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A: Capitalized letters are grade indicators usually describing the size of the bean. Largest size grade in India, a grade of coffee, generally a size grade of Arabica coffee beans along with A, B, & C. AA: Largest size grade in Kenya, Tanzania, and New Guinea, a grade of coffee, generally a size grade of Arabica coffee beans along with A, B, & C. Acidity, Acidy, Acid: Usually, the pleasant tartness of a fine coffee. Acidity, along with flavor, aroma, and body, is one of the principal categories used by professional tasters in cupping, or sensory evaluation of coffee. When not used to describe cup characteristics, the term acidity may refer to pH, or literal acidity, or to certain constituents present in coffee that ostensibly produce indigestion or nervousness in some individuals. After-Dinner Roast, Espresso Roast, Continental Roast, and European Roast: Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast ranging from somewhat darker than the traditional American norm to dark brown. Acidity diminishes and a rich bitter-sweetness emerges. Among many newer American specialty roasters, roast styles once called by these names may in fact constitute the typical, "regular" roast of coffee. Acrid: A secondary coffee taste sensation characterized by a predominantly piercing sour sensation on the posterior sides of the tongue. Caused by higher-than-normal percentage of sour acids and a high concentration of salts. Typified by an unwashed Rio coffee from Brazil. Aftertaste: The sensation of brewed coffee vapors, ranging from carbony to chocolaty to spicy to turpeny. Released from the residue remaining in the mouth after swallowing. Aged A taste taint that gives coffee beans a less acidy taste and greater body. The result of enzyme activity in the green coffee beans creating a chemical change during the aging process after harvesting. Afloat: The coffee is in route via ship. Aged Coffee, Vintage Coffee: Traditionally, coffee held in warehouses for several years, sometimes deliberately, sometimes inadvertently. Such aging reduces acidity and increases body. Aged coffee has been held longer than either old crop coffee or mature coffee. Recently, some Indonesia coffee has been subject to a sort of accelerated aging involving deliberate exposure to moist air, much like India's monsooned coffee. Alajuela: Market name for one of the better coffees of Costa Rica. Alkaline: A supplemental coffee taste sensation characterized by a dry sensation at the back of the tongue. Caused by the presence of alkaloid compounds. Altura: "Heights" in Spanish; describes Mexico coffee that has been high- or mountain-grown. American Roast: Coffee roasted to traditional American taste: medium brown. Americano, Caffe Americano: An espresso lengthened with hot water. Ankola: Seldom-used market name for Arabica coffee from northern Sumatra. Antigua: Market name for one of the most distinguished coffees of Guatemala, from the valley surrounding the old capital of Guatemala Antigua. Aquapulp: Terms for a procedure in which the sticky fruit pulp, or mucilage, is removed from freshly picked coffee beans by scrubbing in machines. Mechanical demucilaging is gradually replacing the traditional wet processing procedure of removing mucilage by fermentation and washing. Arabian Mocha: Single-origin coffee from the southwestern tip of the Arabian peninsula, bordering the Red Sea, in the mountainous regions of present-day Yemen. The world's oldest cultivated coffee, distinguished by its full body and distinctively rich, winy acidity. Arabica, Coffea Arabica: The earliest cultivated species of coffee tree and still the most widely grown. It produces approximately 70% of the world's coffee, and is dramatically superior in cup quality to the other principal commercial coffee species, Coffea canephora or Robusta . All fine, specialty, and fancy coffees come from Coffea Arabica trees. Aroma: The fragrance produced by hot, freshly brewed coffee. Aroma, along with flavor, acidity, and body, is one of the principal categories used by professional tasters in cupping, or sensory evaluation of coffee. Aromatic: Designates a coffee that fully manifests the aroma characteristic of its nature and origin. Astringent: A secondary coffee taste sensation characterized by a predominantly searing, salty sensation on the anterior sides of the tongue. Caused by acids increasing the saltiness. Typified by an unwashed Indonesian robusta coffee. Acids can cause astringency. In regard to coffee, astringency is identified with undesirable acidity. Arusha: Market name for coffee from the slopes of Mt. Meru in Tanzania. Automatic Filter-Drip Coffee Makers: Coffee brewers that automatically heat and measure water into a filter and filter receptacle containing the ground coffee. Bag: (Coffee bag) A burlap sack of coffee. In various countries it is a different weight. For example, in Brazil a bag is 132 pounds, while Colombia is 154 pounds. In Hawaii the bag weight is 100 pounds and In Angola it's 176 pounds. Bale: Another term for bag. Standard is about 176 pounds but changes depending on who is using the term and where it's coming from. Baggy: An off-taste often observed in cups from weakly roasted coffees that have been stored for a long time in unsuitable conditions. Baked: A taste and odor taint that gives the coffee brew a flat bouquet and insipid taste. The result of the roasting process proceeding with too little heat over too long a period. Generally unpleasant characteristic of having an over-baked taste in an over-heated coffee. Ranks in the following order of intensity: cooked, baked or burnt. Balance, Balanced: Tasting term applied to coffees for which no single characteristic overwhelms others, but that display sufficient complexity to be interesting. Bani: Market name for a good, low-acid coffee of the Dominican Republic. Barahona: Market name for coffee from the southwest of the Dominican Republic. Barahona is considered by many to be the best coffee of the Dominican Republic. Barista: Italian term for skillful and experienced espresso bar operator. Batch Roaster: Apparatus that roasts a given quantity (a batch) of coffee at a time. Beany: Specific aroma of an insufficiently roasted coffee that has not been able to develop its full aroma. Bird Friendly: Term associated with Shade-Grown coffee. Describes coffee grown under a shade canopy. Arabica coffee is traditionally grown in shade in many (but not all) parts of Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, and in some other parts of the world, including India and some regions of Indonesia and Africa. Elsewhere Arabica coffee is traditionally grown in full sun, or near full sun. The importance of maintaining shade canopies to supply habitat for migrating song birds in Central America has led to a controversial campaign by researchers at the Smithsonian Institute and their supporters to define "shade grown" in rather narrow terms (shade provided by mixed native trees) and label coffees grown under such a native canopy as "bird friendly." Farmers who traditionally have not grown coffee in shade but maintain extensive forest reserves on their land understandably object to the concept, as do those who use non-native trees to shade their coffee. On the other hand, shade grown coffees most definitely are much easier on the environment than sun grown coffees, and the better tasting traditional varieties of Arabica, bourbon and typica, are, in Central America at least, best grown in shade. Bitter: A basic taste characterized by solution of quinine, caffeine, and certain other alkaloids. Perceived primarily at the back of the tongue. Generally normal characteristics of coffees connected with their chemical constitution, influenced by degree of roasting and the method of preparing the brew. Canephora are more bitter than Arabica coffees. A desirable characteristic at a certain level. Black Beans: Dead coffee beans that have dropped from the trees before harvesting. Used as the basic unit for counting imperfections in grading coffee on the New York Coffee Exchange. Has a detrimental effect on coffee taste. Blade Grinder: Small coffee grinder using a propeller-like blade to grind coffee. Bland: Lacking coffee flavor and characteristics. A primary coffee taste sensation created as the sugars in the coffee combine with the salts to reduce the overall saltiness of the coffee. Found most often in washed Arabica coffees grown at elevations below 2,000 feet, such as a Guatemalan. Bland coffees range from soft to neutral. Blend: A mixture of two or more single-origin coffees. Body: The sensation of heaviness, richness, or thickness and associated texture when one tastes coffee. Body, along with flavor, acidity, and aroma, is one of the principal categories used by professional tasters cupping, or sensory evaluation of coffee. Bouquet: The total aromatic profile created by the sensations of gases and vapors on the olfactory membranes as a result of the volatile organic compounds present in the fragrance, aroma, nose, and aftertaste of coffee. Bourbon Santos: Also known as Santos. A market name for a category of high-quality coffee from Brazil, usually shipped through the port of Santos, and usually grown in the state of São Paulo or the southern part of Minas Gerais State. The term Bourbon Santos is sometimes used to refer to any high-quality Santos coffee, but it properly describes Santos