Coffee Varietals
From: dav@max.tiac.net (Dave Nolan)
Newsgroups: alt.coffee,rec.food.drink.coffee
Subject: List of Coffee types
Date: 11 Oct 1994 04:40:58 GMT
The following is a list of different kinds of coffees, arranged by
country, blend or roast, as appropriate. Section A is dedicated
to varietals, section B to blends, and section C to roasts.
I have compiled this list for future posting to Tim Nemec's Over
the Coffee WWW site (http://www.infonet.net/showcase/coffee).
The list is meant to be a growing, evolving thing, hopefully
expanding greatly under the tutelage of the Net. What is
listed below is merely the beginning seed, bean if you will,
from which I hope to make a more complete and accurate list.
Please respond with comments, changes, additions, etc to me,
dav@max.tiac.net, or just post a reply to one of the coffee groups:
alt.coffee or rec.food.drink.coffee. I don't really know if this
is appropriate for alt.caffein, so I will err on the side of
politeness (I hope) and not post it there. Also - alt.food.coffee is
more or less dead, so it is not going there either.
Section A is arranged as follows:
The first part of each listing is the name of the coffee or roast.
The next field is a brief taste description when known.
In many cases I have no experience with the tast of a particular
varietal, those denoted with a "no info" in the taste
description field. Input and additions are welcome and
encouraged in all definitions, especially those with a "no
info" taste descrition.
The next field supplies any additional information that might be
pertinent to the particular varietal or blend.
The last field, in the case of varietals, is the country of origin.
Note: not included, though certainly appropriate, are straight coffees
named after the coutry of origin. Exceptions are those that
are marketed as such (as far as I know) and those that refer
to a general class of a large number of varietals that are
in themselves significant, "Colombian" for example.
Sections B & C are less structured for now, though that will undoubtedly
change as input & comments are received.
Section A: Varietals ---------------------------------------------
** The Americas:
Armenia - no info - rated as one of the better coffees of Colombia -
Colombia
Bella Vista - Hearty, full bodied - Costa Rica estate
Brazilian - no info - refers to generic, careless mix of coffee from
Brazil, catchall term - Brazil
Brazilian Bourbon Santos - no info - Bourbon refers to a variety of
Coffea Arabica, it first appeared on the island of the same
name (Reunion now) - Santos refers to the port that the
coffee ships from, traditionaly - primarily from the Sao
Paulo or northern Minas Gerais area of Brazil
Bucaramanga - very low acid varietal - Columbia
Chanchamayo - no info - rated as one of Peru's best - Peru
Chiapas - no info - refers to the region in Mexico that the coffee
comes from, best supposedly are from area bordering Guatemala
- Mexico
Coatepec, Altura Coatepec - no info - from the region of the same
name - Mexico
Coban - no info - rated one of Guatemala's best - Guatemala
Colombia Narino Supremo - Full bodied, walnutty flavor - Colombia
Colombian - catchall phrase for coffees from Colombia - common names
are Medellin, Armenia, Manizales - many supermarket brands
consist of Colombian coffee with no specific point of origin
and are advertised as simply "Colombian" - Colombia
Costa Rica Alajuela - no info - name refers to the district it comes from
- Costa Rica
Costa Rica Heridia - no info - name refers to the district it comes from
- Costa Rica
Costa Rica Tarrazu - no info - name refers to the district it comes from
- Costa Rica
Costa Rica Tres Rios - Lively, tangy & fragrant - name refers to the
district it comes from - Costa Rica
El Salvador - Neutral, mild, not very exciting - El Salvador
Guatemala Antigua - Complex flavor with a hint of cocoa - Usually
rated as the best Guatemalan coffee - Guatemala
Guatemala Coban - no info - name comes from the region where it is grown
- Guatemala
Guatemala Huehuetenango- no info - name comes from the region where it is
grown - Guatemala
Jamaican Blue Mountain, Wallensford - extremely smooth, vibrant acidity -
- Some claim that the amount sold each year is far in excess
of the amount grown, and that this makes it extremely hard to
find actual JBM (similar claims are made about Kona) - Jamiaca
Kona, Hawaiian Kona - Smooth, medium body, medium acid - Some claim
that the amount of Kona sold each year is far in excess of the
amount grown (see Jamaican Blue Mountain) - Hawaii
La Minita - darker, full bodied coffee - Coffee grown on the
plantation of William McAlpin, in Tarrazu - Costa Rica
Mexico Altura - Light with a nutty flavor - Altura refers to "high
grown" or "mountain grown" coffee (possibly meaningless as all
coffee is "mountain grown") - Mexico
Mexico Coatepec - no info - from this region in Mexico
Mexico Chiapas - no info - also Tapachula - Mexico
Nicaragua - Medium body, medium to high acidity - Nicaragua
Oaxaca, Oaxaca Pluma - no info - from this state in Mexico, said to be
one of Mexico's best - Mexico
Peruvian Chanchamayo - no info - Said to be the best from Peru - Peru
Santos - no info - washed, see Brazilian Bourbon Santos - Brazil
