When you sit down with a fresh cup of coffee, you might savour its rich aroma and comforting warmth, but how often do you think about the journey your coffee took to reach your cup? Coffee takes an incredible journey — spanning continents, cultures, and complex processes. From the lush coffee farms nestled in the mountains to the meticulous care involved in processing and roasting, every step plays a role in the final flavour.
Where It All Begins
Coffee thrives in tropical climates with high altitudes, where the soil, rainfall, and temperature are ideal for growing high-quality beans. Each region has its own unique environmental conditions, known as terroir, that influence the flavour of the coffee.
Coffee cherries grow on trees and take several months to ripen. Farmers hand-pick the cherries to ensure only the ripest are selected, as uneven ripening can affect the final flavour. This labour-intensive process is crucial for achieving the high standards required for specialty coffee.
The Processing Stage: How Cherries Become Coffee Beans
Once the cherries are harvested, the beans (which are the seeds inside the cherries) need to be extracted and processed. The method used for processing has a significant impact on the coffee’s flavour profile. There are three primary processing methods: washed, natural, and honey.
- Washed (or Wet) Processing: In washed processing, the outer pulp of the cherry is removed, and the beans are fermented in water to break down the remaining mucilage. This method is known for producing clean, bright flavours.
- Natural (or Dry) Processing: In this method, the whole cherry is dried with the beans still inside. This allows the beans to absorb more of the fruit’s sugars, resulting in a sweeter, fruitier coffee.
- Honey Processing: Honey processing is a hybrid method where some of the cherry’s mucilage is left on the bean while it dries. This results in a coffee that balances the clarity of washed processing with the sweetness of natural processing.
The Role of Roasting
Once processed, the green coffee beans are shipped to roasters around the world, like us! Roasting is where the beans truly develop their final flavour. During roasting, the beans are heated to high temperatures, causing chemical reactions that release their natural oils and sugars. This is when flavours like chocolate, fruit, and caramel emerge.
Roasters carefully monitor the time and temperature to bring out the best characteristics of each bean. A light roast will highlight the coffee’s acidity and origin-specific flavours, while a darker roast brings out deeper, more robust flavours.
Learn more: Meet Your Roasters, Samuel & Greg!
From Roaster to Cup
After roasting, the coffee is packaged and ready to make its way to you. But your role in the journey isn’t over yet! How you brew your coffee—whether you use a French press, pour-over, or espresso machine—will also influence the flavour. Different brewing methods extract different compounds, and even factors like grind size, water temperature, and brewing time can dramatically change the taste of your coffee.
The journey from farm to cup is a complex and carefully orchestrated process, with each step influencing the final flavour in your cup. At Rogue Wave Coffee, we honour this journey by sourcing high-quality beans from trusted farms and using expert roasting techniques to bring out the unique characteristics of each coffee. So next time you take a sip, take a moment to appreciate the incredible path your coffee has traveled! ☕️