coffee from the Bourbon variety of Arabica, which tends to produce a fruitier, more acidy cup than other varieties grown in Brazil. Brackish: A taste fault giving the coffee brew a salty and alkaline sensation. The result of salts and alkaline inorganic material left after evaporation of water from the brew due to excessive heat after brewing. Brazil: One of the world's most complicated coffee origins. Most Brazil coffee is carelessly picked and primitively processed, and is not a factor in the specialty trade. The best (usually dry-processed Bourbon Santos) can be a wonderfully deep, complex, sweet coffee particularly appropriate for espresso. Almost all Brazil coffee is relatively low-grown, but the variety of processing methods (wet method, dry method, and semi-dry or pulped natural method) makes Brazil a fascinating origin. Bready: Bready taste manifests in coffees that have not been roasted long enough or at a high enough temperature to bring out the flavor oils. Brew: Specific taste of a good home brew prepared properly. Bright: Tangy acidity is often described as bright. Briny: Applies to a coffee that has been over-roasted. Brisures: Broken and separated by screening. Brown Roast: Also known as American Roast. Coffee roasted to traditional American taste: medium brown. Bugishu, Bugisu: Market name for Arabica coffee from the slopes of Mt. Elgon in Uganda. Considered the best Uganda coffee. Burr Grinder, Burr Mill: Coffee grinder with two shredding discs or burrs that can be adjusted for maximum effectiveness. Buttery: A relatively high level of oily material suspended in the coffee beverage. The result of substantial amounts of fat present in the beans. Most often a characteristic of high coffee-to-water ratio brews. Cafe au Lait: Coffee drink combining one-third drip coffee with two-thirds hot frothed milk. Caffe Americano: An espresso lengthened with hot water. Caffe Latte: A serving of espresso combined with about three times as much hot milk topped with froth. Caffe Mocha: This can be prepared a variety of ways. Basically this is a chocolate cafe latte. Often prepared with whipped cream on top. Cafe Noir: Coffee served without cream or milk (cafe - French for Coffee, noir - French for black). Caffeine: An odorless, bitter alkaloid responsible for the stimulating effect of coffee and tea. Cappuccino: An espresso drink comprised of one serving of espresso topped with hot milk and froth. Canephora: The coffee species second in importance to "Coffea Arabica," "Coffea Robusta" is known by botanists as "Coffea Canephora." Caracas: A class of coffees from Venezuela, ranging from fair to excellent in quality. Caramelly: An aromatic sensation created by a moderately volatile set of sugar carbonyl compounds found in coffee's nose that produce sensations reminiscent of either candy or syrup. Caramelized: Corresponds to the taste acquired by roasted beans that have been dipped in sugar, dextrin syrup, or molasses before roasting. Also perceived in spray-dried instant coffees. Caracol: (See also Peaberry.) A small, round bean formed when only one seed, rather than the usual two, develops at the heart of the coffee fruit. Peaberry beans are often separated from normal beans and sold as a distinct grade of a given coffee. Typically, but not always, they produce a brighter, more acidy, but lighter-bodied cup than normal beans from the same crop. Carbony: An aromatic sensation created by a slightly volatile set of heterocyclic compounds found in coffee's aftertaste that produces either sensations similar to a creosol-like substance or a burnt substance. Caturra: A relatively recently selected botanical variety of the Coffea Arabica species that generally matures more quickly, produces more coffee, and is more disease resistant than older, traditional Arabica varieties. Many experts contend that the caturra and modern hybrid varieties of Coffea Arabica produce coffee that is inferior in cup quality and distinction to the coffee produced by the traditional "old Arabica" varieties like bourbon and typica. Caustic: A detrimental coffee taste sensation characterized by burning, sour sensation on the posterior sides of the tongue. Caused by alkaloids increasing the sourness of the acids in combination with a high percentage of salts. Chaff: Flakes of the innermost skin of the coffee fruit (the silverskin) that remain clinging to the green bean after processing and float free during roasting. Chemical: A definite chemical flavor (such as formaldehyde) not to be confused with Rio flavor. Chanchamayo: Market name for a respected coffee from south-central Peru. Cherry: (Coffee cherry) Common term for the fruit of the coffee tree. Each cherry contains two regular coffee beans, or one peaberry. Chiapas: Coffee-growing state in southern Mexico. The best Chiapas coffees are grown in the southeast corner of the state near the border with Guatemala, and may bear the market name Tapachula after the town of that name. At their best, Chiapas or Tapachula coffees display the brisk acidity, delicate flavor, and light to medium body of the better known Mexican coffees of Oaxaca and Vera Cruz States. Chicory: The root of the endive, roasted and ground, it is blended with coffee in New Orleans style coffee. Chipinga: Region in eastern Zimbabwe near the border with Mozambique that produces the most admired coffees of that country. Chocolaty: An aromatic sensation created by a moderately volatile set of pyrazine compounds found in coffee's aftertaste that produce sensations reminiscent of unsweetened chocolate of vanilla. Cibao: Market name for a good, generally low-acid coffee from the Dominican Republic. Cinnamon Roast: Also known as Light Roast and New England Roast. Coffee brought to a degree of roast of coffee lighter than the traditional American norm, and grain-like in taste, with a sharp, almost sour acidity. This roast style is not a factor in specialty coffee. City Roast: Also Light French Roast, Viennese Roast, Light Espresso Roast, High Roast, and Full-City Roast. Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast somewhat darker than the traditional American norm, but lighter than the classic dark roast variously called espresso, French, or Italian. In the cup, full-city and associated roast styles are less acidy and smoother than the traditional American "medium" roast, but may display fewer of the distinctive taste characteristics of the original coffee. Among many newer American specialty roasters, roast styles once called full-city, Viennese, etc. may constitute the typical, "regular" roast of coffee. Clean: Coffee cupping or tasting term describing a coffee sample that is free from flavor defects. Coatepec, Altura Coatepec: Market name for a respected washed coffee from the northern slopes of the central mountain range in Veracruz State, Mexico. Coban: Market name for a respected high-grown coffee from north-central Guatemala. Coffea Arabica: The earliest cultivated species of coffee tree and still the most widely grown. It produces approximately 70% of the world's coffee, and is dramatically superior in cup quality to the other principal commercial coffee species, Coffea canephora or Robusta. All fine, specialty, and fancy coffees come from Coffea arabica trees. Coffea Canephora: (Also see Robusta). Currently the only significant competitor among cultivated coffee species to Coffea arabica. Robusta produces about 30% of the world's coffee. It is a lower-growing, higher-bearing tree that produces full-bodied but bland coffee of inferior cup quality and higher caffeine content than Coffea arabica. It is used as a basis for blends of instant coffee, and for less expensive blends of pre-ground commercial coffee. It is not a factor in the specialty coffee trade except as a body-enhancing component in some Italian-style espresso blends. Coffee Fruit: The berry which contains the seed. Coffee Grade: One who grades coffee. Coffee Oil, Coffeol: The volatile coffee essence developed in the bean during roasting. Cold-Water Method: Brewing method in which ground coffee is soaked in a proportionally small amount of cold water for 10 to 20 hours. The grounds are strained out and the resulting concentrated coffee is stored and mixed with hot water as needed. The cold water method produces a low-acid, light-bodied cup that some find pleasingly delicate, and others find bland. Colombia: The standard Colombia coffee is a wet-processed coffee produced by small holders, and collected, milled and exported by the Colombian Coffee Federation. It is sold by grade (Supremo highest) rather than by market name or region. It can range from superb high-grown, classic, mildly fruity Latin-America coffee to rather ordinary, edge-of-fermented fruity coffee. Coffees from some estates and cooperatives and from privately operated mills are sold by region as well as by botanical variety (Bourbon is best). Narino State in southern Colombia is currently producing the most respected Colombia coffee. Mixed Medellin, Armenia, and Manizales Columbia coffees are often sold together as MAMs. Commercial Coffees: Packaged pre-ground (pre-brewed in the case of instant or soluble) coffees sold by brand name. Commissario: A name used to designate the commission merchant at coffee ports who bought from the planter, or sold the planter's coffee on the commission, stored it in a warehouse, and sold it to an exporter. Common: Coffee of ordinary and average quality. Complexity: A tasting term describing coffees whose taste sensations shift and layer pleasurably, and give the impression of depth and resonance. Continental Roast: Also known as Espresso Roast, After-Dinner Roast, and European Roast. Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast ranging from somewhat darker than the traditional American norm to dark brown. Acidity diminishes and a rich bittersweetness emerges. Among many newer American specialty roasters, roast styles once called by these names may in fact constitute the typical, "regular" roast of coffee. Continuous Roaster: Large commercial coffee roaster that roasts coffee continuously rather than in batches. Cooked: A typical taste of an instant coffee treated at too high a temperature. Costa Rica: The best Costa Rica coffees (San Marcos de Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Heredi, Alajuela) display a full body and clean, robust acidity that make them among the most admired of Central American coffees. Crema: The pale brown foam covering the surface of a well-brewed tazzina of espresso. Creamy: Moderately high level of oily material suspended in the coffee beverage. The result of pronounced amounts of fats present in the beans. Creosol: A supplemental coffee taste sensation characterized by a predominantly scratching sensation at the back of the tongue. Caused by the high percentage of phenolic compounds created by a dark roast. Cupping: Coffee tasting referred to as "cupping." Similar to tasting wine, which is referred to as "tasting." Cup Testing: Judging the merits of a coffee by roasting, grinding, and brewing some of it. The brew is sipped. Cucuta: Market name for a coffee grown in northeastern Colombia, but often shipped through Maracaibo, Venezuela. Dark French Roast: A roast of coffee almost black in color with a shiny surface, thin-bodied, and bittersweet in flavor, with an overlay of burned or charcoal-like tones. Dark Roast: Vague term; may describe any roast of coffee darker than the traditional American norm. Decaffeinated Coffee: Coffee which has had the caffeine removed or blocked in such a way that the caffeine will not leave the bean during brewing. Decaffeination Processes: Specialty coffees are decaffeinated in the green state, currently by one of four methods. The direct solvent method involves treating the beans with solvent, which selectively unites with the caffeine and is removed from the beans by steaming. The indirect solvent or solvent-water method involves soaking the green beans in hot water, removing the caffeine from the hot water by means of a solvent, and recombining the water with the beans, which are then dried. Both processes using solvents often are called European Process or Traditional Process. The water-only method, commonly known by the proprietary name Swiss Water Process, involves the same steps, but removes the caffeine from the water by allowing it to percolate through a bed of activated charcoal. In the carbon dioxide method, which is only beginning to be established in the specialty-coffee trade, the caffeine is stripped directly from the beans by a highly compressed semi-liquid form of carbon dioxide. Defects, Flavor Defects: Unpleasant flavor characteristics caused by problems during picking, processing (fruit removal), drying, sorting, storage, or transportation. Common defects include: excess numbers of immature or under-ripe fruit (unselective picking); inadvertent fermentation (careless processing); fermentation combined with invasion by micro-organisms, causing moldy, hard, or rioy defects (careless or moisture-interrupted drying); and contact with excessive moisture after drying, causing musty or baggy defects (careless storage and transportation). Degassing: A natural process in which recently roasted coffee releases carbon dioxide gas, temporarily protecting the coffee from the staling impact of oxygen. Delicate: A secondary coffee taste sensation characterized by fragile sweet-subtle sensation just past the tip of the tongue. Caused by the lowest possible combination of sugars and salts that still produce a sweet cast to the taste, a combination easily broken up by other taste sensations. Typified by a washed New Guinea arabica coffee. Demitasse: "Half cup" in French; a half-size or three-ounce cup used primarily for espresso coffee. Demucilage: Terms for a procedure in which the sticky fruit pulp, or mucilage, is removed from freshly picked coffee beans by scrubbing in machines. Mechanical demucilaging is gradually replacing the traditional wet processing procedure of removing mucilage by fermentation and washing. Depth: Depth describes the resonance or sensual power behind the sensations that drive the taste of the coffee. It is a tricky and subjective term, but it tries to get at the way certain coffees open up and support their sensations with a sort of ringing, echoing power, whereas others simply present themselves to the palate and then stand pat or even fade. Detrimental Coffee Taste Sensations: Common to natural coffees that are harsh due to bitter replacing sweet in the taste modulation. The result of sugars being ingested by the shrub as the cherries remain on the branches while drying. Range from medicinal to caustic. Djimah, Djimma, Jimma: A coffee from Ethiopia. Washed Djimah can be an excellent low-acid coffee. Dry-processed Djimah is a lesser coffee often exhibiting wild or medicinal taste characteristics and is not often traded as a speciality coffee. Dirty: Literally, a "dirty" flavor. Not earthy or musty. Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo: Coffee from the Dominican Republic. High-grown Dominican coffee is a fairly rich, acidy coffee with classic Caribbean characteristics. Lower grown Dominican coffees tend to be softer and less acidy. Doppio: A double espresso, or three to six ounces of straight espresso. Doser: A spring-loaded device on specialized espresso grinders that dispenses single servings of ground coffee. DP: Abbreviation for "double picked," meaning the coffee in question has been subjected to hand picking to remove imperfect beans, pebbles, and other foreign matter twice rather than once. Drip Method: Brewing method that allows hot water to settle through a bed of ground coffee. Dry-Processed Coffee, Dry Method Coffee, Natural Coffee: Coffee processed by removing the husk or fruit after the coffee fruit has been dried. When only ripe fruit is utilized and the drying is done carefully dry-processed coffee can be complex, fruity, and deeply-dimensioned. When the picking and drying are performed carelessly, as is the case with cheaper dry-processed coffees, the result is off-tasting, harsh coffee. The best and most celebrated dry-processed coffees are Yemen coffees, the Harrar coffees of Ethiopia, and the finest traditional Brazil coffees. Dry Fermenting: When washed, coffee is fermented without water. Dull: A coffee is dull if it gives an impression of roundness but at the same time lacks character. Dull comes close to the meaning of flat. Earthy, Earthiness: Either a taste defect or a desirable exotic taste characteristic depending on who is doing the tasting and how intense the earthy taste in question is. Apparently earthiness is caused by literal contact of wet coffee with earth during drying. Indonesia coffees from Sumatra, Sulawesi and Timor are particularly prone to display earthy tones. Ecuador: At best, Ecuador coffees are medium-bodied and fairly acidy, with a straightforward flavor typical of Central and South American coffees. El Salvador: El Salvador coffees tend toward softer, less acidy versions of the classic Central America flavor profile. The best high-grown El Salvadors from trees of the bourbon and pacamara varieties can be fragrant, complex, lively, and pleasingly gentle. En Oro: Term for washed coffee when the parchment and silver skin have been removed. Clean coffee. En Pergamino, In Parchment: Parchment Coffee. Describes wet-processed coffee shipped with the dried parchment skin still adhering to the bean. The parchment is removed prior to roasting, a step called milling. Espresso: Used to describe both a roast of coffee (see Espresso Roast) and a method of brewing in which hot water is forced under pressure through a compressed bed of finely ground coffee. In the largest sense, an entire approach to coffee cuisine, involving a traditional menu of drinks, many combining brewed espresso coffee with steam-heated, steam-frothed milk. Espresso Breve: Espresso with half and half. Espresso Lungo: A shot that is pulled long for a bit of extra espresso. While many believe this maximizes the caffeine, in most shops this merely produces a bitter cup. Espresso Macchiato: Espresso with a minimal amount (or "mark") of steamed milk on top. Espresso Ristretto: Meaning "restricted" espresso. A shorter draw. The goal being a thicker and more flavorful espresso. Espresso Roast, After-Dinner Roast, Continental Roast, European Roast: Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast ranging from somewhat darker than the traditional American norm to dark brown. Acidity diminishes and a rich bitter-sweetness emerges. Among many newer American specialty roasters, roast styles once called by these names may in fact constitute the typical, "regular" roast of coffee. Estate-Grown Coffee: Coffee produced by a single farm, single mill, or single group of farms, and marketed without mixture with other coffees. Many specialty coffees are now