Contents
Varieties and classes of coffee
How many types of coffee are there?
There are many types of coffee. The most important ones are the following:
Types of coffee acording to its origin.
Depending on where coffee is produced we have different types of coffee
American types of coffee
American coffees are those that mainly come from the Caribbean and Brazil. Among them some of them are very well-known, such as:
– Colombian Coffee: Coffee grown in Colombia. It is a variety of coffee with a very strong aroma and a bitter taste. It is considered one of the best coffees in the world. The main producing regions of this country are Medellín, Manizales and Armenia.
– Brazilian Coffee : Coffee from Brazil is grown in lowland areas, so its quality is considered inferior to coffee grown in high places. It has a mild sweet flavor.
Among all the brazilian coffees we have to point out Café de Santos. Other recognized coffees are Ponto Do pile, Melitta and Caboclo. Brazil is the world’s largest producer of coffee. The main producing areas are Santos and Rios.
Brasil is the main producer in the world
– Costa Rica Coffee: Coffee produced in Costa Rica is very famous in Europe. It has a dry texture and a fruity flavor. It is one of the most commonly coffees used for breakfast. Among all the varieties, we will include the Costa Rican Tarazu, King, Britt and Volio. No less known is the Organic Costa Rica Coffee that is produced without pesticides. The main producing areas are Tarazu and Three Rivers.
Guatemalam Coffee: Guatemala is renown for its fine coffees which are fairly full flavored coffees. The most important ones are Coban Coffee, Huehuetenango Coffee, San Marcos Coffee or Antigua Coffee. The main producing areas are Antigua, San Marcos, Coban, Atitlan and Huehuetenango.
– Jamaican Coffee: Coffee from Jamaica is usually quite bitter, except the world renowned Blue Mountain, which is the world’s most expensive coffee. Its taste is sweet. It’s a very smooth and aromatic coffee.
– Nicaraguan Coffee: Coffee from NIcaragua is mainly produced in the areas of Matagalpa and Jinotega. It is cultivated about 1,500 meters above sea level.
This is a chocolate-flavored coffee. Most productions of this country are certified organic coffee.
The ecological organic coffee, like this one from Nicaragua, has more followers every day
– Peruvian Coffee: Coffee from Peru is primarily cultivated in the regions of Ayacucho, Cuzco and Urubamba Chenchamayo. It tastes sweet and it shows a mild aroma.
– Mexican Coffee: Coffee from Mexico is available primarily in regions of Coatepec, Tapachula, Chiapas and Oaxaca. It has a delicate flavor with slight acidity.
Arabic types of coffee
Among all of them, the most important one is Cafe Mocha. It tastes like fruit. It is a high quality coffee, expensive and highly prized. It is only produced in Yemen.
Photo of Arabic coffee plant, one of the most cultivated species of coffee
African types of coffee
African coffees are produced in the eastern tropical Africa. Among them we can distinguish the following:
– Tanzanian coffee: Coffee in Tanzania occur in the foothills of Mount Meru and Kilimanjaro. Coffee from Tanzania is pretty much aromatic and acidic.
– Kenyan Coffee: Coffee in Kenya is cultivated in the foothills of Mount Kenya. Like those in Tanzania, coffee from Kenya is very aromatic and acidic.
– Ethiopian Coffee: Coffee in Ethiopia is produced in regions of Harar and Yirgacheffe. Coffee from Ethiopia is a type of coffee with a fruity aroma and a winy acidity, lower than the previous two african coffees.
Asian types of coffee
The most famous coffees in Asia are:
– Indian Coffee:: Coffee in India is mainly produced in Malabar, Karnataka, Kerl and Taminaldu. Coffees from India are very little acid, so they are especially used for blending.
– Java Coffee: This occurs on the island of Java. It is very similar to Jamaican type.
– Sumatran Coffee: Coffee in Sumatra is produced in Lintong region, north of Sumatra. Coffee from Sumatra is world famous for its acidity and it is known under the trade names or Mandheling or Lintong.
– Celebian Coffee: Coffee in Celebes is grown in the mountains of Toraja, in Sulawesi island, in the Malay archipelago of Indonesia. Coffee from Celebes is famous for its strong flavor and high acidity.
Oceanian types of coffee
– Hawaiian Coffee: Coffee in Hawaii is produced in the Kona region on the island of Hawaii, in Polynesia, Coffee from Hawai is a complex one with an intense aroma and quite acidic.
Types of coffe acording to its preparation
Depending on how we prepare coffee beverage we can consider the following types of coffee:
– Espresso with a drop of milk (“Cortado” in Spanish): From a strictly purist point of view a ” Cortado” is a espresso with some added milk foam. It can be also considered an espresso (Black coffee) to which a few drops of milk are added to “cut” the taste of coffee. We must not forget that Italian type of coffee called “machiato“, meaning spotted. It alludes to the small amount of milk foam or cream which is incorporated into the mixture. In many places, however, it has lost its original value and it is the same than white coffee which is served in a smaller cup.
A espresso machine “Gaggia Titanium Professional”
–Cappuccino: It is made with a combination of equal parts of espresso, milk and milk foam. On the milk foam on top of the preparation some chocolate chips and cinnamon are poured.
– Coffee chocolate: A small cup with two thirds of coffee and a portion of condensed milk.
– Vienna Coffee: The combination of espresso with beaten milk adorned with chocolate chips. Unlike cappuccino coffee ratio is usually higher than that of milk.
– Mocha: The combination of equal parts of espresso, milk and chocolate.
– Affogato: Black coffee with a vanila ice-cream added
– American coffee : Espresso with lot of water
– Drip coffee: It is that type of coffee which is done with a drip coffee machine (drip coffee maker). Most of drip coffee makers use a paper coffee filter. Basically they consist of a container where water is placed and another container which recieves the dissolved coffee made without pressure. In the middle of the two contaniners coffee filter is placed. Indian filter coffee is made of stainless steel.
Ground coffee is placed inside the filter using a sort of spoon or measuring device that will provide the exact amount of coffee to the preparation.
Hot water passes through the coffee filter and dissolves the coffee which falls drop by drop into the container specifically designed to pick it. There are many varieties of this type of coffee. Traditionally known as “Melitta coffee makers ” because this trademark is the pioneer in selling this type of coffee maker.
Drip coffee maker from Philips brand
– Brewed Pot Coffee: It is the traditional coffee, which is prepared at home without the aid of any machine, only with the aid of a pot and a strainer. It is the most natural form of preparing this beverage, since it consists on a natural way of obtaining the coffee properties by means of the decoction method in which coffee beans are directly cooked in water. (See more information abou recipe for homemade coffee)
More information on coffee and caffeine.
