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Differences in taste of all coffees
Question
How come coffee from Indonesia tastes different from coffee from South America and from Africa? I know the taste is different but can not really tell where the coffee is from if I drink it in a restaurant and there is no label for reference.
Answer
Good question and I will try my best to answer for you. Essentially there are two types of coffee in the mainstream of coffee consumption; Arabica and Robusta. The difference between these two types of plant can be generally categorised as follows: Robusta makes up around 80% of the coffee sold globally. It is a more basic bean than Arabica, consisting of 22 chromosomes vs the 44 in Arabica. Robusta generally has very woody taste and is best used in instant coffees. Very good quality, washed robusta, is sometimes used in Espresso blends as well.
Now the Arabica bean has quite a number of different varietals. In Indonesia we have 5 of these. The varietals will produce a different bean but it is not the main reason why a coffee grown in the Barisan Mountains in North Sumatra will taste different to a Guatamalan Arabica. The Arabica bean will take flavour characteristics from a number of regional, climatic or soiled factors. The unique flavours of Indonesian Arabicas - the earthiness of the Sumatran for instance, are in part derived from the chemical balances in the soil, the rainfall, sunshine hours, methods of fertilizing, the altitude (effecting temperature and sunlight intensity), the quality of the drainage, the method of picking, the exact time the coffee bean is picked, the processing and drying methods and finally the warehousing methods. Granted there are a large number of variables, but these will lend themselves to the unique taste of the coffee by region.
This is the reason why your African and American Coffees will cup differently than the Indonesian, Indian and even Australian Arabicas
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