identified by estate name, rather than the less specific regional or market name. Ethiopia: Ethiopia is a very complex coffee origin. The best Ethiopia dry-processed coffee (Harrar or Harar) tends to be medium-bodied and brilliantly acidy with rough, fruity or winy tones. The best washed Ethiopian coffee (Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, some Limu, and some washed Djimah) is light-bodied but explosive with complex floral and citrus notes. European Preparation: Used to describe coffee from which imperfect beans, pebbles, and other foreign matter have been removed by hand. European Roast, Espresso Roast, After-Dinner Roast, Continental Roast: Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast ranging from somewhat darker than the traditional American norm to dark brown. Acidity diminishes and a rich bitter-sweetness emerges. Among many newer American specialty roasters, roast styles once called by these names may in fact constitute the typical, "regular" roast of coffee. Excelso: A comprehensive grade of Colombia coffee, combining the best, or supremo, and the second-best, or extra, grades. Exotic: Unusual aromatic and flavor notes, such as berry or floral. Extra: Second-best grade of Colombia coffee. Fair Traded Coffee: Coffee that has been purchased from farmers (usually peasant farmers) at a "fair" price as defined by international agencies. The extra paid these farmers under fair trade arrangements is extremely modest, by the way. Fazenda, Finca: A coffee plantation. Fazendero, Finquero: A proprietor of a fazenda or plantation. Fermentation: An important but confusing coffee term with two main meanings. 1) As a positive component of the wet method of coffee processing, fermentation is a stage in which the sticky pulp is loosened from the skinned coffee seeds or beans by natural enzymes while the beans rest in tanks. If water is added to the tanks the process is called wet fermentation; if no water is added it is called dry fermentation. 2) In sensory evaluation, or cupping, of coffee, fermentation is an important descriptor for a range of related taste defects set off when the sugars in the coffee fruit begin to ferment. Sensations described as ferment can range from sweet, composty, rotten-fruit tastes to harsh, moldy, musty, or medicinal tastes. Filter Holder, Portafilter: In espresso brewing, a metal object with plastic handle that holds the coffee filter, and clamps onto the group. Filter Method, Filter-Drip Method: Technically, any brewing method in which water filters through a bed of ground coffee. In popular usage, describes drip method brewers utilizing a paper filter to separate grounds from brewed coffee. Finish: The sensory experience of coffee just as it is swallowed (or, in the professional cupping procedure, just before it is spit out). Some coffees transform from first impression on the palate to finish; others stand pat. Flat: An odor taint in the coffee bean or brew meaning that limited range of gases and vapors is present in almost imperceptible strength. Due to aromatic compounds leaving the beans as part of the staling process after roasting or the holding process after brewing. Flavor: (As related to coffee.) In cupping, or sensory evaluation of coffee, what distinguishes the sensory experience of coffee once its acidity, body, and aroma have been described. Flavor Defects: Harshness and sourness are two of the most widely used negative epithets. Harshly flavored coffees are unpleasantly bitter, sharp, or irritating. Terms like grassy, hidey, barnyard fermented, musty, and Rioy (medicinal) describe even more dramatically undesirable flavor characteristics. All of these characteristics derive from careless processing. Presumably the coffees you taste will be superior, hence free from such defects. Flavored Coffees: Coffees that in their roasted, whole-bean form have been mixed with flavoring agents. Flip-Drip, Neapolitan Macchinetta, Macchinetta: A style of drip method brewer in which the ground coffee is secured in a two-sided strainer at the waist of the pot between two closed compartments. The brewing water is heated in one compartment, then the pot is flipped over, and the hot water drips through the coffee into the opposite compartment. Fluid Bed Roaster, Fluidized Bed Roaster, Air Roaster, Sivitz Roaster: A roasting apparatus that works much like a giant popcorn popper, utilizing a column of forced hot air to simultaneously agitate and roast green coffee beans. These devices are sometimes called Sivitz Roasters, after their popularizer and first American manufacturer, inventor Michael Sivitz. Fragrance: As a specialized term in cupping, or sensory evaluation of coffee, fragrance describes the scent of dry coffee immediately after it has been ground but before it is brewed. Fresh, Freshness: A positive characteristic applying to freshly harvested and roasted coffee whose flavor is particularly vivid. An aromatic highlight in the coffee bean and brew that is highly pleasing. The result of extremely volatile organic compounds, particularly those containing sulfur, evoking a strong sensation on the olfactory membranes. French Press, Plunger Pot: Brewing method that separates spent grounds from brewed coffee by pressing them to the bottom of the brewing receptacle with a mesh plunger. French Roast, Heavy Roast, Spanish Roast: Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast considerably darker than the American norm; may range in color from dark brown (see Espresso Roast) to nearly black (see Dark French Roast) and in flavor from rich and bittersweet to thin-bodied and burned. Froth, Frothed Milk: Foam which has been made thick and foamy by aerating it with hot steam. Milk that is heated and frothed with a steam wand as an element in the espresso cuisine. Fruity: An aromatic sensation created by a highly volatile set of aldehydes and esters found in coffee's aroma. Either a sweet sensation reminiscent of citrus fruit or a dry sensation reminiscent of berry fruit. Full: An intensity description of bouquet indicating gases and vapors are present at a moderately pronounced strength. Full-City Roast, Light French Roast, Viennese Roast, Light Espresso Roast, City Roast, High Roast: Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast somewhat darker than traditional American roasts. Lighter than the classic dark roast variously called espresso, French, or Italian. In the cup, full-city and associated roast styles are less acidy and smoother than the traditional American "medium" roast, but may display fewer of the distinctive taste characteristics of the original coffee. Among many newer American specialty roasters, roast styles once called full-city, Viennese, etc. may constitute the typical, "regular" roast of coffee. Gayo Mountain: Market name for coffee exported by a large processing center and mill in Aceh Province, northern Sumatra. Wet-processed Gayo Mountain tends to be a clean but often underpowered version of the Sumatra profile. Traditionally processed Gayo Mountain (misleadingly labeled "Dry Process") resembles similar coffees from the Mandheling region of Sumatra: at best displaying an expansive, quirky flavor and a low-toned, vibrant acidity. Ghimbi, Gimbi: A wet-processed coffee from western Ethiopia. Good Cup Quality: Coffee with good, positive all-round characteristics. Good Hard Bean (GHB): A grade of Costa Rica coffee grown at altitudes of 3,300 to 3,900 feet. Grady: A background flavor of dirtiness but not qualifying as dirty. Mostly used in the United States. Grassy: A odor taint giving the coffee beans a distinct herbal character similar to freshly mown alfalfa combined with the astringency of green grass. Created by the prominence of nitrogen compounds in the green beans while the cherries are maturing. Typical taste of unripe beans and of certain freshly harvested coffee batches, corresponding to the beginning of the harvest. Green Coffee: Unroasted coffee. Technically, a taste taint giving the coffee brew an herbal character due to an incomplete development of the sugar carbon compounds in the roasting process. Results from insufficient heat during too short a period. A taste associated with that of a raw fresh vegetable leaf, often found in early new-crop coffees. Group, Delivery Group, Brew Head: The fixture protruding from the front of most espresso machines into which the portafilter and filter clamp. Groundy: An earthly taste. The taste of dirt. Guatamala: Guatemala is a complex coffee origin. Strictly Hard Bean grade coffees from the central highlands (Antigua, Atitlan,) tend to exhibit a rich, spicy or floral acidity and excellent body. Coffees from mountainous areas exposed to either Pacific (San Marcos) or Caribbean (Cobán, Huehuetenango) weather tend to display a bit less acidity and more fruit. Haiti: The best Haiti coffees are low-acid, medium-bodied, and pleasantly soft and rich. At this writing, virtually all Haiti coffees entering the United States are produced by a large group of cooperatives and marketed under the name Haitian Bleu. Hard: Trade term for low-quality coffee, in contrast to mild coffee. In Brazil, Hard is a grade name for coffee that has been tainted by micro-organisms during drying and displays harsh, nuance-dampening flavor notes. Hard Bean (HB): Term often used to describe coffees grown at relatively high altitudes; in the same context, coffees grown at lower altitudes are often designated Soft Bean. The higher altitudes and lower temperatures produce a slower maturing fruit and a harder, less porous bean. Hard bean coffees usually make a more acidy and more flavorful cup than do soft bean coffees, although there are many exceptions to this generalization. The hard bean/soft bean distinction is used most frequently in evaluating coffees of Central America, where it figures in grade descriptions. Harrar, Harar, Harer, Mocha Harrar, Moka Harar, Mocca Harar: The best of the dry-processed, or natural, coffees of Ethiopia. Grown in eastern Ethiopia near the city of Harrar. Usually rather light-bodied but fragrant with complex wine-, fruit-, or floral-toned acidity. Often substituted for Yemen in Mocha-Java blends. Harsh: Acrid. Sensation at the same time bitter and astringent, raspy, and disagreeable. Particularly found in some poor quality robusta coffees. Often due to imperfect beans. Hawaii: The traditional and classic coffee of Hawaii is Kona, grown on the west coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. On the other Hawaiian islands, however, sugar-cane and pineapple plantations have been converted to premium coffee farms. Kauai (Kauai Coffee), Molokai (Malulani Estate) and Oahu all now produce interesting and improving coffees. Heavy Roast: Also known as French Roast and Spanish Roast. Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast considerably darker than the American norm; may range in color from dark brown (see Espresso Roast) to nearly black (see Dark French Roast) and in flavor from rich and bittersweet to thin-bodied and burned. Heredia: Market name for a respected coffee of Costa Rica. Hidey (Hidy) Coffee: Coffee which smells and tastes like hides. High Roast, Full-City Roast, Light French Roast, Viennese Roast, Light Espresso Roast, City Roast: Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast somewhat darker than the traditional American norm, but lighter than the classic dark roast variously called espresso, French, or Italian. In the cup, full-city and associated roast styles are less acidy and smoother than the traditional American "medium" roast, but may display fewer of the distinctive taste characteristics of the original coffee. Among many newer American specialty roasters, roast styles once called full-city, Viennese, etc. may constitute the typical, "regular" roast of coffee. High-Grown (HG): Arabica coffees grown at altitudes over 3,000 feet, usually higher. Such coffees are generally superior to coffees grown at lower altitudes. The term high-grown is also used in many Latin American grade descriptions. HGC: High Grown Central. Huehuetenango: One of the better coffees of Guatemala. Hulling: The last step in the preparation of washed coffee. Husking: Cleaning the dried cherry. Hydrolyzed: Refers to conventional type of instant coffee having an undesirable acidity due to treatment. Generally associated with over-extraction. India: India coffee is grown in the south of the country. The best is low-key, with moderate body and acidity and occasional intriguing nuance; at worst it is bland. Mysore is a market name for certain high-quality wet-processed India coffees. Coffees from the Shevaroys and Nilgiris districts generally tend to display more acidity than coffees from other south India regions. Also see Monsooned Coffee. Indonesia: Indonesia coffees are usually marketed under the name of the island of origin; see Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java, Timor. At best, most are distinguished by full body, rich flavor, and a low-toned, vibrant acidity. At worst, many display unpleasant hard or musty defects. Others display an earthiness which many coffee lovers enjoy and others deplore. Insipid: A taste taint giving the coffee brew a lifeless character, due to a loss of organic material in the coffee bean. Result of oxygen and moisture penetrating the bean fiber after roasting. Instant Coffee: Water soluble dehydrated coffee derived from brewed coffee beans. Hot water is poured over instant coffee granuels from a jar or can. Eliminates the brewing process. Considered to be a "coffee fashion faux pas" and not "true" coffee. Intensity: A qualitative measure of the number and relative strengths of the gases and vapors present in the bouquet of the coffee. Ismaili: Market name for a respected coffee from central Yemen. Also describes a traditional botantical variety of Yemen coffee with round, pea-like beans and superior cup quality. Italian Roast: A roast of coffee considerably darker than the traditional American norm. Usually dark brown in color and rich and bittersweet in flavor, but may range in color to almost black and in flavor to nearly burned. Jamaica: Jamaica Blue Mountain is, or was, a balanced, classic coffee with rich flavor, full body, and a smooth yet vibrant acidity. These characteristics and its relatively short supply have made it one of the world's most celebrated coffees. Whether it still merits this distinction is subject to debate among importers and roasters. Lower-grown Jamaica coffees (Jamaica High Mountain) tend to be less acidy and lighter in body. Other Jamaica coffees are undistinguished. Jamaica Blue Mountain Style: Various blends of coffee intended by their originators to approximate the qualities of the authentic Jamaica Blue Mountain brand. These blends may contain no actual Jamaican coffee. Jamaica Blue Mountain: (Trademarked brand.) Celebrated single-origin coffee from above 3,000 feet elevation in the Blue Mountain District of Jamaica. Can be exceptional: rich, complex, bouillon-like. More often a rather ordinary balanced, low-toned Caribbean coffee. Java, Java Arabica: Unlike most other Indonesia coffees, which are grown on tiny farms and often primitively processed, Java coffees are grown on large farms or estates, most operated by the government, and are wet-processed using modern methods. The best display the low-toned richness characteristic of other Indonesia coffees, but are usually lighter in body and more acidy. Old Java, Old Government, or Old Brown are mature coffees from Java, created to mimic the flavor characteristics of the original Java coffee, which was inadvertently aged in the holds of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century ships during their passage to Europe. Jimma, Djimah, Djimma: A coffee from Ethiopia. Washed Djimah can be an excellent low-acid coffee. Dry-processed Djimah is a lesser coffee often exhibiting wild or medicinal taste characteristics and is not often traded as a speciality coffee. Jinotega: Market name for a respected Nicaragua coffee. Kalossi: A growing region in the southeastern highlands of Sulawesi. At best, distinguished by full body, expansive flavor, and a low-toned, vibrant acidity. At worst, many display unpleasant hard or musty defects. Some display an earthiness which many coffee lovers enjoy and others avoid. Kenya: Kenya coffees are celebrated for their deep, winy acidity, resonant cup presence, and complex fruit and berry tones. Of the world's great coffees, Kenyan probably is the most consistent in quality and most widely available. Kilimanjaro: Coffee from the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Kona, Hawaii Kona: Single-origin coffee from the Kona coast of the Island of Hawaii. The best Kona coffee displays classic balance, with medium body, good acidity, and rich, complex aroma and flavor. Kopi Luwak: Coffee from Sumatra, Indonesia, distinguished not by origin, but by the uniquely intimate way it is processed. A mammal called a luwak, or civet, eats ripe coffee cherries, digests the fruit, and excretes the seeds, after which the seeds or beans are gathered from its dry droppings. Kopi luwak is one of the most expensive coffees in the world owing to obvious limitations on its production. Authorities differ on how much of the kopi luwak that arrives at coffee dealers is authentic and how much is ordinary coffee that has been "treated" in luwak manure, but samples certainly look authentic, smell authentic, and are pleasantly earthy, sweet and full in the cup. La Minita, La Minita Farm: Well-publicized estate in the Tarrazu district of Costa Rica that produces an excellent, meticulously prepared coffee. Latte, Caffe Latte: A serving of espresso combined with about three times as much hot milk topped with froth. Lavado Fino: Best grade of Venezuela coffee. Light Espresso Roast, Light French Roast, Vienna Roast, City Roast, Full-City Roast, High Roast: Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast somewhat darker than the traditional American norm, but lighter than the classic dark roast variously called espresso, French, or Italian. In the cup, full-city and associated roast styles are less acidy and smoother than the traditional American "medium" roast, but may display fewer of the distinctive taste characteristics of the original coffee. Among many newer American specialty roasters, roast styles once called full-city, Viennese, etc. may constitute the typical, "regular" roast of coffee. Light Roast, Cinnamon Roast, New England Roast: Coffee brought to a degree of roast of coffee lighter than the traditional American norm, and grainlike in taste, with a sharp, almost sour acidity. This roast style is not a factor in specialty coffee. Limu: Market name for a respected fragrant, floral- and fruit-toned wet-processed coffee from south-central Ethiopia. Lintong, Mandheling Lintong: Market name for the most admired coffee of