Let’s dive deep into coffee producing regions and see where the best beans come from…
There are a lot of countries that produce excellent coffee. But what is the best coffee and how can you define perfection in a sea of so many different tastes? And generally, how is the good taste defined?
I tend to always purchase different coffees, at least what’s available in the shop in a particular time. Of course every different coffee variety has different flavor. Either more fruitful, or more chocolate like. Usually the fruitfulness can be even more boosted by the processing method. The cherries that are processed naturally and honey have more pronounced sweetness, because they are processed with the cherries on. Washed method tends to give you more cleaner and chocolate and nut notes. So processing of coffee is one of the main things that can alter the overall profile.
But that’s not all…
If you want a perfect cup of coffee and you want to consume the possibly freshest beans, there’s a factor that you cannot miss. The beans are in their peak flavor when roasted two weeks to two months ago. And the green coffee also don’t have that much time when they are in top condition, like in any food. This really divides coffee in different picking seasons so the availability of the fresh coffee beans is from different country in different time of the year.
For instance in Ethiopia and Costa Rica the coffee picking season is from September to March, but in Peru it begins in March and continues to September. This means that the first fresh coffee beans start to be exported from Ethiopia maybe about November-December but the Peru beans do the same about six months later.
That’s the reason why in the specialty coffee roasters there is this type of seasonality of the coffee varieties. In the roasters where I take my beans from, now there are a lot of Ethiopian coffee and it is from the last picking season - 2021/2022. If the cherries were picked in January/February this means they were dried and processed by the mid- March. Getting the production packed and refined for export takes some weeks more. The best quality coffee is usually auctioned and this takes the beans a couple more weeks. The preparation for export and international shipping can take a month or two more and we are already in she summertime. The specialty coffee shop roars small batches and as on a regular intervals. This means that I receive the freshest possible beans.
And this is the answer to the general question. The best beans come from different coffee producing regions in different seasons. That’s why I don’t have any particular favorite country and always choose to purchase different coffee from all over the world.
Have a nice weekend and see you soon!
Bye!
Something really extraordinary to drink ☕☕☕
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I'm happy to be learning from you here.
Another excellent point!
I've learned so much from your post about the different regions, and what some of the contributing factors are.
I'm glad that you decided to join this conversation:)))
Deep coffee religion! You always learn something new that makes you even more excited about coffee!
When are the coffees in Jamaica being picked by the way?
They say August to May, but I hope to get some first-hand info on all of that. It would seem like a long time, and the temperature in Jamaica is pretty much the same all year long.
Maybe you can take part of some coffee picking then? I bet it would be fun! Maybe there are some tourist attractions that involve some coffee picking and tasting!
Yes, I'm sure there is. It's on the opposite side of the island, and unfortunately, there's much crime on the island, and we have to be cautious about the places we visit.
These are the early days of being back though, so we'll see how things fall into place.
They have some amazing tours of the Blue Mountain area though... and some breathtakingly stunning locations that I was lucky to visit when I used to take international media and travel operators around. It's not quite the same when traveling as an individual.
That's a really interesting point about the seasonality of coffee beans. I never thought of that but it makes a lot of sense since it's a food product like any other. Thanks for sharing. I love learning new things about coffee.
Yeah, after all the seasons are different in the different hemispheres of earth, so it really makes sense that different coffees from various countries ripen at different time of the year!
Totally makes sense. It super obvious now that you said it but I never really thought about it before.
Something I just learned today! I never knew about the reason why there is seasonal coffee, so this is really good to know. It makes sense actually.
Not really a fan of coffee but then I read there are chocolatey flavors. I must look for those 😅
You have to try specialty coffee! You may actually fall in love! 😁
I will definitely! But not sure about falling in love with it 😂
That's a great point about the difference in harvest season. That explains why the "best" coffee I've ever had was in (upper) Egypt with some Nubians. They have a very similar coffee making ritual as Ethiopians, and the beans don't travel far - from Ethiopia. I don't remember which month it was, but possibly it was freshly harvested.
I have recently learned about the seasonality too! But this makes perfect sense. Of course different countries have different export policies which result in different export times, but the difference remains still. I think beans that are harvested less than 6 months prior to consumption can be considered very fresh!