I have a confession to make: I am a coffee addict.
I love coffee. I drink a shockingly high amount, and whenever I tell people, they usually freak out. I have been known to come into work, after a morning shot of espresso, to a full pot of filter coffee, then into an afternoon V60 (a type of pour-over coffee) or two. For anyone worried about my heart, I have given up this habit, sadly.
But I could drink coffee all day, every day. No matter the time, from first thing to the moment before bed, I am game for a cup of coffee. My friends have known me to have a shot of espresso at 1am. I'm currently editing this article at 11pm over a cup of coffee. I have some days—rarely—consumed only coffee with no other liquid. I just love coffee.
An important caveat, I have never felt the effect of caffeine. I am sure it probably has some effect on the physiological level, but no matter how long I abstain on caffeine, I feel nothing after having it. I always thought people were joking when they said coffee gave them the jitters—even now it is hard for me to truly believe it has such an effect on people.
From my understanding, there are two genetic markers that largely dictate how caffeine affects you. The first marker is CYP1A2, and the second is ADORA2A. They identify individuals as "fast" or "slow" caffeine metabolisers and as having a "high" or "low" caffeine sensitivity, respectively.
I have had my CYP1A2 tested and I came out as a fast caffeine metaboliser. ADORA2A is a much rarer test, sadly; however, from personal experience, I almost certainly have low caffeine sensitivity.
Which—depending on your perspective—gives me the golden combo of metabolising caffeine quickly when consumed and being highly insensitive to the effects of any remnant caffeine in my system.
The result of which is I could have a shot of espresso and immediately fall asleep. I will partake in the ritual of having coffee in the morning, and the warm liquid certainly has a waking and soothing effect as I have what I would consider my favourite drink. But often times when I'm finished, I want another, yet my friends would be far too buzzed for one
Coffee like wine has so many levels to it. It is an endless pit of variation and differences that I would like to briefly explain.
Firstly, to define, coffee is a liquid brewed from ground coffee beans. Coffee beans are the seed of the Coffea plant's fruit—often known as the coffee cherry.
The coffee plant actually has two distinct varieties: Arabica and Robusta.
Arabica accounts for roughly 60% of the world's coffee and is the more temperamental variety. It has a very specific set of requirements for growth; it has to be cultivated at an altitude of 1,300m to 1,500m. It can last in the cold, but frost kills the plant. It prefers a rather tight temperature range of 15-24°C. It requires consistent rain; droughts and excessive rainfall are harmful to the plant, and it takes 5 years for a plant to mature. Mature plants only produce a pound (500g) of roasted coffee a year.
Robusta accounts for the remaining 40% of the world’s production and is a much easier plant to care for. It can grow in a much wider altitude range, can handle higher temperatures and more humidity, is less susceptible to disease, and has a greater yield per plant.
However, Arabica is often considered better than Robusta because it has a smoother and sweeter taste. Interestingly, Robusta has a higher caffeine content.
Arabica is the more consumed bean in Western countries; almost all of the ground beans you would see at a supermarket would be Arabica. Nearly every coffee shop would serve Arabica—there are exceptions: Black Sheep Coffee (a British coffee brand) are currently trying to popularise Robusta in the UK.
Robusta is typically used in instant coffee where the harsher taste isn't as big an issue. And the Italians would sometimes blend a small amount of Robusta with Arabica in espresso for better crema—the foam on the head of an espresso.
The other place you might have consumed Robusta is in Vietnam, which is the world's largest producer of Robusta and its biggest consumer. The Vietnamese have a culture of using sweetened condensed milk in their coffee, which has the effect of balancing out the harsher flavours of Robusta.
Robusta does have a bit of bad press, and it is entirely possible to get a good cup of coffee from it, but its cultivation is less developed than Arabica.
Arabica is native to Ethiopia and Sudan; however, its cultivation is now widespread in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Jamaica, and Rwanda.
Coffee consumption is typically seen in three waves.
First wave coffee is your stereotypical supermarket coffee, with little emphasis on the origin, processing, or flavours—the coffee is often just 'coffee' with muddy flavours and often stale beans.
Second wave coffee is defined by Starbucks, focused on flavoured drinks with syrups. Strong, darkly roasted coffee that is intended to blend with your chosen syrups but the coffee itself is bitter and flat.
