A number of factors can play in to what you will taste when you sip that cup of delicious Bach coffee, but how does the coffee bean itself affect flavor? There’s quite a lot that goes into planting and farming coffee. It is grown all over the world in different regions with different climates, altitudes, soil types, and other factors. There are two main categories most coffee beans fall into: Arabica coffee , and Robusta coffee.
ARABICA COFFEE
Arabica coffee is the preferred variety of most coffee roasters and brewers. It is harder to grow and requires more labor to maintain and harvest, and also yields a smaller harvest. This means that Arabica beans are higher in demand, and therefore, are more expensive and coveted. Arabica coffee has a delicious, delicate flavor and a well-balanced acidity that is appealing to most coffee drinkers, and is typically considered superior to Robusta coffee.
ROBUSTA COFFEE
Robusta is high in caffeine and usually has a bitter, harsh flavor. It is easier to grow and harvest, and doesn’t require high altitudes or special climates to cultivate. Due to these factors, it is less expensive than Arabica coffee, making it the preferred variety of commercial – or mass-market – coffee companies.
LIGHT, MEDIUM-DARK & DARK ROASTS
A lightly roasted coffee is pleasant with a delicate flavor and more pronounced acidity. Expensive and high quality beans are typically light roasts to allow coffee drinkers to taste the original flavors of the bean. Medium-Dark is our most popular roast, where a slight caramelization of the natural sugars in the bean give the coffee a touch of roastiness, while it still retains its natural flavor character. Dark roasts have an intense roastiness from the full caramelization of the natural sugars in the beans, a full body and are deep, rich and complex.