Sumatra, Indonesia. From the Lake Toba area toward the northern end of the island. LGC: Low Grown Central. Longberry Harrar: A grade of coffee from Ethiopia. The beans are larger than shortberries. Luwak, Kopi Luwak: Coffee from Sumatra, Indonesia, distinguished not by origin, but by the uniquely intimate way it is processed. A mammal called a luwak, or civet, eats ripe coffee cherries, digests the fruit, and excretes the seeds, after which the seeds or beans are gathered from its dry droppings. Kopi luwak is one of the most expensive coffees in the world owing to obvious limitations on its production. Authorities differ on how much of the kopi luwak that arrives at coffee dealers is authentic and how much is ordinary coffee that has been "treated" in luwak manure, but samples certainly look authentic, smell authentic, and are pleasantly earthy, sweet and full in the cup. Macchiato: Either a serving of espresso "stained" or marked with a small quantity of hot frothed milk (espresso macchiato), or a moderately tall (about eight ounces) glass of hot frothed milk "stained" with espresso (latte macchiato). In North America, the term macchiato is more likely to describe the former (espresso stained with milk) than the latter (milk stained with espresso). Macchinetta: Flip-Drip, Neapolitan Macchinetta. A style of drip method brewer in which the ground coffee is secured in a two-sided strainer at the waist of the pot between two closed compartments. The brewing water is heated in one compartment, then the pot is flipped over, and the hot water drips through the coffee into the opposite compartment. Machine Drying: Coffee must be dried, either directly after picking (in the dry method) or after fruit removal (in the wet method). Sun drying is often replaced or supplemented by drying with machines, either in large, rotating drums or in cascading silos. Machine drying can be superior or inferior to sun drying in terms of promoting cup quality, depending on weather conditions, drying temperature, and other factors. Machine Epirre: Machine stoned. Made Sound: Damaged coffee which has been cleaned. Malawi: Most Malawi (a small country west of Mozambique, Africa) coffee to reach the United States is grown on larger estates and distinguished by a rather soft, round profile. MAM: Acronym for Medellin, Armenia, and Manizales, three of the most famous and best coffees of Colombia. To simplify large-scale coffee contracts, coffees from these three regions are sold together as MAMs. Mandheling: The most famous coffee of Sumatra, Indonesia. From the Lake Toba area toward the northern end of the island. Maracaibo: A class of coffees from Venezuela, including many of the most characteristic and distinguished coffees of that country. Maragogipe: (MAH-rah-goh-SHZEE-peh) Elephant Bean. A variety of Coffea arabica distinguished by extremely large, porous beans. It first appeared in Maragogipe, Brazil, and has since been planted elsewhere in Latin America, particularly in Mexico and Central America. It is currently falling out of favor owing to thinnish cup character and low-bearing trees. Matagalpa: Market name for a respected coffee of Nicaragua. Mattari, Matari: Market name for one of the most admired coffees of Yemen. From the Bani Mattar area west of the capital city of Sana'a. Usually a winier, sharper version of the Yemen style. Mature Coffee: Coffee held in warehouses for two to three years. Mature coffee has been held longer than old crop coffee, but not as long as aged or vintage coffee. Mazagran: The French name for a drink composed of cold coffee and seltzer water. Mbeya, Pare: Market names for coffee from the south of Tanzania. MC: Methylene Chloride; generally used in Decaffeinated coffee. Medium Roast, Medium-High Roast: Also known as American Roast. Coffee roasted to traditional American taste, medium brown. Mellow: A primary coffee taste sensation created as salts in the coffee combine with sugars to increase the overall sweetness. Characteristic found most often in washed arabica coffees grown at elevations below 4,000 feet, such Kona coffee from Hawaii. Mellow ranges from mild to delicate. Merida: Market name for one of the most respected and most characteristic Venezuela coffees, delicate and sweet in the cup. Mexico: The best Mexico coffees (Oaxaca Pluma, Coatepec, Chiapas) are distinguished by a light body and a delicate, pleasant acidity. Highland Chiapas coffees can be bigger and more richly acidy. Microwave Brewers: Brewing apparatus designed to take advantage of the unique properties of the microwave oven. Over the years microwave brewers have incorporated a variety of technical means, ranging from open-pot through various approaches to filter-drip. At this writing, none have made an impression on the market. Middle Eastern Coffee, Turkish Coffee: Coffee ground to a powder, sweetened (usually), brought to a boil, and served grounds and all. Mild: A trade term for high-quality arabica coffees. Often contrasted with hard, or inferior, coffees. Milling: Mechanical removal of the dry parchment skin from wet-processed coffee beans, or the entire dried fruit husk from dry-processed beans. Mocha, Moka, Mocca, Moca: Single-origin coffee from Yemen; also a drink combining chocolate and (usually espresso) coffee. The coffee, also called Arabian Mocha, Yemen, or Yemen Mocha, takes its name from the ancient port of Mocha. It is the world's oldest cultivated coffee, distinguished by its distinctively rich, winy acidity and intriguing nuance. Coffee from the Harrar region of Ethiopia, which resembles Yemen coffee in cup-character, is also sometimes called Mocha. Mocha-Java, Moka-Java, Mocca-Java: Traditionally, a blend of Yemen Mocha and Java Arabica coffees, usually one part Yemen Mocha and two parts Java Arabica. All commercial Mocha-Java blends and many specialty versions no longer follow this recipe. Commercial blends may combine any of a variety of round, full coffees in place of the Java, and any of a variety of bright, acidy coffees in place of the Mocha, while changing proportions to maintain a uniform taste. Versions offered by specialty roasters may blend a true Java with a true Yemen Mocha, or may substitute another (often better) Indonesia coffee for the Java, or an Ethiopia Harrar for the Yemen. Most specialty coffee variations probably do represent the classic blend accurately. In its traditional form, Mocha-Java is the world's oldest coffee blend. Monsooned Coffee, Monsooned Malabar: Dry-processed single-origin coffee from south India deliberately exposed to monsoon winds in open warehouses, with the aim of increasing body and reducing acidity. Moshi: Market name for coffee from the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Muddy: Characterizes a large quantity of particles in suspension in the beverage. Musty: An odor taint giving the coffee beans a moldy odor. Result of fats in coffee beans absorbing organic material from molds on or in contact with the coffee beans during the drying process. Often the result of insufficient or proper drying and aging. Mysore, India Mysore: Mysore is a market name for certain high-quality wet-processed India coffees grown in the south of the country. The best is low-key, with moderate body and acidity and occasional intriguing nuance; at worst it is bland. Narino: Department in southern Colombia that produces certain particularly admired specialty coffees. Natural Coffee, Dry-Processed Coffee, Dry Method Coffee: Coffee processed by removing the husk or fruit after the coffee fruit has been dried. When only ripe fruit is utilized and the drying is done carefully dry-processed coffee can be complex, fruity, and deeply-dimensioned. When the picking and drying are performed carelessly, as is the case with cheaper dry-processed coffees, the result is off-tasting, harsh coffee. The best and most celebrated dry-processed coffees are Yemen coffees, the Harrar coffees of Ethiopia, and the finest traditional Brazil coffees. Neapolitan Macchinetta, Macchinetta, Flip-Drip: A style of drip method brewer in which the ground coffee is secured in a two-sided strainer at the waist of the pot between two closed compartments. The brewing water is heated in one compartment, then the pot is flipped over, and the hot water drips through the coffee into the opposite compartment. Neapolitan Roast: Term for coffee brought to a degree of roast darker than the typical espresso roast, but not quite black. Neutral: A secondary coffee taste characterized by the absence of a predominant taste sensation on any part of the tongue but causing a distinct parching sensation on the sides of the tongue. Caused by a concentration of salts high enough to neutralize both acids and sugars but not enough to provoke a salty sensation. Typified by washed Uganda robusta coffee. New Crop: Coffee delivered for roasting soon after harvesting and processing. Coffees are at their brightest (or rawest) and most acidy in this state. Also see Old Crop. New England Roast, Light Roast, Cinnamon Roast: Coffee brought to a degree of roast of coffee lighter than the traditional American norm, and grainlike in taste, with a sharp, almost sour acidity. This roast style is not a factor in specialty coffee. New Orleans Coffee: Traditionally, dark-roast coffee blended with up to forty percent roasted and ground chicory root. Most New Orleans blends sold in specialty stores today contain no chicory, however. They are essentially dark-roast