Acidity

An important category used by professional tasters in judging coffee; a fine coffee should have a pleasant tartness, but not be so acidic as to be bitter.

Arabica Coffee Beans

Arabica are the bean of choice in “gourmet” or “specialty coffees”. Arabica coffee produces the rich flavor and body found in a good cup of coffee. Arabica coffee is difficult to grow, and prone to disease, requiring more hand cultivation, and yields smaller harvests per acre. Arabica coffee is grown at altitudes over 2,000 (usually 4,000-6,000) feet above sea level and is typically harvested by hand when the cherries are perfectly ripe.

Aroma

An important category used by professional tasters in judging coffee; a fine coffee should have a pleasant fragrance when hot and freshly brewed.

Balance

This tasting term describes coffees that are complex, but where no one element overshadows the others.

Batch Roaster

A roaster that processes a set quantity, or batch, of coffee beans at a time.

Blend

A mixture of two or more types of coffee beans, often containing beans grown in different countries. A good blend will yield a balance of contrasting qualities for a complex, flavorful result.

Body

Yet another important category used by professional tasters in judging coffee; body describes the sense of richness, heaviness, or thickness that a brewed coffee imparts.

Bourbon

The botanical name of one of the varieties of Coffea Arabica, so named after the island of Bourbon (now Reunion) where it was first discovered. Several premium coffees are from this varietal stock.

Café Crème

The French term for cappuccino.

Caturra

A hybrid of the Coffea Arabica species that is fast-maturing and more disease-resistant than other Arabica varieties. Its quality is considered inferior to the traditional Arabica varieties.

Coffea Arabica

One of the two major species of coffee, the other being Robusta. Coffea Arabica, or Arabican coffee grows at higher elevations and contains half the caffeine of Robusta. It is considered the more premium variety; nearly all specialty coffee is arabican.

Coffea Robusta

Grows at lower elevations and has a higher yield of coffee per plant than arabica. Low production costs and high disease resistance help make Robusta the staple of commercial coffee roasters.

Coffee Beans

A coffee cherry consist of four layers which are removed sequentially. The coffee bean is the seed of the coffee cherry and is covered with silver skin, parchment, pulp, and then an outer skin layer. The method of removal of these layers dramatically alters the flavor.

Coffee Break

Is a daily social gathering and short downtime practiced by employees through business and industry in the modern world. Usually lasting 10 - 20 minutes and frequently occurring at the end of the first third of the work shift. The break is often held away from the actual work area in a designated break-room or outdoor area. It is a chance to wind-down slightly and "regroup" for the remaining day's work.

Coffee Grinder

For proper extraction, grinding properly is essential. Freshly grinding coffee before brewing is one of the most important steps for achieving a quality cup of coffee. Coffee should not be ground more than 2 minutes before brewing or major staling (oxidation) begins to take place.

Coffee Oil

The volatile coffee essence developed in the bean during roasting. Also known as Coffeol.

Coffee Plant

Ethiopia is the birthplace of the coffee plant. Today, some of the most ancient and surprisingly unique coffees in the world are still produced in Ethiopia. The irregular, small beans yield one of the most sought after cups of single origin specialty coffee. Piquant with distinct wild acidity, pungent and winery.

Coffee Roasting

Roasting changes the chemistry and physical characteristics of the green coffee bean. The beans shrink about 20% by weight, and acquire the deep dark hue and aroma of coffee.

Coffee Syrup

Is a beverage additive typically found in New England. It is similar in composition to chocolate syrup, however it has a coffee flavor. It is the primary ingredient in coffee milk and coffee cabinets.

Coffeehouse

A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant. In the United States, it does not emphasize alcoholic beverages; typically, it does not offer alcoholic beverages at all, focusing instead on coffee and perhaps tea and hot chocolate. Other food may range from baked goods to soups and sandwiches, other casual meals, and light desserts that complement their caffeine-centric fare.

Complexity

A professional tasting term for coffees that exhibit depth and resonance of flavors.

