Posts Tagged ‘source’
Arabian coffee is the quintessential coffee of the world. Arabia lends its name to the highest quality coffee plant in the world, Coffea Arabica. Arabian coffee accounts for about 80% of all coffee produced in the world. It prefers higher elevations and drier climates than its cousin C. robusta.
The tropics of South America provide ideal conditions for growing Arabian coffee which grows best between 3,000 and 6,500 feet but has been grown as high as 9,000 feet. Generally, the higher the plant is grown the slower it matures. This gives it time to develop the internal elements and oils that give coffee its aromatic flavor.
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Growing in Eastern and Central North America from New York and Ontario, West to Minnesota and South to Kansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma, the Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus) is a moderately large canopy tree belonging to the legume family. It is known by several other names, such as American coffee berry, Kentucky mahogany, nicker treet, or stump tree.
The Kentucky coffee tree was pitted against the Tulip Poplar for the distinction of being named Kentucky’s state tree. It eventually lost to the Tulip Poplar (also called Yellow Poplar or Tulip Tree) in 1994 but still retained the title of “unofficial Kentucky state tree.”
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There are many varieties of coffee in the world, but only two are used for 97% of the worlds supply: Arabica and Robusta. The highest quality blends of coffee consist of 100% Arabica beans. Lower quality, less expensive blends may have some proportion of Robusta beans, or they may consist entirely of Robusta.
Arabica beans produce a superior taste in the cup, being more flavorful and complex than their Robusta counterparts. Robusta beans tend to produce a bitter brew, with a musty flavor and less body, and are sold to less discriminating consumers. They are also higher in caffeine than Arabica beans, fueling the addictions from which many of us already suffer.
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