blends, heavy on dry-processed Brazil coffees. Nicaragua: Nicaragua coffees (usually market names Jinotega and Matagalpa,) are excellent but usually not distinguished coffees in the classic Central-American style: medium-bodied, straightforwardly acidy, and flavorful. Nose: The sensation of the vapors released from brewed coffee as they are exhaled while swallowing. Ranges from caramelly to nutty to malty. Oaxaca, Oaxaca Pluma: (Pronounced Wah-HAH-kuh) Market name for coffee from the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca. Ocoa: Market name for one of the better-respected coffees of the Dominican Republic. Old Arabicas: Botanical varieties or cultivars of the Coffea arabica species that were developed by selection relatively early in the history of coffee, such as var. bourbon and var. typica, as opposed to hybrid varieties that have been developed more recently in deliberate efforts to increase disease resistance and production. Many experts contend that the modern varieties of Coffea arabica produce coffee that is inferior in cup quality and interest to the coffee produced by the more traditional old arabica varieties. Old Crop: Coffee that has been held in warehouses before shipping. Old crop differs from aged or vintage and mature coffees in two ways: First, it has not been held for as long a period, and second, it may not have been handled with as much deliberateness. Depending on the characteristics of the original coffee and the quality of the handling, old crop may or may not be considered superior in cup characteristics to a new crop version of the same coffee. See also New Crop. Old Java, Old Government, Old Brown: Arabica coffee from Java that, like mature coffee, has been deliberately held in warehouses in port cities to reduce acidity and increase body. The purpose is to mimic the flavor characteristics of the original Java coffee, which was inadvertently aged in the holds of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century sailing ships during their passage to Europe. Old Tavern Coffee Estate: A small, highly regarded producer of certified Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee using traditional wet processing methods. Open-Pot Method: Brewing method in which the ground coffee is steeped (not boiled) in an open pot, and separated from the brewed coffee by settling or straining. Organic Coffee, Certified Organic Coffee: Coffee that has been certified by a third-party agency as having been grown and processed without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or similar chemicals. Parchment Coffee, In Parchment, En Pergamino: Describes wet-processed coffee shipped with the dried parchment skin still adhering to the bean. The parchment is removed prior to roasting, a step called milling. Parchment, Pergamino: A final thin, crumbly skin covering wet-processed coffee beans after the coffee berries have been skinned, the pulp removed, and the beans dried. Pare, Mbeya: Market names for coffee from the south of Tanzania. Past Crop: A taste taint that gives coffee beans a slightly less acidy taste. Result of enzyme changes in the coffee beans during the aging process. Patio Drying: Drying coffee directly after picking (in the dry-processed method) or after fruit removal (in the wet-processed method) by exposing it to the heat of the sun by spreading and raking it in thin layers on open patios. A more traditional alternative to machine drying. Peaberry, Caracol: A small, round bean formed when only one seed, rather than the usual two, develops at the heart of the coffee fruit. Peaberry beans are often separated from normal beans and sold as a distinct grade of a given coffee. Typically, but not always, they produce a brighter, more acidy, but lighter-bodied cup than normal beans from the same crop. Percolation: Technically, any method of coffee brewing in which hot water percolates, or filters down through, a bed of ground coffee. The pumping percolator utilizes the power of boiling water to force water up a tube and over a bed of ground coffee. Pergamino, Parchment: A final thin, crumbly skin covering wet-processed coffee beans after the coffee berries have been skinned, the pulp removed, and the beans dried. Peru: The best Peru coffee is flavorful, aromatic, gentle, and mildly acidy. Chanchamayo from south-central Peru, and Urubamba, from a growing district farther south near Machu Picchu, are the best-known market names. Piquant: A secondary coffee taste sensation characterized by a predominantly sweet, prickling sensation at the tip of the tongue. Caused by a higher-than-normal percentage of acids actually sweet to the taste instead of sour. Typified by a Kenya AA coffee. Piston Machine: An espresso machine that uses a piston operated by a lever to force brewing water at high pressure through the compacted bed of ground coffee. Plantation Coffee: Pergamino or parchment coffee. Plunger Pot, French Press: Brewing method that separates spent grounds from brewed coffee by pressing them to the bottom of the brewing receptacle with a mesh plunger. Polishing: An optional procedure at the end of coffee processing and milling in which the dried, shipment-ready beans are subjected to polishing by friction to remove the innermost, or silverskin, and improve their appearance. Polishing does nothing to help flavor and may even hurt it by heating the beans, hence most specialty coffee buyers do not encourage the practice. Portafilter, Filter Holder: In espresso brewing , a metal object with plastic handle that holds the coffee filter, and clamps onto the group. Primo Lavado, Prime Washed: A grade of Mexico coffee that includes most of the fine coffees of that country. Process Taste: This term reflects a number of defects. Some technological treatment of coffee can develop well-identified off-flavors: cooked, caramelized, cereal, and acrid. Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Yauco: Yauco coffees from Puerto Rico are a revived specialty origin that, at best, display the qualities that made Jamaica Blue Mountain famous: A deep, vibrant, yet restrained acidity and balanced, gently rich flavor. However, this potentially finest of Caribbean coffees is often marred by inconsistency. Pulping: Process of removing the outermost skin of the coffee cherry or fruit. See Wet-Processed Coffee. Pump Machine: An espresso machine that uses a pump to force brewing water at high pressure through the compacted bed of ground coffee. Pungent: Applies essentially to a full-bodied and slightly aggressive coffee. PW: Prime Washed. Pyrolysis: The chemical breakdown, during roasting, of fats and carbohydrates into the delicate oils that provide the aroma and most of the flavor of coffee.
Quakers: Defective coffee beans that fail to roast properly, remaining stubbornly light-colored.
Regular Roast, American Roast: Coffee roasted to traditional American taste: medium brown. Richness: A satisfying fullness in flavor, body, or acidity. Rio: A class of dry-processed coffees from Brazil with a characteristic medicinal, iodine-like flavor deriving from invasion of a micro-organism during drying. The term Rioy or Rio-y has come to be applied to any coffee with similar taste characteristics. The Rio taste is considered a rank defect by North American buyers, but is sought after by some buyers from Balkan and Middle-Eastern countries. Ristretto: This is the strongest and most concentrated espresso drink. It is made with about half the amount of water but the same amount of coffee as a regular espresso. It is pure, intense, and wonderful in taste. Ristretto is Italian for "restricted." Roast Taste: Terms describing the characteristic collective flavor complex of darker roasts. The acidy notes are gone, replaced by pungent notes combined with a subtle, caramel sweetness. Some people call this often unnamed group of sensations "roast taste" or the "taste of the roast." Robusta, Coffea Canephora: Currently the only significant competitor among cultivated coffee species to Coffea arabica. Robusta produces about 30% of the world's coffee. It is a lower-growing, higher-bearing tree that produces full-bodied but bland coffee of inferior cup quality and higher caffeine content than Coffea arabica. It is used as a basis for blends of instant coffee, and for less expensive blends of preground commercial coffee. It is not a factor in the specialty coffee trade except as a body-enhancing component in some Italian-style espresso blends. See also Coffea Arabica. Rough: A secondary coffee sensation characterized by a predominantly rasping, salty sensation on the palette or tongue. Caused by the additive property of salt taste sensations. Round: A balanced coffee whose basic organoleptic characteristics are just at the right level, with none particularly apparent, giving the impression of roundness. Rounded: An intensity description indicating a reduced range of gases and vapors is present at a moderately perceptible strength. Rubbery: A taste fault giving the coffee beans a highly pronounced burnt-rubber character. Result of continued enzyme activity in the coffee bean when it remains in the fruit and the fruit is allowed to dry on the shrub. Usually associated with natural processed robusta coffees grown in Africa. Sanani: A comprehensive market name for coffees from several growing regions west of Sana'a, the capital city of Yemen. Usually a lower-toned, somewhat less acidy version of the Yemen style. Santo Domingo: