Coffee in layman's terms. Coffee types

Let's dive into coffee theory a little bit and figure out what varieties of coffee exist, so that there is no more confusion.

To begin with, coffee grows in the equatorial belt, mainly in Africa, Central and South America, and Indonesia. There are quite a few producing countries, the largest ones being Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, and Indonesia.

The type of coffee is determined by the coffee tree on which it grows. By the way, coffee growing on a tree is a berry. It belongs to the bedstraw family

It is very easy to remember using the following formula: When we drink black coffee brewed by the alternative method, we can taste cherries, cranberries and other berries (these are not flavorings at all, but simply the terroir of this or that bean that nature has put in it) and, in fact, we drink coffee compote.

There are three types of coffee trees:

-Arabica (grows at high altitudes - 900-2100 m above sea level, poorly tolerates cold, often exposed to diseases, requires a lot of care).
-Robusta (grows at altitudes of up to 900 m, the beans are more rounded than the arabica)
-Liberica (grows on trees up to 20 m, the fruit is oval, up to 2.5 cm, used only in the pharmaceutical industry).

What about taste characteristics?

Arabica is more expensive because it has less caffeine and more flavor, while Robusta is bitter to the taste, often used for coffee blends and blends, and is cheaper, with a caffeine content of 2.7%, as opposed to Arabica (1.5%). That is why a cup of low-quality coffee in incomprehensible places can start to shake - high caffeine content.

In the Russian modern coffee industry, small roaster companies focus on arabica, while those with larger volumes roast both arabica and robusta, creating their own unique blends.

Not to say that Robusta is one hundred percent bad, with a good proportion and the right roasting - a milky coffee drink like a cappuccino or latte is much more enjoyable for many to drink on a blend of these two varieties. In this case the slight bitterness of the Robusta will be balanced by the content of a little acidic arabica and milk.

The important thing in coffee is to drink what you like best! So enjoy your coffee drinking!