63 terms across 6 categories — plain English, no jargon.
In coffee, acidity refers to a bright, lively taste sensation perceived on the palate — not sourness from over-extraction. Good acidity is pleasant and contributes to complexity. Types include citric (lemon-like), malic (apple), tartaric (grape), and phosphoric (sharp, bright).
The "bright" feeling when you sip a Colombian washed coffee is acidity. Kenyan coffees have high tartaric acidity that feels like biting a currant.
Meters Above Sea Level — the elevation at which coffee is grown. Higher altitude = cooler temperatures = slower cherry maturation = denser beans = more complex flavor potential. Specialty coffees typically grow above 1,000 MASL; the best often above 1,800 MASL.
Nariño grows coffee above 2,000 MASL. Brazil grows most of its coffee below 1,200 MASL. Both can be specialty grade, but the flavor profiles differ dramatically.
An experimental processing technique where coffee cherries or depulped beans ferment in sealed, oxygen-free tanks. Without oxygen, different microorganisms dominate, producing unusual fruity, funky, or tropical flavors that aren't typical of the origin.
An anaerobic natural from Colombia might taste like pineapple or passion fruit — flavors that surprise even experienced coffee drinkers.
The species responsible for essentially all specialty coffee. Coffea arabica originated in Ethiopia and accounts for ~60% of world production. Arabica has lower caffeine than robusta, higher complexity, and requires higher altitude, cooler temperatures, and more care to grow well.
Every single-origin coffee at a specialty café is arabica. The debate between arabica and robusta is really a debate between flavor complexity and caffeine/yield.
An SCA scoring attribute assessing how well all the components of a coffee — acidity, body, flavor, aftertaste — complement each other. A balanced coffee doesn't necessarily mean neutral or boring; it means no single element dominates unpleasantly.
A high-acidity Kenyan might lose balance points if the acidity overwhelms everything else. A Cerrado natural gains balance points because its body, sweetness, and finish harmonize.
The initial pour of hot water in pour over brewing to pre-wet grounds and allow CO₂ to escape before the main pour begins. Fresh coffee releases visible CO₂ gas, creating a dome-like swell. Blooming ensures even extraction in the subsequent pour.
If your freshly roasted coffee puffs up dramatically during bloom, that's CO₂ escaping — good sign of fresh beans. Older coffee blooms less vigorously.
The weight or thickness of coffee on your palate — how heavy or light it feels in your mouth. A French press has high body (oils and particles present). A Chemex has low body (filtered clean). Body is not the same as flavor intensity.
Cold brew and French press both have high body. A Chemex of the same coffee feels lighter and more delicate even if the flavor is just as complex.
One of the most important arabica varieties, a natural mutation of Typica that developed on the island of Réunion (formerly Bourbon). Produces higher yields than Typica and is known for sweetness and complexity. Parent of many modern varieties.
If you see "Red Bourbon" on a bag from El Salvador or Honduras, expect a rounded, sweet cup with caramel notes — this variety underpins Central American specialty coffee.
A sensory descriptor for coffees with vibrant, lively flavors — usually associated with higher acidity, lighter roast, and washed processing. Brightness makes coffee feel fresh and alive on the palate.
A Tarrazú V60 or a Nariño light roast exemplifies brightness — you almost feel like you're biting into fresh citrus.
A coffee grinder that crushes beans between two abrasive surfaces (burrs) for uniform particle size. Far superior to blade grinders for coffee quality. Flat burrs produce consistent, even particles; conical burrs are quieter and produce bimodal distribution.
The single best upgrade for home coffee is switching from a blade grinder to even a basic burr grinder. Uniform grind = even extraction = better flavor.
Borrowed from wine production, whole coffee cherries ferment in CO₂-saturated sealed tanks. The intracellular fermentation creates distinct tropical fruit and syrupy textures. Very trendy in competition coffees.
Carbonic maceration coffees often win barista championships because their flavor complexity stands out dramatically in a lineup.
A Colombian hybrid developed by Cenicafé (Colombia's coffee research center) to resist coffee leaf rust disease. Controversial in specialty circles because older crosses had lower cup quality, but modern Castillo selections can produce excellent results at competition level.
Many Colombian competition coffees are Castillo — the variety's bad reputation is increasingly undeserved as better clonal lines are released.
A hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra developed in Brazil. Available in red and yellow cherry variants. High yield, good resistance to wind and rain, but considered a step below Bourbon or Typica in cup quality. Dominates Brazilian production and is widespread in Central America.
Costa Rica and Guatemala grow large amounts of Catuaí. Its productivity makes it economically essential even if Bourbon produces more exciting cups.
A natural dwarf mutation of Bourbon discovered in Brazil in the 1930s. Compact size allows for higher-density planting and higher yields. Adapted to diverse microclimates. Produces bright, clean cups with good acidity — the workhorse of Colombian specialty coffee.
Most Colombian single-origin coffees you buy are Caturra or Castillo. Caturra is compact enough to farm intensively on steep mountain slopes.
A small, long-handled copper or brass pot used to brew Turkish coffee on a stovetop or sand. The flared lip helps control the foam. The term "ibrik" technically refers to a pouring vessel, not the brewing pot, but they're used interchangeably.
A cezve sized for two demitasse cups (about 150 ml) is the traditional size for Turkish coffee preparation.
The fruit of the coffee plant. Each cherry typically contains two coffee beans (seeds) surrounded by layers: skin (exocarp), fruit pulp (mesocarp), mucilage (pectin layer), parchment, silver skin, and finally the green bean.
When farmers say they "picked cherry," they mean they harvested the whole red (or yellow) fruit — the starting point for any process.
An SCA attribute scored on a per-cup basis. A clean cup has no off-flavors, fermentation defects, or processing taints. Maximum score = all five cups are completely clean. One cup with off-flavor = losing 2 points immediately.
Washed coffees from high-altitude farms typically score maximum clean cup points. Natural coffees with poor fermentation control lose clean cup points from fermentation off-notes.
The 12-month period in which coffee is harvested and processed. Different countries have different crop years based on their harvest seasons. Freshness matters in coffee — newer crop coffees degas properly; old crop coffees go stale and often taste woody or papery.
Buying "current crop" Colombian coffee means harvested within the last 12 months. "Past crop" means 1–2 years old — still drinkable but less vibrant.
The most prestigious competition for coffee producing countries, organized by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence. Farms submit coffees that go through national and international rounds of cupping, with the top lots auctioned online to the highest global bidder.
A Colombian CoE winning lot might sell for $50–100/lb at auction — many times the commodity price. The winning farmers see dramatically increased income.
The standardized coffee evaluation method used by the industry. Coffee grounds are steeped in hot water in open bowls, evaluated for aroma (dry and wet), then tasted by breaking the crust and slurping with a spoon. Slurping aerates the coffee and spreads it across all taste receptors.
At a coffee farm or roastery cupping, you'll see professionals slurping loudly and spitting — it's not rude, it's professional. Slurping is essential for proper evaluation.
A physical inspection method where green coffee beans are examined for defects (black beans, insect damage, husks, stones, etc.) per 300 g sample. Specialty grade allows a maximum of 5 full defects. Lower defect counts correlate with cleaner cups.
When you cup a commodity coffee vs a specialty lot, defects translate directly to flavor — the off-tastes, harshness, and inconsistency trace back to beans that should have been sorted out.
Off-flavors in coffee caused by poor processing, storage, or roasting. Common defects: phenolic (medicinal/plastic), moldy or musty, rioy (harsh, iodine-like), fermented (sour/vinegar), rubbery, and baggy (from poor storage in jute sacks).
Commodity coffee often has defect flavors we've normalized — that harsh, thin, bitter café coffee? Likely full of defects masked by dark roasting.
The process by which CO₂ escapes from freshly roasted coffee. Heavy degassing in the first 24–72 hours can disrupt extraction. Most roasters recommend resting coffee 5–14 days after roasting before brewing. That one-way valve on coffee bags lets gas out without letting oxygen in.
Brewing coffee on the day of roasting produces an uneven, gassy cup. Waiting 7–10 days lets CO₂ escape and allows extraction to stabilize.
A sourcing relationship where roasters or importers buy directly from coffee farms or cooperatives, bypassing traditional commodity brokers. Can result in higher prices for farmers and better quality control for buyers. Not a certified standard.
A roaster who visits the farm in Huila every harvest, agrees on pricing before picking, and pays 30% above market price is practicing direct trade — though the term has no legal definition.
A device used to level and distribute ground coffee evenly in the portafilter basket before tamping. Spinning distribution tools (Weiss Distribution Technique) break up clumps and create uniform density.
