This section of our site has a lot of information about coffee. It includes an exhaustive listing of all the types of coffee in the world, an explanation of the many coffee brewing methods, and a long list of coffee terminology. Choose a section:

Amatitlan
See Guatemala.

Angola
Robusto and Arabica beans are considered flat in flavor.

Antigua
See Guatemala.

Arabian
Arabian mocha coffees, grown in Yemen, have a pungent, full-bodied flavor and a complex aroma. This type of coffee tastes good either straight or blended (often with Java coffees). This type of coffee is generally grown organically in remote areas, which may account for its wonderful taste.

Barahona
See Dominican Republic.

Blue Mountain
See Jamaica.

Bourbon Santos
See Brazil.

Brazil
Brail is the world's largest producer of coffee beans. The arabica beans from here are great for blending, one most worth mentioning is the Brazilian Bourbon Santos.

Bugisu
See Uganda.

Bukoba
See Tanzania.

Burundi
Acidy arabica beans are full bodied and high quality.

Cameroon
The half of the West African nation's crop composed of very good quality arabica beans.

Celebes
This Indonesian island has Kalosi beans that are acidy and really thick.

Chagga
See Kenya.

China
The Yunnan Province grows coffee that is full, a little bit acidic and has just a hint of sweetness.

Colombian
You guessed it-one of the world's favorites! Colombia's arabica coffees, produced in vast quantities, are full-bodied with a well-balanced flavor. Colombian coffees, generally not as acidic as many other coffees, have a full body and sweet flavor.

Costa Rican
Generally speaking , the best Costa Rican coffees are grown in the Tres Rios region of the country. Costa Rican coffees are full-bodied with excellent acidity, and have a hint of smokiness.

Cuba
Produces beans without much character or distinct flavor, usually used for blending.

Cucutas
See Venezuela.

Dominican Republic
A fragrant and acidy coffee. Full-bodied beans coming from the Barahona area, and beans from the Santo Domingo area are nice and sweet.

Djimmah
See Ethiopia.

El Salvador
The beans lack in fragrance, but have a light sweet flavor and mild acidity.

Ethiopia
Coffee beans from the region known as Djimmah, have an unrefined and zesty flavor with a strong aftertaste. Harrar, which may be known as Ethiopian Mocca, makes coffee that is commanly used as the primary coffee in blends.

Guatemalan
Guatemala's high altitude and rich volcanic soil are ideal for producing quality coffee. Guatemalan coffees generally have a relatively high degree of acidity and often taste of chocolate. Guatemala is often found as a blend in a great number of coffees available in the United States. Coffees grown in the high mountatins have a light smoked flavor such as Amatitlan and Antigua beans.

Haiti
These beans are full of rich flavor and are lightly sweet.

Hawaii
Hawaii, best known for Kona coffee (which is grown on the slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano), is home to several growing regions and bean types including Kauai, Maui Kaanapali, Moloka'i, and Oahu. Kauai is the largest growing region in Hawaii and is where the first coffee plantation in the state was started in 1863.

Harrar
See Ethiopia.

Honduras
Light flavored coffee with some acidity.

India
The Mysore region makes a dark coffee with that is lightly acidic. One of the fuller coffees is the Indian Malabar.

Indonesian
The Indonesian area known as Java has been producing coffee for 300 years since the Dutch East India Company brought seeds from Ceylon or the Indian coast.

Ituri
See Zaire.

Jamaica
The most well known coffee from Jamaica would have to be the Blue Mountain coffee, loved for the great aroma and flavor.

Java
The best Java coffee is grown on the far eastern end of the island on five estates established by the Dutch government. " Blue Java " coffees , processed by the so-called "washed" method (wet), have a deep blue-green color.
Blue Java coffee has hints of smoky bittersweet chocolate.

Kalosi
See Celebes.

Kauai
See Hawaii.

Kenya
Kenya produces a top quality medium-bodied coffee that is very popular in Europe. Kenyan coffees are generally very mellow and often have a citrus taste. Another delicious coffee from Kenya comes from the Chagga tribe, they grow it on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Kilimanjaro
See Kenya and Tanzania.

Kivu
See Zaire.

Kona
See Hawaii.

Malabar
See India

Mandheling
See Sumatra.

Maui Kaanapali
See Hawaii.

Mexico
The really great coffee of Mexico has great flavor and delicious aromas.

Mocca
See Ethiopia.

Mocha
See Yemen.

Moloka'i
See Hawaii.

Mysore
See India.