Third wave coffee—also known as specialty coffee—originated in the 1980s and is focused on the bean. There was now an emphasis on trying to roast coffee for specific flavour notes, an emphasis on lighter roasts, single origin, freshness, and more intimate brewing methods like pour-overs. And people grinding their own beans at home for maximum flavour.
The first recognisable bean from this was Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee (JBM). JBM is grown in the Blue Mountain range of Jamaica. The coffee is rather lovely; it has a smooth drinkable taste with no bitterness but is rather pedestrian compared to speciality coffee nowadays, but it was the first to professionalise.
Third wave coffee has now expanded to many parts of the world, and these regions each have their own flavour profiles. It would take quite a while to highlight all of them, but to give a few:
My favourite currently is Rwandan Inzovu beans—I have picked up the hobby of roasting my own coffee, which is fun both on the experimental level but also much cheaper than buying roasted coffee. Rwandan coffee’s traditionally are more floral, with a fruity profile, sweetness, and nice acidity.
Costa Rican coffee is also lovely; it typically has more citrusy notes with fruity flavours and a nice sweetness.
But this is the beauty of specialty coffee. I have a preference for the citrus and sweetness of lighter roasts, but the world of coffee is your oyster. If you prefer more full-bodied coffee, Tanzanian, El Salvadorian, or Indonesian may be your cup of tea. If you prefer low acidity, Indian, Mexican, or Costa Rican might be better. The choice is endless. This is something the Americans and the Canadians have grasped, and it is slowly making its way into the UK consciousness but still has room to grow.
And of course, a further step into the rabbit hole are the brewing methods.
The traditional method most know is a drip/filter coffee machine. This uses a paper filter and has water percolate onto the coffee grounds. The machines often have too low a water temperature, which means the coffee isn’t fully extracted leaving a thin-tasting coffee.
The other common method are Nespresso/pod machines. These are a perfectly suitable option for coffee but have some issues in the taste department, such as an incorrect ratio of coffee to water, low water temperatures, and too little pressure.
There are a couple of different brewing methods you can use to solve this. The methods are usually separated into espresso or filter.
The espresso category is slightly wider than it would suggest; it, of course, includes espresso machines but also Moka pots and Aeropress. These are methods of brewing coffee under pressure, i.e., water is forced through a puck of coffee in a pressurised environment to extract flavours from the grounds. Pressurised coffee extraction allows you to get richer flavours in a concentrated shot of coffee—most would then dilute this with milk.
The filter category is slightly wider; it includes methods such as V60, Chemex, French Press, and a handy device called a Clever Dripper. Coffee is held in a paper filter and water is then poured through, like a drip machine but is done at the correct temperature in a more controlled manner. This usually draws out the more complex flavours of coffee, is less acidic, and is described as 'clean'. It is often drunk black.
Neither is superior; they are just different experiences, and on any given day, I am likely to choose between either (sometimes I’ll have both!).
Espresso is often more expensive due to the cost of the machine, and requires a more expensive grinder—as the pressure when brewing is 9 bar, the grind of the bean needs to be much finer to ensure the coffee is extracted properly.
A good espresso quality grinder is around £500 for an automatic one (it can easily go much higher). But I prefer a hand grinder—which comes at the bargain price of £150. Usually you can use the grinder for both filter and espresso. But some grinders are better suited to one method. Additionally, there is variation on how the beans are grinded which gives different flavour profiles.
Coffee is a much deeper field than most would think; this is actually just the tip of the iceberg—despite 1700 words of me gushing over a liquid most don't think about before consuming.
The complexity of brewing is nothing compared to roasting coffee, something I have recently picked up. This involves buying the green coffee beans and using a popcorn machine to roast to your desired level. It is quite fun and allows for infinite customisability and a much deeper level of apprecation of coffee—of course, it is rather nerdy (as I will recognise this entire article is).
I don't expect anyone reading this to suddenly become a born-again coffee drinker and to roast their own, but I thought people would appreciate learning a little more about something they probably have every day!
And I thought I was a coffee snob 😂
Although I do love all the info you provided and I’m going to save it for my next bean buying sortie!!