Taste the world of speciality coffee through its origins. To help you do that, we've created this simple and stylish pocket guide to flavour notes for each of the main ones.
Whether you’re just getting into coffee or already an expert, tasting coffees from a wide range of origins is definitely the best way to learn what you love. Your tongue is the tool to guide you on your coffee journey and like any muscle, it needs to be trained. Thankfully, there is no better way to harness your tasting skills than to simply try lots of different coffees.
Did you know that there are more than 70 coffee growing origins in the world? Each one is made up of thousands of hectares of subregions. These in turn can be made up of thousands of farms, some that cover entire slopes of mountains and some that are smaller than a football pitch.
We’ve created a handy guide to help you on your journey, so that you can read a coffee specials board in a cafe or pick up a bag in a supermarket with the confidence of being able to guess what to expect. Check out the infographic below to see what the common varietals and flavour characteristics there are for some of the main specialty coffee growing regions.
Of course, this is just a brief snapshot of the myriad of flavours you can expect to find in coffee tasting. Like wine, there are a multitude of factors that affect the flavour of coffee beans and there can be marked differences even between farms that are only 100 miles apart. The soil, the micro-climate in that region and the altitude are essential to making the bean.
But what it does offer is a cue as to which regions grow certain varietals and what common taste notes occur. That way, the next time you see a brew available of delicious paca beans from El Salvador, your sweet senses may start tingling!
Have a go at using the guide below next time you’re on the hunt for a fresh brew to try.