Using WDT with a simple homemade tool (a wine cork with needles) can eliminate channeling in even cheap espresso setups.
The final stage of coffee processing where the parchment layer (and silver skin) is mechanically removed from dried green coffee beans. Happens at a dry mill before export. Also includes sorting, grading, and polishing.
Green beans you see in a roastery have all been dry milled — that's why they don't still have their papery outer layer.
A device that forces hot water at ~9 bars of pressure through finely ground coffee. Types range from manual levers to fully automatic. Key components: boiler, pump, group head, portafilter. Pressure profiling machines can vary pressure during extraction.
Home espresso machines range from $100 (Moka pot pressure) to $5,000+ (commercial-grade). Most specialty espresso at home starts around $400–600 for the machine alone.
The process of dissolving soluble compounds from coffee grounds into water. Under-extracted coffee (short time, too coarse, too cold) tastes sour and thin. Over-extracted coffee (too long, too fine, too hot) tastes bitter and harsh. Target: 18–22% extraction yield.
When a barista "dials in" espresso, they're adjusting grind size to hit the right extraction: not too sour (under), not too bitter (over).
Flavors created during coffee processing as microorganisms break down sugars and organic acids. Desired: tropical fruit, wine-like complexity, sweetness. Undesired ("over-fermented"): vinegar, onion, rotten fruit.
That wine-like complexity in a natural processed coffee comes from controlled fermentation. If it smells like vinegar, the fermentation went too long or got too hot.
The flavors that linger in your mouth after swallowing. A long, pleasant finish is a sign of quality. A short, clean finish is neutral. A harsh finish indicates over-extraction or defects. Common finishes: chocolate, stone fruit, tobacco, floral.
An Ethiopian natural might leave a blueberry finish that lasts 30+ seconds. A poorly extracted espresso leaves a bitter, quick finish that disappears immediately.
An audible popping sound during roasting when steam and CO₂ pressure inside expanding coffee beans causes them to crack. First crack marks the beginning of light roast territory. Most specialty roasters develop their profile around and after first crack.
If you ever watch a roasting video, you'll hear what sounds like popcorn popping around 195–205°C — that's first crack. Pulling the roast shortly after creates light roasts.
Quality control step where freshly harvested cherries are placed in water tanks. Defective, under-ripe, or hollow beans float (less dense) and are skimmed off. Only the denser, ripe cherries sink and proceed to processing.
A lot labeled "fully washed, floated" has gone through this step, reducing defects significantly before any other processing.
A variety originally from the Gori Gesha forest in Ethiopia, which became globally famous when it appeared in Panama. Known for extraordinary floral intensity, jasmine and bergamot aromas, and tea-like delicacy. The most celebrated — and expensive — coffee variety in the world.
Panama Gesha from Hacienda La Esmeralda sold at auction for over $600/lb in recent years. A single cup can cost $20+ at specialty cafés.
A kettle with a long, thin, curved spout that allows precise, slow pouring control. Essential for pour over methods like V60 and Chemex where water flow rate and direction affect extraction significantly.
Trying to do a proper V60 pour with a standard kettle is nearly impossible — the wide spout dumps too much water too fast, destroying the extraction.
Unroasted coffee beans after processing and milling. Green coffee is the tradable commodity — it's exported from origin countries, evaluated by Q-graders, and roasted locally at the destination. Green coffee can be stored for up to a year before quality degrades.
A roaster buys green coffee, holds it in temperature-controlled storage, and roasts in small batches as needed. The green-to-roasted transformation takes 10–15 minutes.
The part of the espresso machine where the portafilter locks in and hot water is delivered under pressure. Temperature stability at the group head is critical — commercial machines have heat exchangers or dual boilers to maintain precision.
When a barista flushes hot water through the group head before pulling a shot, they're stabilizing the temperature for consistent extraction.
A processing method between washed and natural. The cherry skin is removed but varying amounts of sticky mucilage (honey) are left on the bean during drying. Yellow honey = less mucilage, red honey = more, black honey = almost all. More mucilage = more sweetness and body.
Costa Rican red honey coffees often taste like stone fruit jam — more complex and sweeter than washed, less chaotic than natural.
A gigantic-bean mutation of Typica discovered in Brazil near Maragogipe city. The beans are 3–4x normal size. Lower yields but distinctive visual appeal and complex cup. Grown in limited quantities in Nicaragua, Mexico, and Guatemala.
