Know Your Java Jargon

Next to oil, coffee is the most widely traded commodity. The consumption of coffee is about 400 billion cups a year and continues to grow. Like any other popular commodity, coffee has its share of controversies.

People around the world have both loved and hated coffee for many years. Many expletives have been used to describe coffee over the years, including "the drink of the devil", the drink that caused men's impotence and an evil brew. Still, coffee has always been there, as literary masterpieces were written, national testaments and oratories created, medical advances made and world-changing business deals brought to fruition. While these landmark events were not reached only because of coffee, it surely had something to do with them.

Coffee is surely more than a simple beverage. The world loves it, and for good reason.

Much like wine, coffee takes special preparation. Like wine it takes dedication and specialized processes and cultivation, although it is the antithesis to wine. Wine will relax the body and tends to slow mental processes. This isn't the case with coffee. Coffee calms rather than intoxicates. Coffee stimulates the senses rather than dulling them. As the famous line goes, "It cheers the spirit without making one mad."

And like wine, coffee needs blending, brewing and the various other preparations that go with excellent drinks. Coffee also has its own vocabulary. To be truly familiar with coffee here are some of its more notable terms:

Acidity

Carrots and coffee have nearly the same pH. Acidity in coffee contributes to its special liveliness, color and brightness.

Arabica Coffee

There are two main types of coffee: Robusta and Arabica. Coffee Arabica contains less caffeine, but grows at altitudes of 3,500 to 7,000 feet, so it's harder to cultivate. This type of coffee is more expensive but has a superior full bodied taste as compared to Robusta.

Bourbon is a variety of Arabica coffee that is grown in Africa. For some time, the cultivation of bourbon Arabica coffee was not seriously pursued, because although it has more character and taste, it does not yield as large a crop as the other Arabica varieties. However, our insatiable love affair with coffee has brought about increased cultivation and a rise in popularity.

Blends of Coffee

While artists create wonderful things by mixing colors on their palettes, coffee blenders take beans grown in various regions and mix them to create unique taste and aroma. These blends create special flavors that cannot be achieved with coffee of a single origin.

Body or Feel

Pertains to the "feel" of coffee in the mouth. The body of the coffee could feel light, delicate, thin, syrupy or buttery.

Decaffeinating / Decaf

This is the process of minimizing the caffeine content of the coffee beans. Several processes could be utilized to remove the caffeine content. One method uses chemicals; another makes use of different water processes and lastly is the use of carbon dioxide. In all decaffeinating process, the chief concern is to preserve the natural flavor of the coffee bean.

Coffee Grades

Coffee beans are classified by their size and density. Premium coffee is the highest possible grade and it is sold at the highest price.

Processing

Processing is the separation of flesh from bean. There are two types of coffee processing: washed and dry. When coffee is processed using the dry method, the cherries are spread across the ground and allowed to dry in the sun. Several times each day, the beans are raked to ensure even drying. After two to three weeks, the dried flesh will crack and falls off of the bean. This method of dry processing gives a syrupy texture and an earthy flavor to the coffee.

With washed processing, the skin is cut from the coffee beans and the beans are allowed to stand. When the beans begin to ferment, the skins are easily washed off with water. Then, the beans are dried. With this washing process, the natural flavors of the coffee are preserved.

Now that you're more familiar with coffee vocabulary, go ahead and impress your friends with this newfound knowledge. Over coffee, of course!