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Sustainability
The basics Cafeology
What is coffee

Coffee is more than just brown beans Arabica can be
that a barista grinds to make your classified, according to

morning latte. Many books exist that bean density, as hard
explain exactly what coffee is, in bean (HB), good hard
excruciating detail. However, it is beans (GHB), and strictly
prudent to include some basics, so hard beans (SHB) (SHB is
that the rest of this story about also interchangeably
Roberto Mata’s farm and Costa Rica used with SHG = strictly
remains in context. high grown). HB is the

Coffee grows on trees, in countries least dense and SHB the
around the equator, within the tropics most dense.
of Capricorn and Cancer (aka The
Coffee Belt). These trees produce Density is proportional
cherries that contain two seeds each. to the altitude that the
These seeds (aka beans) need to be coffee is grown at –
removed, dried, and roasted before higher altitude means
you can think about drinking anything.
more dense coffee. More
There are >100 species of coffee dense coffee (e.g. SBH)
identified however only two are tastes better and holds
available commercially: Arabica and up better during
Robusta. Arabica is the majority of roasting, so SHB is
coffee produced and Robusta yields preferred by speciality
only 30-40%, mainly because arabica coffee roasters, which
tastes better but both have various means coffee grown at
varieties with different flavour high altitudes is

profiles. preferred.

Ripe coffee cherries, on the branch, ready for picking MARCH/APRIL. 2024 | ISSUE 35

www.beveragestandardsassociation.co.uk