Coffee Attributes
Coffees are Alike, Coffees are Different
Simply put, all coffees from their specific country or territory of origin possess unique coffee characteristics that make them special and different from one another. Many also share certain qualities, which make them alike, much like people, chocolate, and wine.
When coffees are cupped, these are the attributes measured:
- Fragrance/Aroma
- Flavor, Aftertaste, Acidity, Body, and Balance
- Sweetness, Uniformity, and Cleanliness
Coffees may share bright, fruited, spicy, floral sweetly acidic qualities for a very bold sweet crisp cup. Others may exhibit more mild, low acid, earthy, balanced qualities with notes of brown sugar, caramel, nuts, or chocolate for a more mellow, well-rounded, smooth cup. They are all alike, and they are all different! The coffee origins play a significant role in these distinctions, along with the degree of roast. Lighter roasts will have more bright, floral, citric qualities, while those same coffees roasted to a darker degree will caramelize sugars to reveal more caramel, bittersweet chocolate, and stone fruit notes.
The Specialty Coffee Industry has identified specific cup characteristics that are standard and consistent for many coffees cultivated per country of origin. These coffee characteristics vary depending on the coffee varietal, origin, processing method, and degree of roast.
Not all coffees share these cup characteristics, and they can change with the degree of roast.
Here are some of the most popular coffee origins and their unique profiles:
- **Bolivia:** Known for its clean, bright, and aromatic cup with subtle fruit notes like apple, pear, and tangerine, along with malty, chocolatey, and nutty flavors, often described as having a crisp kick and a creamy body.
- **Brazil:** Low acid, soft, creamy, with nut and chocolate roast notes— a crowd-pleasing cup.
- **Burundi:** Recognized for its sweet flavor with bright acidity, often featuring citrus, berries, and floral undertones. Typically, it has a rich body and a clean, vibrant profile due to unique processing methods.
- **Columbia:** Silky clean, crisp, with spicy, creamy notes, including cane sugar sweetness, floral, fruit, milk chocolate, and vanilla.
- **Costa Rica:** Low acid, mild, clean, with vanilla, nut, and chocolate notes— a classic cup.
- **El Salvador:** Low acid, clean, with citrus, caramel, berry, and chocolate notes.
- **Ethiopia:** Bold, creamy, bright, featuring stone fruit and spicy citrus notes.
- **Guatemalan:** Full-bodied, creamy, with bittersweet cocoa, caramel, milk chocolate, nut, and toffee notes.
- **Hawaii:** Mild, fruited, with a syrupy body, milk chocolate, honey, and brown sugar richness.
- **Indonesia:** Low acid, bold, rustic, complex, with a syrupy body and heavy earthy, spicy, stone fruit, and dark chocolate notes.
- **Honduran:** Low acid, mild and smooth, with cocoa notes.
- **Jamaica:** Smooth, mild, with bright floral, herbal, and nutty notes.
- **Kenya:** Rich, deep, complex wine-like acidity with bright fruited citrus or berry notes.
- **Mexico:** Light/medium body, mild acidity, with spicy, stone fruit, and milk chocolate almond notes.
- **Nicaragua:** Mild acidity, smooth body, balanced sweetness, with vanilla and nut notes.
- **Rwandan:** Known for bright acidity and complex flavors, often featuring floral and citrus notes, with a clean, tea-like body. Prized for sweet, caramel-like aroma and hints of berries, lemon, and orange.
- **Tanzania:** Rich, candy sweetness with bright winey acidity, full body, creamy, berry, stone fruit, and chocolaty notes.
- **Yemen:** Rich, rustic, complex, earthy, with fruited, winey, chocolaty, and spicy notes.
- **Zambia:** Particularly from the Northern Province, Zambian coffee is known for its balanced flavor profile, moderate complexity, and smooth, full-bodied taste, with notes of chocolate and cherry.
A list of the most well known Specialty Coffee producing Countries or Territories
Bolivia
Brazil
Burundi
Colombia
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Ecuador
Ethiopia
Guatemala
Guinea
Hawaii
Honduran
India
Indonesia
Jamaica
Kenya
Mexico
Nicaragua
Papa New Guinia
Peru
Puerto Rico
Rwanda
Tanzania
Timor
Uganda
Yemen
Zambia
Coffee Attributes