New Guinea
New Guinea coffee comes from Papua New Guinea, where cultivation started in 1937 with seeds imported from Jamaica's Blue Mountain region. It's grown in the valleys of the western highlands in the area around Mt. Hagen. The rich soil and good climate combine to produce a mild and mellow coffee which many consider one of the world's best. New Guinea coffee is often used in blends.

Oahu
See Hawaii.

Panama
A very distinct body and light flavor is what you find in the small amount of coffee produced by Panama.

Peru
Peru's top coffees have just a hint of acidity and desirable flavor.

Rwanda
A coffee with dark color, excellent flavor, and spicy aroma.

Santo Domingo
See Dominican Republic.

Sulawesi
Sulawesi coffees are grown and processed in the Torajaland area near the town of Rantepao. Sulawesi coffees have a full body and moderate acidity, with a hint of a nutty flavor. Sulawesi coffees are rare and, therefore, expensive; however, they are one of the finest coffees in the world. Sulawesi coffees generally are produced by small landholders. Most Sulawesi coffees are produced using the dry process.

Sumatran
Another Indonesian gift of nature, sumatran coffees are processed by the dry method, as opposed to java coffees that are produce by the washed method. Ripe sumatra beans are dried in the sun rather than being soaked in water. Sumatra coffees are full-bodied with a sweet and somewhat earthy flavor.

Tanzania
Tanzania beans are a complicated mix of body and acidity with balanced flavors. The most notable being those from Kilimanjaro and Plantation Bukoba.

Tachiras
See Venezuela.

Timor
Catagorized with the best of Sumatra and Java, Timor has coffee with delicious aroma and rich body.

Uganda
Uganda has many coffee types, the one most worth mentioning is the arabica coffee named Bugisu.

Venezuela
Cucutas and Tachiras are both regions that produce beans that are full, and a bit acidy.

Yemen
Known for the arabica coffee named Mocha, the flavor brings to mind the taste of delicious chocolate.

Yunnan
See China.

Zaire
This country has two distinct arabica beans from the Kivu and Ituri districts.

Zimbabwe
From Zimbabwe you will taste a full coffee, that is not as sharp as those from Kenya.

Back to top

Ibrik
A small pot with a long handle that is used to brew Middle Eastern-style Turkish or Greek coffee.

Jug
This is the ancient method when hot water is poured over coffee grounds in an stoneware jug and left to soak for around five hours. Pour carefully as to avoid grounds in your coffee.

Plunger pot / French Press
A more recent version of the jug method, a glass cylinder with a top which has a plunger rod passing through it. The rod is attached to a metal filter that fits securely inside the cylinder. Add coffee grounds and hot water, let the grounds steep for four minutes and then press down the plunger to force the grounds to the bottom of the cylinder.

Drip Filter
There are many different kinds of drip filters: one would be the automatic electric coffee maker with pointed or flat-bottomed filters. Some people with drip filter coffee makers have found they can taste a paper taste from the filter, so they use reusable metal filters.

Vacuum
Water is brought to a boil in the lower of two glass globes. Steam forces the hot water into the upper globe through a glass tube where there are coffee grounds. After steeping for a few minutes, the pot is removed from heat, as the temperature drops in the bottom globe a vacuum forms, the coffee is then sucked back into the lower globe through a screen, the lower globe is removable to pour.

Percolation
Water is boiled in the percolator, the water is then forced up a metal stem into a filter basket containing coffee grounds, then it drips back into the bottom section of the percolator, circulating until the correct strength is reached.

Espresso Machine
Steam is forced through dark roasted ground coffee that is in a filter insert clamped into the machine. The thick espresso experience comes out with a hat of foam on top, known as crema. The steam may also be channeled through a spigot that injects it into a pitcher of milk, resulting in the hot, frothy topping for latte and cappucino.

Dutch Coffee Concentrate/Cold Water Method
Mix coffee and water in a glass and let soak for 12 to 24 hours according to what strength you would like. Use cheesecloth to line a funnel and set the funnel inside a glass jar. Pour coffee and water mixture through the funnel. Let it drain completely. Cover the mixture and refrigerate. To make a cup of coffee, put boiling water into a cup and stir in 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture.

Moka Pot
A stove-top method of brewing espresso, the moka pot has two chambers: a bottom chamber for water and an upper chamber in which the coffee brews into. Heat forces the water in the lower chamber up through a filter in the middle of the pot containing the ground coffee. The espresso gurgles up into the upper chamber, from where it is served.

Back to top

Acidy
Sharp tasting. The more "acidy" the coffee is the more of a bite it has. This is with no relation to the actual PH balance.