A bag of Maragogipe beans looks like pebbles — dramatically larger than any other coffee bean. Roasters often handle them separately due to the size difference.
A very small, precisely defined batch of coffee from a single farm or even a single plot of a farm, processed together to preserve unique characteristics. Typically less than 10–20 bags. Higher labor cost but enables premium pricing for exceptional quality.
The "Pink Bourbon, La Argentina farm, south block, honey process" on the menu at a specialty café is a microlot — you can trace it to a specific corner of a specific farm.
The tactile sensation of coffee in your mouth beyond taste: smoothness, creaminess, astringency, dryness, or silkiness. Influenced by oils (higher in unfiltered brewing), proteins, and polysaccharides.
A natural Ethiopian has a velvety, coating mouthfeel. A V60 of a washed Colombian feels clean and tea-like. Same roast level, completely different texture.
The oldest processing method. Whole coffee cherries are dried in the sun for 3–6 weeks with the fruit still on the bean. The natural sugars ferment into the bean, creating fruity, wine-like flavors. Higher risk of defects but higher potential reward.
Brazilian and Ethiopian naturals often taste like blueberry jam or red wine — flavors that have nothing to do with adding flavoring.
A Salvadoran hybrid between Pacas and Maragogipe. Produces very large beans with complex, sometimes polarizing flavor — often winey, herbal, or intensely fruity. Beloved in competition settings for its distinctive profile.
Winning Pacamaras from El Salvador or Nicaragua can taste like red wine and jasmine simultaneously — either extraordinary or overwhelming depending on your palate.
A rare color mutation of Bourbon producing pink/rose-colored cherries. Found mainly in Colombia's Huila department. Produces exceptional cups with tropical fruit and floral complexity. Often fetches very high prices at auction.
Pink Bourbon from Huila microlots regularly tops Cup of Excellence competitions — the pink cherry is now a mark of prestige for savvy coffee buyers.
The handle-and-basket assembly that locks into an espresso machine's group head. The basket holds ground coffee; pressurized water from the machine is forced through it. Available in "naked" versions (bottomless) to reveal extraction quality.
A naked portafilter lets you see channeling in real time — if coffee squirts from one spot, your distribution or tamp was uneven.
A thin metal disc placed on top of the coffee puck before extracting espresso. It distributes water more evenly across the puck surface, improving extraction consistency. Popular in home espresso setups.
A $15 puck screen can make espresso on a basic machine significantly more consistent by preventing the shower screen from digging into the puck.
A Brazilian term for honey process — the skin is mechanically removed but the mucilage is left on the bean during sun drying. Popular in Brazil for creating sweeter, more complex coffees than fully washed versions.
Cerrado Mineiro pulped naturals often taste like caramel and dried fruit while still being clean enough for espresso blends.
A coffee professional certified by the Coffee Quality Institute to objectively evaluate and score coffee using SCA protocols. The certification involves 20 exams over several days and is considered one of the most rigorous credentialing systems in the food industry.
When a roaster says a coffee scored 87 by a "certified Q-grader," it means an independently certified professional assigned that score using standardized methods.
The specific temperature and time curve applied during roasting that determines a coffee's color, flavor development, acidity, body, and aroma. A skilled roaster develops unique profiles for each origin. Light roasts preserve terroir; dark roasts emphasize roast character.
The same Huila green coffee roasted light tastes of berry and flowers. Roasted dark it tastes of chocolate and burnt sugar. The roast profile determines what you taste more than almost anything else after origin.
Specialty Coffee Association quality score out of 100 points used to grade coffee. Coffees scoring 80+ are considered "specialty grade." 85+ is exceptional. 90+ is world-class. Scored by Q-graders across ten attributes: aroma, flavor, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, uniformity, clean cup, sweetness, overall.
The coffees at a specialty café typically score 82–88. A 90+ coffee might appear on their single-origin bar and cost 2–3x more per cup.
A precision kitchen scale, ideally reading to 0.1 g, used to measure coffee and water ratios. Weighing both input and output is the most reliable path to consistent brewing. Coffee scales designed for pour over include built-in timers.
Moving from volumetric scoops to weighing coffee inputs improved extraction consistency dramatically — even experienced baristas find a 1–2 g variance without a scale.
Coffee grown under a canopy of native shade trees rather than in direct sun. Shade growing slows cherry maturation (more complex flavor development), maintains biodiversity, prevents soil erosion, and provides habitat for migratory birds. Often correlated with organic farming.
