requires more fertilization, increasing costs, so initial acceptance by coffee farmers was not high. It is suitable for cultivation from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters. It has strong altitude adaptability, but the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, though productivity decreases accordingly.

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Coffee enthusiasts who frequently visit FrontStreet Coffee know that Costa Rican coffee beans are predominantly honey-processed. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, this is because most Costa Rican coffee is grown in mountainous areas where harvesting vehicles have difficulty accessing. If coffee is not harvested for a long time, it causes waste, and bean buyers cannot provide coffee farmers with proper compensation. Therefore, local coffee farmers developed honey processing to solve this problem.

The flavor of honey-processed coffee is as sweet as its name suggests. The difference from washed processing is that it retains the sugary mucilage layer on the coffee beans. Therefore, honey-processed coffee beans have a sweeter flavor than washed-processed coffee beans.

Honey Processing: This processing method removes the fruit skin and pulp of the coffee fruit while retaining the mucilage outside the coffee bean, then places the mucilage-covered coffee beans outdoors for sun-drying. Since the mucilage part is relatively sticky and has high sugar content, during the processing process, the mucilage wraps around the green coffee beans like honey. Because the pulp juice contains high sweetness and unique enzymes, the processed parchment coffee beans contain richer flavors and more complex positive characteristics, with higher sweetness. Therefore, people vividly refer to this coffee mucilage as "honey," and the entire processing process is called "honey processing."

Tarrazú Coffee Growing Region

Next, FrontStreet Coffee must mention Costa Rica's most famous growing region, Tarrazú. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Tarrazú Daily Coffee and FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Canet Estate Musician Series coffee beans all come from this region.

Tarrazú is located in the southern part of the capital San José, at an altitude of 1200-1700 meters, with fertile soil and good drainage. The coffee harvest season is from December to March of the following year. The main characteristic of its coffee beans is the unparalleled perfect mouthfeel created by the high-altitude growing region. The taste is smooth, with hard and full beans and rich aroma.

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Tarrazú Coffee Beans

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Tarrazú

Altitude: 1950m

Variety: Caturra

Processing: Washed

Flavor: Sweet Orange, Nuts, Honey

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Beethoven Coffee Beans

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Tarrazú

Altitude: 1800-1950m

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Processing: Washed Processing

Flavor: Citrus, Berries, Floral Notes, Light Fermented Wine Notes

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Tarrazú is extremely prestigious in the specialty coffee world and is one of the world's major coffee-producing regions. In the 2014 Cup of Excellence competition, 17 out of 23 award-winning coffees came from the Tarrazú region. Tarrazú is located in the fertile volcanic region of Central America, with a humid climate and fertile volcanic rock soil, abundant annual rainfall, high altitude, and dense forests providing natural shade, creating excellent growing conditions for coffee cultivation. No pesticides or artificial fertilizers are used during the growing process. Nearly 95% of coffee beans produced in the high mountains of Tarrazú belong to Strictly Hard Bean (SHB), generally grown at altitudes above 1500 meters.

Asian Coffee Growing Region

The flavor characteristic of Asian coffee is herbal and spicy notes within a full body, making it particularly suitable as a base for espresso. Among the more famous growing regions in Asian coffee is undoubtedly Indonesia. Coffee enthusiasts at FrontStreet Coffee should be familiar with Indonesian Mandheling, so FrontStreet Coffee will now introduce the Indonesian coffee-growing region.

Indonesian Coffee Bean Growing Region

Indonesia is located in southeastern Asia and has a typical tropical rainforest climate, with average annual temperatures of 25-27°C, no distinct seasons, and annual precipitation of 1600-2200mm. Indonesia is situated in a volcanic belt with fertile soil rich in minerals, which is beneficial for coffee bean cultivation and growth. Indonesia's altitude ranges from 900-2100 meters, with main coffee bean growing areas concentrated around 1200 meters. Therefore, it is also a region very suitable for coffee cultivation.

