Varieties To Die For

Buying coffee may not be that difficult if there are only two choices on the shelves. But what happens when you have more than ten kinds of coffee to choose from? A little difficult, yes, but still manageable. However, what happens when you have as many as 30 varieties lined up on the shelf, which coffee would you choose? A little bit crazy I bet.

This, however, is the reality of things. In a coffee specialty shop you can find more than 30 different kinds of coffee, more brands that you have ever seen some of which you've never heard of and more unique flavors and combinations than any coffee shop could ever provide.

Whenever you buy coffee you get to see a lot of French, Italian, Viennese, and Continental names on the packaging. Usually, these brands are made from darker coffees and don't really mean that the beans themselves came from these regions.

But instead of the location where they were planted and harvested, these coffee names are dependent on the actual length of time the beans were roasted. For example, Italian roasts are generally darker in color since they have been roasted longer than the Viennese coffee, and so on.

If European names refer to the length of being roasted, non-European names refer to the origin of the coffee bean. So if you see a coffee named Mexican roast, then the beans came from Mexico.

There are other names on coffee labels. One of the more exclusive ones is the Estate named brands. Estate labeled coffees are distinct in a way that the coffee has been grown, harvested and processed in a single farm or estate. Estate coffee growers pride themselves of having their coffees pure.

They never mixed their own estate coffee varieties with other coffees the grew and were harvested in other regions. Probably, one of the most known and trusted estate grown coffee is the Wallensford Blue Mountain brand, which is grown exclusively in Jamaica.

We've talked about names referring to roasts and place of origin, now let's take a look at the various flavored coffee names. Generally, these kinds of coffees are less expensive but are really good nonetheless. Flavored coffee names are the ones that have the words crème, chocolate, vanilla, or any nut or fruit names attached to the word "coffee."

Unlike most of the pure coffees which are roasted black, flavored coffees are roasted medium brown. The flavor themselves are added into the coffee in liquid form.

Blends, on the other hand, are a mix of two or more coffees. The main consideration and certainly the key feature of blends is that the coffees that are mixed together should complement each other.

The aroma, taste, and flavor should never be distinct but at the same time harmonious. Just like estate coffees, there are several well known house blends that have trusted coffee combinations.

There are also various organic coffees and other commercial brand names that have their own distinct flavors. Just remember to choose calmly and don't get overwhelmed by the number of varieties out there.