Coffee from the Dominican Republic. High-grown Dominican coffee is a fairly rich, acidy coffee with classic Caribbean characteristics. Lower grown Dominican coffees tend to be softer and less acidy. Santos, Bourbon Santos: A market name for a category of high-quality coffee from Brazil, usually shipped through the port of Santos, and usually grown in the state of São Paulo or the southern part of Minas Gerais State. The term Bourbon Santos is sometimes used to refer to any high-quality Santos coffee, but it properly describes Santos coffee from the Bourbon variety of arabica, which tends to produce a fruitier, more acidy cup than other varieties grown in Brazil. SCAA, Specialty Coffee Association of America: An important and influential association of specialty coffee roasters, wholesalers, retailers, importers and growers headquartered in Long Beach, California. SC: Standard Central. SHB: Strictly Hard Bean. SHG: Strictly High Grown. SHGC: Strictly High Grown Central. Scorched: A odor taint that gives the coffee brew a slight aftertaste of phenolic and pyridine character with an underdevelopment of the caramelization of compounds. Result of applying too much heat and charring the surface of the bean during the roasting process. Secondary Coffee Taste Sensations: Piquant to nippy, mild to delicate, tangy to tart, soft to neutral, rough to astringent, hard to acrid. Semi-Dry-Processed Coffee, Pulped Natural Coffee, Semi-Wet-Processed Coffee: Coffee prepared by removing the outer skin of the coffee fruit (a process called pulping) and drying the skinned coffee with the sticky mucilage and the inner skins (parchment and silverskin) still adhering to the bean. This processing method, situated between the dry method and the wet method, has no consensus name. It is one of three processing methods practiced in Brazil, and is used sporadically on a small scale by farmers in Sumatra and Sulawesi, Indonesia. Shade Grown, Bird Friendly: Describes coffee grown under a shade canopy. Arabica coffee is traditionally grown in shade in many (but not all) parts of Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, and in some other parts of the world, including India and some regions of Indonesia and Africa. Elsewhere arabica coffee is traditionally grown in full sun, or near full sun. The importance of maintaining shade canopies to supply habitat for migrating song birds in Central America has led to a controversial campaign by researchers at the Smithsonian Institute and their supporters to define "shade grown" in rather narrow terms (shade provided by mixed native trees) and label coffees grown under such a native canopy as "bird friendly." Farmers who traditionally have not grown coffee in shade but maintain extensive forest reserves on their land understandably object to the concept, as do those who use non-native trees to shade their coffee. On the other hand, shade grown coffees most definitely are much easier on the environment than sun grown coffees, and the better tasting traditional varieties of arabica, bourbon and typica, are, in Central America at least, best grown in shade. Sharp: A primary coffee taste sensation created as acids in the coffee combine with salts to increase the overall saltiness. Characteristic found most often in unwashed robusta coffee. Sharp coffee ranges from rough to astringent. Sidamo, Washed Sidamo: Market name for a distinguished light-to-medium bodied, fragrantly floral or fruity wet-processed coffee from southern Ethiopia. Silverskin: The thin, innermost skin of the coffee fruit. It clings to the dried coffee beans until it is either removed by polishing or floats free during roasting and becomes what roasters call chaff. Single-Estate Coffee, Estate-Grown Coffee: Coffee produced by a single farm, single mill, or single group of farms, and marketed without mixture with other coffees. Many specialty coffees are now identified by estate name, rather than the less specific regional or market name. Single-Origin Coffee, Straight Coffee: Unblended coffee from a single country, region, and crop. Sivitz Roaster: Type of coffee roaster named after inventor Michael Sivetz. Also known by the generic terms Fluid Bed Roaster, Fluidized Bed Roaster, and Air Roaster, A roasting apparatus that works much like a giant popcorn popper, utilizing a column of forced hot air to simultaneously agitate and roast green coffee beans. Smooth: A moderately low level of oily material suspended in the coffee beverage. Result of fats in the beans present in perceptible amounts. Soft Bean: Often used to describe coffees grown at relatively low altitudes. In the same context, coffees grown at higher altitudes are often designated hard bean. The lower altitudes and consequently warmer temperatures produce a faster maturing fruit and a lighter, more porous bean. Soft bean coffees usually make a less acidy and less flavorful cup than do hard-bean coffees, although there are many exceptions to this generalization. The hard bean /soft bean distinction is used most frequently in evaluating coffees of Central America, where it figures in grade descriptions. Soft: A secondary coffee taste sensation characterized by an absence of any predominant taste sensation on any part of the tongue, except for subtle dryness. Caused by a concentration of salts high enough to neutralize the acids but not high enough to neutralize the sugars. Typified by washed arabica coffee from Santos, Brazil. Soft-Sweet: A pleasant clean taste. Denotes a smooth cup free of any foreign flavors. applies particularly to Brazilian coffee. Solo: A single shot of espresso. (Also see doppio.) Sound Cup: A coffee with no particular positive characteristic and without negative characteristics. Sour: A basic taste characterized by solutions of tartaric acid, citric acid, or malic acid. The unpleasant acidity of a sour coffee cannot be confused with the natural acidity of some coffees in which this quality is prized. Perceived at the tip of the tongue. Soury: A primary coffee taste sensation created as acids in the coffee combine with salts to increase overall saltiness. Characteristic found most often in unwashed robusta coffees. Soury ranges from hard to acrid. Spanish Roast, French Roast, Heavy Roast: Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast considerably darker than the American norm; may range in color from dark brown (see Espresso Roast) to nearly black (see Dark French Roast) and in flavor from rich and bittersweet to thin-bodied and burned. Specialty Coffee: Practice of selling coffees by country of origin, roast, flavoring, or special blend, rather than by brand or trademark. The term specialty coffee also suggests the trade and culture that has grown up around this merchandising practice. Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA): An important and influential association of specialty coffee roasters, wholesalers, retailers, importers and growers headquartered in Long Beach, California. Spicy: An aromatic sensation created by a slightly volatile set of hydrocarbon compounds in coffee's aftertaste that produces sensations reminiscent of either wood-spice (cinnamon) or wood-seed (Clove). Stale: A taste fault that gives the coffee brew an unpleasant taste. Result of moisture and oxygen penetrating the bean fiber and adversely affecting the organic material that remains in the coffee bean, occurring in the staling process after roasting. Steam Wand, Nozzle, Pipe, Stylus: The small protruding pipe on most espresso machines that provides live steam for the milk-frothing operation. Stewed: A taste of coffee infusion that has been heated after cooling and lost its initial aroma. Stinker: A coffee with no particular positive characteristics and without negative characteristics. Straight Coffee, Single-Origin Coffee: Unblended coffee from a single country, region, and crop. Strawy: A taste taint that gives the coffee bean a distinct hay-like character. Result of the loss of organic material from the green coffee beans while in storage, occurring in the aging process after harvesting. Strictly High-Grown: Highest grade of El Salvador coffee. Strictly High-Grown Washed. Highest grade of Haiti coffee. Strong: Coffee giving a pungent impression in the cup, rich in flavor. Developed by roasting or having a consistent mouthfeel. Sulawesi, Celebes: Single-origin coffee from the island of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes), Indonesia. Most come from the Toraja or Kalossi growing region in the southeastern highlands. At best, distinguished by full body, expansive flavor, and a low-toned, vibrant acidity. At worst, many display unpleasant hard or musty defects. Some display an earthiness which many coffee lovers enjoy and others avoid. Sultana Coffee: The dried husks of the coffee cherry. Supplemental Coffee Taste Sensations: Common to dark roast coffees that are pungent due to bitter replacing a sweet in the taste modulation ranging form creosol to alkaline. Sumatra: Single-origin coffee from the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Most high-quality Sumatra coffee is grown either near Lake Toba (Mandheling, Lintong) or in Aceh Province, near Lake Biwa (Aceh, Gayo Mountain). At best, distinguished by full body, deep, expansive flavor, and a low-toned, vibrant acidity. At worst, many display unpleasant hard or musty defects. Some display an earthiness which many coffee lovers enjoy and others avoid. | ||||||||||||||