Indonesian Coffee Bean Varieties

There are three main categories: Arabica coffee beans, Robusta coffee beans, and Liberica coffee beans. Among these, there are more than 20 main varieties, with common ones being Caturra, Catimor, Timor, Typica, S288, S795, Sidikalong, and others.

However, according to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Indonesia's total Arabica production accounts for only about 10%. This is because in 1877, leaf rust swept through Indonesia, infecting almost all coffee trees. Arabica coffee beans were almost completely wiped out, resulting in heavy losses. Later, Indonesia introduced Robusta coffee beans from Africa. Robusta coffee beans have strong disease resistance, compensating for the economic losses caused by Arabica's weak disease resistance.

Now Indonesia is the world's most important producer of Robusta coffee beans. Robusta coffee beans are concentrated in southern Sumatra, Indonesia, while Arabica coffee beans are in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Although Arabica coffee beans only account for about 10% of Indonesia's total coffee bean production, this is sufficient to attract worldwide attention and appreciation, including the well-known Mandheling coffee among coffee enthusiasts.

Indonesian Coffee Bean Processing Methods

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Indonesian Mandheling coffee flavors mostly present herbal and spicy notes. This actually relates to Indonesia's local wet-hulling processing method. This processing method emerged because Indonesia's climate is very humid, making natural processing difficult to implement. Additionally, Indonesia's water resources are very limited, which led to the development of wet-hulling processing. This processing method also brought unique flavors to Indonesian Mandheling coffee, widely loved by coffee enthusiasts. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will explain how wet-hulling processing is performed.

The specific steps of wet-hulling can be divided into the following two stages:

First stage: Use a wooden peeler to remove the fruit skin and pulp. After 3 hours of fermentation, dry until the moisture content reaches a semi-dry, semi-wet state of 30-50%.

Second stage: Remove the mucilage and parchment layer, then continue with the final drying process. The drying process takes 2-4 days until the moisture content reaches 12-13%.

In addition to regular wet-hulling, there is also aged wet-hulling. Coffee beans first undergo regular wet-hulling processing, then are sealed in warehouses for 2-3 years. The warehouse environment must be cool and ventilated, with regular turning of the beans to prevent mold and decay. During this period, the acidity of the coffee beans gradually weakens and converts to sugar content, and the color becomes deeper, mostly yellowish-brown or dark brown. The Mandheling coffee beans using this processing method on FrontStreet Coffee's menu are called FrontStreet Coffee Aged Mandheling coffee beans.

Indonesian Coffee Bean Main Growing Regions

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Indonesia's main coffee-producing areas include Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi islands, with Sumatra's "Mandheling" being the most famous. Mandheling is also known as "Sumatran coffee." Most of the coffee produced in North Sumatra is Gayo, primarily of the Ateng (Catimor) variety. Lake Tawar in the northern part can be called Aceh coffee or Lake Tawar coffee. The Lindu and Lake Toba areas in South Sumatra can be called Mandheling. The Lindu area is the actual Mandheling growing region. Mandheling is produced in the mountainous areas surrounding Lake Toba. This lake is located north of Medan, the capital of Sumatra Island, and is a high-altitude freshwater lake with an average height of about 900 meters above sea level.

FrontStreet Coffee Aged Mandheling Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia

Region: Sumatra

Altitude: 1500m

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Processing: Wet-Hulling

Flavor: Ripe Pu-erh Tea, Caramel, Herbal Notes, Chocolate, Low Acidity

FrontStreet Coffee Lindu Mandheling Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia

Region: Sumatra (Lindu)

Altitude: 1100-1600m

Variety: Typica, Caturra

Processing: Wet-Hulling

Flavor: Toasted Bread, Nuts, Caramel, Pine, Herbal Notes

The above is FrontStreet Coffee's organized content regarding the flavor characteristics of coffee beans from the three major coffee-growing regions worldwide. We hope this helps coffee enthusiasts better understand coffee-related knowledge to choose coffee beans that suit their taste preferences.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat account of FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

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