What does coffee from Brazil taste like? Nicaragua? Costa Rica? There are unfortunately no simple answers to this. In our roastery and academy, we constantly taste coffees from all over the world and are always surprised by individual flavor profiles. Yes, there are certain basic characteristics, and yes, exceptions prove the rule more and more.
Have you ever wondered what coffee from Peru tastes like? Or from Java? Or from Brazil? Certainly. If you're a bit more interested in coffee and drink single origins, for example, you can gradually build up a sensory repertoire of individual coffee regions.
Pretty quickly you'll notice that coffees from certain regions are noticeably milder, fruitier, or nuttier. Some coffees are so distinctive that you can identify them blindfolded among many different ones. Dry-processed coffees from Ethiopia, washed coffees from Kenya, or coffees of the Geisha variety are so characteristic that they can hardly be confused.
However, these three coffees mentioned are pretty extreme when it comes to flavor profile. Few other coffees are so distinctive that we recognize their origin right away. Or can you give a precise description of a washed Arabica from Zambia? Or a dry-processed Robusta from Uganda?
So if we want to talk about flavor profiles, we need to ask ourselves a few questions:
- Can we even speak of general flavor profiles?
- Are we talking about country, regional, or local profiles?
- Are these profiles stable? Do they always taste the same?
- Is microclimate and terroir responsible for taste?
Are there general flavor profiles in coffee?
Short answer
Yes. With certain qualities that are well sorted.
Long answer
Kind of. "Brazil tastes nutty, Colombia mild and berry-like, Ethiopia floral." What may apply to many coffees doesn't apply to all. Not every coffee from Brazil tastes nutty, not every Ethiopian coffee tastes floral.
Not every pizza comes from Italy and not every chocolate comes from Switzerland.
"A nutty Brazilian" would be something like the stereotype among coffees.
But, as so often, stereotypes stand for part of the truth. So let's assume we're comparing clean coffees, that is, those cleaned at origin from defects like phenol, black beans, and severe insect damage. The volume of these coffees is quite large and meets the needs of large roasteries looking for a coffee with recognition value but without much complexity.
Within this category of coffee (approximately 30-50% worldwide, depending on origin), there are indeed stable profiles that taste very similar year after year.
Over years, flavor profiles have become ingrained in the minds and on the tongues of coffee roasters. So today, coffee X is often "supposed" to taste like Y. Stable profiles can be mixed by exporters for coffee roasters so that expectations are met.
This mixing of different coffees from different regions and varieties means that differences can be evened out and we have one large blend before us. This is comparable to a cuvée in wine, where different varieties together create one great whole.
These coffee profiles are then usually ones that are balanced but somewhat one-dimensional. They usually convince only through one characteristic feature, if at all. Otherwise they are solid, forgiving, and taste like coffee that most people like.
Take Home Message 1/4
A "nutty Brazilian" is the stereotype among coffees
Which flavor profiles are we talking about here? "Country profiles", "regional profiles" or even "local profiles"?
the short answer
"Country profiles" exist because we want them to. "Local profiles" are much more the desire for something unique (terroir), so more marketing, while "regional profiles" are well reproducible.
the long answer
If we as roasters have a fixed idea of a "Brazilian profile", then our flavor expectations can be met through targeted blends of green coffees from the same origin.
In times of targeted, flavor-enhancing fermentation, new varieties and new markets, established flavor profiles are also changing. Emi Fukahori became World Brewers Cup Champion in November 2018 with a coffee from – Brazil. Did this coffee taste "nutty"? No. Like everything else, but not "classic."
"Regional profiles" definitely exist – Honduran coffees from the Marcala region, for example, have their own distinctive acidity, while coffees in the Copán region generally have more body and texture.
"Local profiles" are much more dependent on growing conditions and specific processing. The variety, altitude, and prevailing temperature play the most important roles here.
Take Home Message 2/4
"Country profiles" exist because we want them to. It's time to open ourselves to new profiles.
Are these profiles stable? Do they always taste the same?
Short answer
If customers want it, the exporter creates it – usually.
Long answer
Coffee is a natural product. As such, it is subject to fluctuations that are climatic in nature, but increasingly also demographic.
Example Climate:
a rainy period before harvest increases the risk of phenol, a defect, while extreme dryness before harvest will reduce yields.
Example Demographic:
A shortage of pickers can cause coffee to hang on the tree longer, become riper than usual, and taste much fruitier than in previous years. A one-time occurrence? No. India, Colombia, Central America – these phenomena are widely known.
Lastly, a lot also depends on how the development of coffee cultivation and especially coffee processing progresses locally. New, efficient sorting machines reliably separate ripe from unripe cherries. Pulping machines pulp coffee so cleanly that they hardly leave anything of the sugary mucilage layer.
Change is here – profiles are changing steadily and gradually.
Take Home Message 3/4
Stable profiles are created by human hands. The actual profile changes gradually.
Is it the microclimate, or the 'terroir', that makes coffee so unique?
Short answer
Just because avocado trees are standing on a coffee plantation doesn't mean the coffee now tastes like avocado. The same goes for mandarins.
Long answer
At the Kaffeemacher, we defend the microbe-climate and less the micro-climate.
We find the terroir term difficult and consider it more marketing – if even wine experts can't agree on its correctness, why should we apply such a contentious concept to a product that works completely differently from wine?
What is terroir?
The French term means, somewhat briefly, the natural and human factors that are supposed to have an influence on plant growth and ultimately on its flavor.
This can be the composition of minerals in the soil, it can be a specific climate in the region, or it can be the slope and the decisions of the viticulturists – and that's the problem; often people mean a bit of everything. It's the opposite of precise.
What is often forgotten is the cultural practices that can also be part of a flavor profile.
Factors that can also influence a flavor profile:
- the time after picking the cherry until pulping
- The method of pulping
- Is there fermentation?
- If so, how exactly?
- If so, what is the composition of the microbes?
At the end of the day, it's people who, through learned practices, work with a raw product. What they do influences the flavor more than the presence of avocado trees on the plantation, a bit more nitrogen in the soil, or the angle of the sun – even if that all sounds great.
Take Home Message 4/4
Clinging to terroir prevents the acceptance of new flavor profiles.
So what now?
At irregular intervals, we start collecting our view on flavor profiles from all over the world. Subscribe to our newsletter and stay informed.