Venezuelan Maracaibo - no info - Venezuela
----------------------------------------------------------------------
** Africa:
Bugishu, Bugisu - no info - From the slopes of Mt. Elgon in Uganda, rated
as one of Uganda's best, also said to be inconsistent - Uganda
Djimah, Djimma, Jimma - no info - Washed version is said to be an excellent
low acid coffee - Ethiopia
Ethiopia Harrar, Harar - Earthy & exotic, intense berrylike flavor
- dry process coffee - Ethiopia
Ethiopia Ghimbi - no info - washed varietal from western region - Ethiopia
Ethiopia Sidamo - Sweet flavor & floral aroma - washed - Ethiopian
Ethiopia Yergacheffe - medium body, sweet flavor & aroma - Ethhiopia
Kenya AA - Rich & sweet, with a hint of black currant - The "AA" refers
to a grade that the coffee has received, particularly AA in Kenya
means that the beans are rated as the largest of the crop. - Kenya
Limu - no info - low acid coffee, washed - Ethiopia
Mattari, Matari - no info - sometimes blended with Mocha - Yemen
Mocha Harrar, Moka Harar - no info - name given to the peaberry grade of
Harrar coffee - peaberry is a rating that refers to beans that
have one seed, rather than the usual two - Ethiopia
Nairobi - no info - this coffee comes from the slopes of Mt. Kenya in
Kenya - Kenya
Sanani - lower acid Yemen coffee, medium body - said to be one of the
best from Yemen - Yemen
Sharki - no info - said to be one of the best from Yemen - Yemen
Tanzania - Clean flavor, brisk - One variety is known as Arusha, one name
for another that comes from the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro is
Moshi - Tanzania
Uganda Bugishu- no info - see above - Uganda
Yemen Mocha - full bodied, medium acid coffee - Also known as Arabian
Mocha, Yemen, or just Mocha - the name Mocha comes from the name of
an ancient port, presumably from which this coffee often shipped
- Yemen
Yrgacheffe, Yirgacheffe - complex flavor, fruit-like acidity - said to
be one of Ethiopia's best washed coffees - Ethiopia
Zimbabwe - Winy acidity with a spicy aftertaste - said to be Africa's
second best, next to Kenyan - Zimbabwe
----------------------------------------------------------------------
** Asia:
Arabian Mocha Sanani - Pungent & winy, exotically spicy & sweet - Yemen
Celebes - Rich flavor, light body, low acid - also referred to as
Sulawesi, due to its origin (Sulawesi used to be called
Celebes) - Sulawesi
Estate Java - light bodied, earthy, medium acid - Estate means that all
of the beans have come from medium sized farms (estates), as opposed
to small farms or very large plantations - Java
Indian Monsooned Malabar - Extremely low acid, complex flavored bean, created
by leaving Mysore beans out in open roof silos during the Indian
monsoon season. - Monsooned also refers to the process above when
applied to other kinds of beans, this kind is said to be the
best of the lot - India
India Mysore - no info - from Karnataka State (formerly Mysore) - India
Indonesian - catchall for coffees from this part of the world, includes
Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra.
Lintong, Mandheling Lintong - no info - Market name for Sumatra Mandheling
- Sumatra
Papua New Guinea - Rich & tangy, medium body - Papua New Guinea
Sumatra - Full bodied, syrupy, earthy - Sumatra
Sumatra Ankola - no info - usually rated as one of the best coffees of
Sumatra - Sumatra
Sumatra Mandheling - no info - most famous of Sumatran coffees - Sumatra
Sulawesi - Smooth with well rounded flavor & rich aroma - Sulawesi
Toraja - no info - said to be the best of coffees from Sulawesi, similar
in taste to Sumatran coffees - Sulawesi
Section B: Blends ---------------------------------------------------
Arabian Mocha Java, Mocha Java - Blend of Java Arabica & Arabian Mocha -
usually one part Yemen Mocha to two parts Java Arabica - said
to be the world's oldest coffee blend
House Blend - varies widely from roaster to roaster, usually used to
designate a blend that the roaster is fond of
Jamaican Style - blend of JBM and other coffees that attempts to
simulate the smooth JBM coffee at a lower price point
Kona Style - Like Jamiacan style, attempt to simulate Kona taste with
a blend of coffees
New Orleans Coffee - dark roast coffee blended with Chicory, a root -
Cafe Du Monde is the most well known brand name
Starbucks Gazebo Blend - combines Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, Burundi,
Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Yemen beans
Starbucks Christmas Blend - Central American & Indonesian varietals
Section C: Roasts ----------------------------------------------------
American Roast - roasted to medium browness, as preferred in North
America, particularly the United States
Cinnamon Roast, New England Roast - quite light, lighter than American
Roast - sharp, grainy taste
City Roast - light french roast
Espresso Roast - dark roast, with a dark brown color & oily texture
to the beans, slightly bitter
Full City Roast - Dark roast, quite similar to French roast (some
say identical)
French Roast - quite dark, more than Italian, less than espresso
Italian roast - darker roast, slightly more than Vienese
Viennese Roast - light roast, still darker than American Roast