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1994Stoeger · 09-09-2014, 04:39 PM

Regardless of the machine used to make it, the end product is only as good as the raw starting materials. In many respects, the country of origin (e.g., "Colombian grown") doesn't mean nearly as much as the species of plant from which the beans were obtained; location of growth is important, but it definitely is not the overriding factor (contrary to all of the Juan Valdez advertising). The following Wikipedia link is a nice general overview of the scientific/botanical classification of the two major types of coffee beans consumed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee

More specifically, the two general species of beans are Arabica and Robusta (respectively):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea_arabica

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea_canephora

In the coffee world, Arabica is the expensive/preferred bean whereas Robusta is the abundant, cheap stuff. Most mass-market coffees in the US are almost entirely made of the cheap, acidic robusta with just enough Arabica blended-in to make it tolerable. When shopping for coffees, it is advisable to purchase 100% Arabica bean products without flavorings (e.g., vanilla, cinnamon, etc.); flavorings are used to mask bad/off-tasting flavors in the coffee batch. After that is the roasting process - roasting burns the bean and the darker the roast the harsher flavor.

Some brands which sell 100% Arabica coffees in the US are Lavazza, Illy, and many of the Trader Joe's house brands/blends.

The way the professional coffee tasters for major coffee buying companies "taste" coffee is by brewing it fresh in small batches and slurping (not swallowing) a spoonful at a time then spitting it out. These are the people who are responsible for accepting or rejecting entire crops or freighter ships full of product, so they probably know what they are doing.

A good rule of thumb is if you don't like the taste of your coffee brand brewed straight, unsweetened, and unflavored, maybe you shouldn't be drinking it. Try a freshly-brewed coffee straight and it shouldn't be offensive to the palette - if you can tolerate it or actually like it straight, odds are you will like it even better sweetened, flavored, and creamed to your taste.

Last bit of unfortunate news for the aficionados out there, almost none of the major coffee purveyors out in the market actually use "good" coffee (e.g., majority Arabica) in their beverages. That is why they feel the need to add strong flavor agents like cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, etc.

Cheers.

References: In addition the to the Wikipedia links provided, much of the above is a synopsis of conversations had with a relative who retired as a professional coffee taster for a major corporation.

09-09-2014, 04:39 PM	#5
1994Stoeger User Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 62 Thanks: 0 Thanked 12 Times in 7 Posts	Regardless of the machine used to make it, the end product is only as good as the raw starting materials. In many respects, the country of origin (e.g., "Colombian grown") doesn't mean nearly as much as the species of plant from which the beans were obtained; location of growth is important, but it definitely is not the overriding factor (contrary to all of the Juan Valdez advertising). The following Wikipedia link is a nice general overview of the scientific/botanical classification of the two major types of coffee beans consumed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee More specifically, the two general species of beans are Arabica and Robusta (respectively): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea_arabica http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea_canephora In the coffee world, Arabica is the expensive/preferred bean whereas Robusta is the abundant, cheap stuff. Most mass-market coffees in the US are almost entirely made of the cheap, acidic robusta with just enough Arabica blended-in to make it tolerable. When shopping for coffees, it is advisable to purchase 100% Arabica bean products without flavorings (e.g., vanilla, cinnamon, etc.); flavorings are used to mask bad/off-tasting flavors in the coffee batch. After that is the roasting process - roasting burns the bean and the darker the roast the harsher flavor. Some brands which sell 100% Arabica coffees in the US are Lavazza, Illy, and many of the Trader Joe's house brands/blends. The way the professional coffee tasters for major coffee buying companies "taste" coffee is by brewing it fresh in small batches and slurping (not swallowing) a spoonful at a time then spitting it out. These are the people who are responsible for accepting or rejecting entire crops or freighter ships full of product, so they probably know what they are doing. A good rule of thumb is if you don't like the taste of your coffee brand brewed straight, unsweetened, and unflavored, maybe you shouldn't be drinking it. Try a freshly-brewed coffee straight and it shouldn't be offensive to the palette - if you can tolerate it or actually like it straight, odds are you will like it even better sweetened, flavored, and creamed to your taste. Last bit of unfortunate news for the aficionados out there, almost none of the major coffee purveyors out in the market actually use "good" coffee (e.g., majority Arabica) in their beverages. That is why they feel the need to add strong flavor agents like cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, etc. Cheers. References: In addition the to the Wikipedia links provided, much of the above is a synopsis of conversations had with a relative who retired as a professional coffee taster for a major corporation.