How does coffee from Brazil taste? Nicaragua? Costa Rica? Unfortunately, there are no simple answers here. 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 are increasingly proving the rule.
Have you ever wondered what coffee from Peru tastes like? Or from Java? Or from Brazil? Probably. Anyone who is a little more interested in coffee and, for example, drinks single origins, can gradually acquire a sensory repertoire of the individual coffee regions.
You'll soon notice that coffees from certain regions are significantly milder, fruitier, or nuttier. Some coffees are so distinctive that you can recognize them blindly among many different ones. Dry-processed coffees from Ethiopia, washed coffees from Kenya, or Gesha varietal coffees are so characteristic that they can hardly be confused.
However, these three coffees mentioned are quite extreme in terms of flavor profile. Few other coffees are so unique that we can immediately identify their origin. 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 talk about general flavor profiles?
- Are we talking about country, regional, or local profiles?
- Are these profiles stable? Do they always taste the same?
- Are microclimate and terroir responsible for the taste?
Are there general flavor profiles for coffee?
Short answer
Yes. For certain well-sorted qualities.
Long answer
Yes and no. "Brazil tastes nutty, Colombia mild and berry-like, Ethiopia floral." What may apply to many coffees does not 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.
So, "a nutty Brazilian" would be something like the stereotype among coffees.
But, as so often, stereotypes represent a part of the truth. Let's assume that we are comparing clean coffees, i.e., those that have been cleaned at the origin of defects such as phenol, black beans, and severe insect infestation. 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 (approx. 30-50% worldwide, depending on origin), there are indeed stable profiles that taste very similar year after year.
Over the years, flavor profiles have become firmly established in the minds and on the tongues of coffee roasters. So, today, a coffee X often "must" taste like Y. Stable profiles can be blended by exporters for coffee roasters to meet expectations.
This blending of different coffees from different regions and varieties means that differences can be smoothed out, and we have a single large blend in front of us. This is comparable to a cuvée in wine, where different varieties together form a greater whole.
These coffee profiles are then mostly balanced but somewhat one-dimensional. They usually only convince by one characteristic, if at all. Otherwise, they are solid, dependable, and taste like coffee that the majority likes.
Take Home Message 1/4
A "nutty Brazilian" is the stereotype among coffees
What kind of 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 a desire for something unique (terroir), i.e., more marketing, while "regional profiles" are easily reproducible.
the long answer
If we as roasters have a fixed idea of a "Brazilian profile," then our taste expectations can be met by targeted blends of green coffees from the same origin.
However, in times of targeted, flavor-enhancing fermentation, new varieties, and new markets, established flavor profiles are also changing. Emi Fukahori became the World Brewers Cup champion in November 2018 with a coffee from – Brazil. Did this coffee taste "nutty"? No. It tasted like everything else, but not "classic."
"Regional profiles" certainly exist – Honduran coffees from the Marcala region, for example, have a very unique, distinctive acidity, while coffees in the Copán region generally have more body and texture.
"Local profiles" are then much more dependent on the growing conditions and the specific processing. The varietal, the altitude, and the 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 up to new profiles.
Are these profiles stable? Do they always taste the same?
Short answer
If customers want it, the exporter can usually deliver.
Long answer
Coffee is a natural product. As such, it is subject to fluctuations that are climatically, and increasingly demographically, influenced.
Climatic example:
a rainy period before the harvest increases the risk of phenol, a defect, while extreme drought before the harvest will reduce the yield.
Demographic example:
A shortage of pickers can lead to coffee hanging on the tree longer, becoming riper than usual, and tasting much fruitier than in previous years. An isolated case? No. India, Colombia, Central America – these phenomena are widely known.
Finally, much also depends on how the development of coffee cultivation and, above all, coffee processing on site progresses. New, efficient sorting systems reliably separate ripe from unripe cherries. Pulpers clean coffee so thoroughly that they leave hardly any of the sugary mucilage.
Change is here – profiles are constantly and gradually changing.
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 on a coffee plantation doesn't mean the coffee now tastes like avocado. The same applies to tangerines.
Long answer
At Kaffeemacher:innen, we defend the microbe-climate and less the micro-climate.
We find the term terroir difficult and consider it more marketing – if even wine connoisseurs disagree on its correctness, why should we apply such a controversial concept to a product that functions completely differently from wine?
What is terroir?
The French term means, in short, the natural and human factors that are said to influence the growth of the plant and ultimately its taste.
This can be the composition of minerals in the soil, a specific climate in the region, or also the slope and the decisions of the winemakers – and that's precisely the problem; often it means a little 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 from picking the cherry to pulping
- The type of pulping
- Is it fermented?
- If so, how exactly?
- If so, what is the composition of the microbes?
At the end of the day, it is people who process a raw product through learned practices. What they do influences the taste more than the presence of avocado trees on the plantation, a little more nitrogen in the soil, or the angle of incidence of the sun – even if all of that may sound great.
Take Home Message 4/4
Holding on to terroir prevents the acceptance of new flavor profiles.
What now?
At irregular intervals, we will start collecting our views on flavor profiles from all over the world. Subscribe to the newsletter to stay informed.