Crema

The pale brown foam that covers the surface of a well-brewed cup of espresso and helps to retain the coffee's intensity.

Dark Brown Roast

Characteristics include oily beans with a distinctive bittersweet tang; low acid.

Dark Roast

A general term describing any roast of coffee darker than American Roast.

Decaffeination

Decaffeination is the process of removing most of the caffeine that naturally occurs in coffee. There are three methods of decaffeination: the solvent-water method, the Swiss water process method, and the carbon dioxide method. While chemicals are used to decaffeinate most coffee, the Swiss Water Process uses only water. Water decaffeination results in great tasting coffee. The use of chemicals could distort the true coffee flavor.

Doser

A spring-loaded device on specialized espresso grinders that dispenses single servings of ground coffee.

Drip Brewing

Drip brew is a method for brewing coffee which involves pouring water over coffee contained in a paper filter. Water seeps through the coffee, absorbing its oils and essences, solely under gravity then passes through the bottom of the filter. The used coffee grounds are retained in the filter with the liquid falling (dripping) into a collecting vessel such as a carafe or pot. Drip brewing is the most popular method of coffee brewing, owing to the overwhelming popularity of the automatic drip brewing coffee machine. There are, however, several manual drip-brewing devices on the market, offering a little more control over brewing parameters than automatic machines.

Dry Method

A coffee processing method that involves removing the husk or fruit after the coffee berries have been dried, also known as the Natural method. The result is often inferior to washed coffee or coffee that is wet-processed.

Earthiness

One of several terms, also including gaminess and wildness, referring to the off taste caused by carelessly processed natural coffee.

Ellis Coffee Company

Ellis Coffee Company has produced truly distinctive coffees, teas, and other fine products since 1854. Over the years Ellis Coffee Company has become one of the largest family owned coffee roasters in the mid-Atlantic region, serving the area's finest hotels, restaurants, and food service establishments. Ellis has developed a full scale specialty and gourmet coffee program featuring an extremely popular Impressions line of gourmet, flavored and espresso coffees, Mezzaroma gourmet coffee and the “New” Ellis Special Blend Round Filter Pack.

Estate-Grown

Specialty coffees are often identified by Estate name rather than the regional or market name. Estate coffees are grown on mediun-sized farms, rather than small farms or plantations, dedicated to producing specific types of coffees according to high quality standards.

Finish

The aftertaste that lingers in the mouth when sipping coffee. Finish may be considered long, flat and acidic, or brief and effervescent, depending on the length and consistency of the taste.

Flavor

Flavor is what distinguishes the taste of a coffee once its aroma, acidity and body have been described.

Folgers Coffee

In 1872, James Folgers bought out the other partners of The Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills and renamed the company J. A. Folger & Co. After his death in 1889, under the leadership of his son, James A Folger, II, the company expanded dramatically. Its principal product was bulk-roasted coffee, which was delivered to grocery stores in sacks and drums and was stored in bins to be scooped out for the customer. In 1963 the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) of Cincinnati, OH, acquired the Folgers Coffee Company and began national distribution of the products under the name Folgers.

Froth

Also known as foam, froth describes milk that has been rendered thick and foamy by aeration with hot steam.

Good Hard Bean

This is a grade of coffee that is grown at altitudes of 3,300 to 3,900 feet.

Grade

Quality designation for coffee beans. Criteria for determining grade include size, density, altitude, and number of defects (such as twigs, stones, bugs, under- or overripe beans) per pound.

Grinder

For proper extraction, grinding properly is essential. Freshly grinding coffee before brewing is one of the most important steps for achieving a quality cup of coffee. Coffee should not be ground more than 2 minutes before brewing or major staling (oxidation) begins to take place.

Hard Coffee

This is a trade term for low-quality coffee, as opposed to mild coffee.

Hard Bean

Coffees grown at altitudes above 3,000 feet are described as hard bean; above 4,500 feet is referred to as strictly hard bean. The higher altitudes and lower temperatures produce a slower maturing fruit and a harder, less porous bean.

