Escapees September-October 2022

areas, requiring manual harvesting. Robusta coffee is much less expensive to produce and can be easily mechanized to improve coffee cherry picking. In terms of taste, these two types of coffee are very different, and the way they are processed and blended affects the fi nal fl avor of the coffee. Robusta coffees are usually stronger, with a higher percentage of caffeine, bitter in taste with fl avor notes of chocolate, spices, earth, wood and nuts. Arabica coffees are softer, with a lower caffeine concentration, sweet and sour/acidic taste and a much more complex fl avor spectrum with fruity/ fl oral notes. Roasting A de fi ning factor in your coffee’s fl avor is the roast of the beans. It’s an art and a science. Roasters know exactly what roasting level (in accordance with the type of bean being

roasted) they are trying to achieve for their ideal fl avor pro fi le. This requires staying hyper-focused on the bean batch and “read ing” the beans, a skill that takes years to learn. Each roaster is unique in their aim but, in general, there are four roasting levels: light (usually acidic, reminiscent of the current third-wave roasters), medium (often referred to as an American roast), medium-dark, and dark (called an Italian or sometimes New Orleans roast). Each has several sub-roasting levels and is the play ground of the individual roaster. Combined with the beans’ origins, a roast can produce a unique taste and aroma, so much so that certain coffeehouses and bean brands have a speci fi c (expected) fl avor. While you might think the darker roasts have more caffeine, you’d be incorrect. The lighter roasts have slightly more caffeine content while the darker roasts are more bitter and robust.

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September/October 2022 ESCAPEES Magazine