Quality Factors

A cup can range from enlightening to frightening. The beans can come from a seemingly endless range of locales. Roast color can fall anywhere between light cinnamon to charcoal black. The coffee world is, if anything, one of variety. Understanding what makes coffee taste the way it does, and what makes each coffee unique from all the others is a vital step towards better appreciating this mysterious beverage.

Factors influencing the quality and flavor of coffee can not be counted. The local climate, seasonal weather patterns, soil composition, botanical variety, ripeness at picking, processing practices, roast profile, brewing technique, storage conditions and blend composition are only the beginning of an incomplete list of variables. Most are not fully understood, but our collective coffee knowledge has exponentially grown in recent years, and some light has been shed on what practices tend to produce the best cup. By dissecting this path from origin to palate, coffee can only come closer to realizing its full potential.