I love coffee. The smell of freshly ground coffee in the morning and my oat cappuccino for an extra kick of energy at the start of the day. Coffee is coffee, you might think. And although that is of course true, there are many different types and the taste differences can be very large. For example, the taste depends on the type of bean, the quality, but also the way you brew the coffee.

Same plant, big differences
At first glance you might expect that every cup of coffee tastes the same, but nothing could be further from the truth. There are many different types, of which the Arabica is the best known. What about the differences in flavours?

It all starts with the coffee plant. The fruit of the coffee plant is a drupe, which means that each fruit contains a seed containing a coffee bean. It takes about 3-4 years for a coffee plant to produce enough. The beans are removed from their skins after picking. After drying and roasting the kernel, the coffee bean as we know it appears there.

Each strain has a different taste and the process has a huge impact on the taste of the coffee you drink later. The fruits are carefully picked by hand, so that only the ripe ones end up in the harvest. Not yet ripe or overripe fruits can negatively affect the taste. The seeds are then dried, which ensures that the bean has a longer shelf life. The coffee beans are then sorted by size and weight, so that the same quality is achieved. The beans are then roasted, turning them into the brown coffee bean as we know it. Finally, the whole beans are packed in an airtight container so that it has a longer shelf life. All these small steps affect the taste. Sometimes it can only be small taste differences, but a true connoisseur will easily recognize the best coffee bean.