Traditional Oaxacan and Chiapas coffee farms use a milpa-style shade system with multiple canopy layers — the coffees often carry bird-friendly certifications.
Coffee from one specific geographic origin — could mean a country, region, farm, or microlot. Contrasted with blends. Single origin is valued for expressing terroir and traceability, though many world-class espressos are blends.
Ordering "single origin espresso" at a café means the shot comes from one specific farm or region — not mixed with other coffees. You can taste exactly what that place produces.
Two varieties selected in Kenya by Scott Laboratories in the 1930s–1950s. SL28 produces extraordinary blackcurrant and stone fruit acidity. SL34 is more balanced with citrus and berry notes. Together they define Kenya's distinctive cup profile — though they're being found in LATAM experiments.
A Kenyan SL28 tastes like biting into a perfectly ripe blackcurrant. When grown in Colombia or Guatemala, something similar but unique emerges.
In specialty coffee, sweetness is a quality indicator — well-processed, properly roasted coffee has natural sugars that create a pleasant sweetness without added sugar. Natural and honey processed coffees tend to have more sweetness than washed.
A yellow honey Costa Rican coffee brewed in a Clever Dripper might taste sweet enough to drink black — that sweetness comes from the mucilage left on during drying.
A flat or convex disc used to compress ground coffee evenly in an espresso portafilter basket. Consistent, level tamping is essential for even water distribution through the puck.
A calibrated tamper set to 15–20 kg of pressure helps beginners tamp consistently without guessing force by feel.
Descriptors that specialty roasters and cuppers use to communicate the natural flavors in a coffee. Not artificial flavoring — these emerge from variety, process, terroir, and roast. Common LATAM notes: dark chocolate, caramel, berry, citrus, floral, tropical fruit.
When a bag says "notes of cherry and dark chocolate," those are naturally occurring compounds in the bean — tasters trained in sensory analysis identified them during cupping.
The concentration of dissolved coffee compounds in the final brew, measured in percentage or ppm. Combined with brew weight, TDS is used to calculate extraction yield. SCA recommends 1.15–1.35% TDS for filter coffee.
A refractometer measuring 1.25% TDS on your V60 means 1.25% of your brew is dissolved coffee solids — within the ideal SCA window for brewed coffee.
Borrowed from wine, terroir describes all environmental factors that contribute to a coffee's flavor: soil minerals, altitude, rainfall, temperature variation, surrounding plants, and microorganisms. Washed coffees express terroir most clearly.
Two farms 5 km apart in Huila can taste completely different due to soil, shade trees, and microclimate. That's terroir — and it's why single-origin coffee is interesting.
A movement in coffee culture that treats coffee as an artisan food product rather than a commodity. Emphasizes origin traceability, direct trade with farmers, minimal roasting, and brewing precision. Began in the early 2000s in the US and Scandinavia.
The café you visit that has single-origin pour overs, knows the farmer's name, and charges $7 for a filter coffee is operating in the third wave tradition.
The oldest and most widespread arabica variety, the genetic foundation from which most others descend. Produces excellent cup quality but low yields and is highly susceptible to disease. Found mainly in Jamaica (Blue Mountain), Mexico, Peru, and Papua New Guinea.
Peruvian coffees from Cajamarca grown with Typica are some of the most authentic expressions of how pre-modern specialty coffee tasted.
An SCA scoring attribute measuring how consistent the five cups in a cupping set taste. If all five cups of the same coffee taste identical, full uniformity points are awarded. Inconsistency suggests poor lot selection, blending issues, or processing defects.
A coffee lot from a single farm, single variety, single pick date scores higher on uniformity than a blend — you can taste the consistency (or lack of it) across the set.
The most common specialty processing method. The coffee cherry's skin and fruit (mucilage) are removed immediately after picking, and the beans are fermented and washed with water before drying. Washed coffees emphasize origin terroir and tend to have clean, bright flavors.
Most Colombian and East African specialty coffees are washed. You'll taste the actual bean's character more directly.
A processing method unique to Indonesia, particularly Sumatra and Sulawesi. Parchment is removed at high moisture content, exposing the bean to the environment. Creates earthy, herbal, low-acid flavors.
Mandheling Sumatra beans look dark green before roasting and produce that distinctive "Sumatran earthiness" some love and others find too funky.