Coffee Varieties.

Do they matter?

I love tomatoes. I know this is a slightly strange start to a coffee newsletter but, stick with me on this one.

My other obsession is trying to grow as many tomato varieties as I can every year. I tend to fail miserably however, every now and then I have a bumper crop. Nothing is better than tasting multiple varieties side by side and discovering their unique characteristics. Why is it that we celebrate the diversity of variety in so many crops and yet somehow this has been overlooked in coffee?

You might have noticed that the coffee plant variety will be named on most bags of specilaty coffee? However, as an industry I still think we struggle to effectively communicate them. Is it because we have always used other reference points to market coffee? Or, is it simply because coffee quality is a new concept and we are still figuring out the factors that define it?

I personally think the above points have some merit, but one of the main things I have learned is that to grow and raise distinctive coffee varieties and then separate them into individual lots is a costly process. Maybe this is why we do not communicate our love of coffee through their varieties as we do with wine, maybe the world isn’t ready to pay the price of a Grand Cru.

I have struggled to understand certain elements of coffee cultivation and it is an area that I am focused on exploring in more depth. When you realise that the majority of the coffee produced today is grown an awfully long way from it’s native habitat, you start to learn that varietal selection is more focused around what will grow and survive than what tastes the best. (Maybe this is why my tomatoes struggle?)

I am keen to dive deeper into this subject over the coming months, and I think a lot of coffee is going to be consumed…

I know just the person to ask.
I will report back.

Cheers

Burts.