Try:
- Country
- Region
- Varietal
- Process
- Species
- Grade
- Term
- Roast
- Altitude
Nothing in the guide matches yet. Try the country, region or varietal as written on the bag.
How to read a coffee bag
Origin and region. Most specialty labels start with a country and narrow down: a region, then a district, a washing station or a farm. The narrower it gets, the more traceable the coffee. A region tells you the altitude band and harvest season it probably came from.
Varietal. The plant itself: Bourbon, Typica, Geisha, SL28, or a code like 74158 for a selection from an Ethiopian research centre. Some bags just say "heirloom", which usually means a mix of Ethiopian landraces.
Process. How the fruit came off the seed: washed coffees tend to taste cleaner and brighter, naturals fruitier and heavier, honeys in between. Words like anaerobic, carbonic maceration or yeast-inoculated describe a controlled fermentation on top.
Altitude and grade. Altitude in metres (masl) is a rough guide to how slowly the cherries ripened. Grades are each country's own system: Kenya's AA is about bean size, Guatemala's SHB about altitude, Ethiopia's G1 about defects.