Aftertaste
The taste left in the mouth after coffee is swallowed.

Aged
Beans stored for a year or more before being roasted. The time reduces acid while developing body.

Aroma
The delicious scent that comes from hot, freshly brewed coffee.

Baked
A prematurely developed flavor that is caused by limited roasting at low temperatures.

Bitter
An unfavorable taste, noticed on the back of the tongue, that results from overroasting.

Bland
A flat, neutral taste.

Body
The way a coffee is experienced by the mouth.

Bouquet
A medley of aroma, fragrance, and aftertaste of a coffee.

Bright
A term used for coffee with enjoyable acidity.

Burnt
A term sometimes used for very dark-roasted coffees with bitter taste.

Buttery
A full flavored coffee with a oily feeling in the mouth that may bring to mind the richness of butter.

Caramelly
A taste that is like cooked sugar syrup, this happens during roasting when a change occurs in the coffee beans' carbohydrate content.

Carbony
A burnt taste, this occurs in some dark-roasted coffees.

Chocolatey
The taste of delicious, rich chocolate.

Cinnamony
A spicy, sweet flavor that suggests cinnamon.

Clean
Coffee with unpolluted and clear flavors.

Cocoay
Sometimes associated with stale coffee, light flavor of cocoa.

Dead
A term used for lifeless coffee, lacking good flavor and aroma.

Delicate
Tasted on the tip of the tongue, this is a very fine taste.

Dirty
A taste that suggests contamination.

Earthy
A taste of the earth, similar to dirty.

Flat
A plain taste, without distinct taste or smell.

Flavor
The taste of coffee once it has covered the tongue and been swallowed.

Fragrance
The smell of brewed coffee, described with terms such as nutty, spicy, and fruity.

Fruity
A coffee with a taste and aroma that brings to mind fruit.

Grassy
A coffee that tastes and smells of fresh cut grass.

Green
A sharp tasting coffee, this occurs from early harvesting and not roasting the beans long enough.

Groundy
A stale, earthy tasting coffee.

Hard
A term sometimes used when a coffee smells of iodine.

Harsh
A coffee that is hard in flavor.

Hidy
Due to beans' being stored close to animal hides, causing a coffee tasting of leather.

Lifeless
A term describing coffee that does not have acidity, caused by not brewing long enough.

Light
An adjective used to enhance descriptions of smell and taste.

Mellow
A smooth flavor, without acidity.

Mild
Not having a distinct flavor.

Muddy
A bland flavor resulting from unsettled grounds.

Musty
A coffee that tastes and smells of mildew, caused by being poorly dried or not stored well.

Neutral
A flat flavored coffee. A positive trait in coffees used as a base for different flavored blends.

Nutty
Tasting and smelling of roasted nuts.

Papery
A term used for light-roasted brews, that do not have the robust flavors of darker brews.

Past-Croppish
Coffee that has flavors of straw and wood, this is from green bean being stored to long.

Quaker
One bean that can spoil a whole batch of coffee.

Rancid
A coffee that has a strong sour flavor.

Rich
Coffee with luxurious aroma and intense flavors.

Rioy
A nasty flavor that brings medicine to mind. Rioy flavor is sometimes associated with coffees from Brazil's Rio growing district.

Rough
A salty or sharp flavor, that causes one to be thirsty.

Rubbery
A burnt rubber taste, sometimes resulting from coffee berries that have dried before they are picked.

Soft
A coffee that does not have acidity.

Sour
A coffee that has a strong sour taste.

Spicy
A lively flavor that makes one think of sweet and savory spices.

Stale
The flavor of coffee from roasted beans that have been stored for too long.

Stinker
One destructive bean that affects the flavor of a batch of roasted coffee.

Strawy
A coffee that tastes of straw.

Sweet
A smooth flavor that has no kind of contaminates.

Taint
A unwanted flavor from chemical changes in the coffee, that happens during growing, processing, or roasting.

Thin
Not having flavor, body, or acidity, sometimes due to underbrewing.

Toasty
A coffee with an appealing taste and scent that may bring to mind toast.

Turpeny
A taste like turpentine.

Vinegary
A tart, biting flavor, like that of vinegar.

Watery
A coffee that has been brewed with too much water.

Wild
A coffee that has brash or spoiled flavors and odors.

Winey
A term that suggests acidic flavors, a coffee that is full-bodied and eloquent.

Woody
A coffee that has flavors and scents of wood, caused by storage in a wooden structure.

Back to top