Maragogipe

Pronounced MAH-rah-goh-SHZEE-peh, this Arabica coffee is distinguished by its extremely large, porous beans. It was first discovered in Maragogipe, Brazil, and is now cultivated all over the world.

Maxwell House Coffee

In 1892 a coffee blend developed by Joel Cheek for the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, TN became so popular that the hotel owner ordered no other coffee to be served to his guests. This special blend soon became known as MAXWELL HOUSE coffee. In 1907 while on a visit to "The Hermitage" home of Andrew Jackson in Nashville, Tennessee, President Theodore Roosevelt is served a cup of MAXWELL HOUSE coffee and comments that it is "Good to the Last Drop." On August 1, 1928 the company name is changed to the Maxwell House Products Company. A year later the company name is changed to General Foods Corporation.

Mild

The trade term used to describe high quality Arabica coffees.

Parchment

The thin crumbly paper-like covering that is left on wet-processed coffee beans after the coffee berries have had the pulp removed and the beans dried.

Peaberry

A small round or football shaped bean that is formed when the coffee cherry develops only one seed as opposed to the usual two. Peaberry beans are usually sold as a separate grade of the particular coffee.

Portafilter

The cupped handle on an espresso machine that holds the ground coffee during the brewing process.

Pyrolisis

A chemical breakdown that occurs during roasting that brings out the aroma and flavor of the coffee.

Quakers

Discolored or deformed coffee beans.

Richness

The quality of fullness in flavor, body, and/or acidity.

Robusta

The only significant competitor among cultivated coffee species to Coffea Arabica. Robusta coffee beans lack the flavor and body of Arabica. Robusta is lower growing and higher producing; the result is an inferior cup with higher caffeine content than the classic Coffee Arabica. The Robusta species is a hardy, high yielding plant resistant to the numerous pests, which afflict coffee.

Seattle's Best Coffee

Seattle's Best Coffee is a specialty coffee retailer and wholesaler based in Seattle, Washington. It became part of Starbucks Corporation on July 14, 2003. Founded by Jim Stewart in 1968 as the Wet Whisker, an ice cream and coffee shop in Coupeville, Washington, Seattle's Best Coffee was known as Stewart Brothers Coffee from 1969 to 1991, when it took its present name.

Soft Bean

Coffees that grow at relatively low altitudes (under 3,000 feet) are often described as soft bean. These soft bean coffees are faster maturing and more porous than the hard bean due to the lower altitude and warmer temperatures.

Specialty Coffee Association Of America

The green coffee classification standard provided by the SCAA is an excellent method to classify coffees. It is superior over some systems in that it better accounts for the relationship between the defect and the cup quality. However, it leaves out a few of the important defects that can occur in coffee.

Starbucks Coffee Company

In 1971 Starbucks opens its first location in Seattle's Pike Place Market. In 1982 Starbucks begins providing coffee to fine restaurants and espresso bars. Howard Schultz, director of retail operations and marketing, observed the popularity of espresso bars in Milan, Italy in 1983. In 1984 Starbucks tested the coffee bar concept in a new location in downtown Seattle. This successful experiment is the genesis of the modern day company that offers brewed coffee and espresso beverages made from Starbucks coffee beans. In 1991, Starbucks became the first privately-owned U.S. company to offer a stock option program that includes part-time employees.

Storing Coffee Beans

Coffee beans tend to lose their flavor rather quickly and even faster after being ground. It's best to keep your coffee whole bean until used. Always keep your coffee in a sealed container that prevents the coffee from being exposed to the open air.

Varietal Character

The tasting term that describes the positive characteristics that distinguish a given coffee from coffees of other regions.

Varietals

Pure, unblended, single-origin coffees from a particular country or geographical region. The name of a varietal often includes the estate name. As with wine appellations, the varietal system suggests what kind of soil, climate and cultivation methods were used.

Whole Bean

Coffee that has been roasted and not yet ground.