There are a lot of countries that produce excellent coffee. But what is the best coffee and how can you define perfection in a sea of so many different tastes? And generally, how is the good taste defined?
I tend to always purchase different coffees, at least what’s available in the shop in a particular time. Of course every different coffee variety has different flavor. Either more fruitful, or more chocolate like. Usually the fruitfulness can be even more boosted by the processing method. The cherries that are processed naturally and honey have more pronounced sweetness, because they are processed with the cherries on. Washed method tends to give you more cleaner and chocolate and nut notes. So processing of coffee is one of the main things that can alter the overall profile.
But that’s not all…
If you want a perfect cup of coffee and you want to consume the possibly freshest beans, there’s a factor that you cannot miss. The beans are in their peak flavor when roasted two weeks to two months ago. And the green coffee also don’t have that much time when they are in top condition, like in any food. This really divides coffee in different picking seasons so the availability of the fresh coffee beans is from different country in different time of the year.
For instance in Ethiopia and Costa Rica the coffee picking season is from September to March, but in Peru it begins in March and continues to September. This means that the first fresh coffee beans start to be exported from Ethiopia maybe about November-December but the Peru beans do the same about six months later.
That’s the reason why in the specialty coffee roasters there is this type of seasonality of the coffee varieties. In the roasters where I take my beans from, now there are a lot of Ethiopian coffee and it is from the last picking season - 2021/2022. If the cherries were picked in January/February this means they were dried and processed by the mid- March. Getting the production packed and refined for export takes some weeks more. The best quality coffee is usually auctioned and this takes the beans a couple more weeks. The preparation for export and international shipping can take a month or two more and we are already in she summertime. The specialty coffee shop roars small batches and as on a regular intervals. This means that I receive the freshest possible beans.
And this is the answer to the general question. The best beans come from different coffee producing regions in different seasons. That’s why I don’t have any particular favorite country and always choose to purchase different coffee from all over the world.
Have a nice weekend and see you soon!
Bye!
