Espresso and coffee are not different things. Espresso is a type of coffee. More specifically, it's a method of brewing coffee that uses high water pressure and finely ground beans to make a small, concentrated shot (the term also refers to the shot itself). While darkly roasted beans have historically been more popular in Italy, where espresso was invented, any kind of coffee bean from any origin and at any roast level can be used to make espresso. One of espresso's defining characteristics, aside from its concentrated flavor and more syrupy body, is a top layer of foam known as the crema, which is a by-product of the high-pressure extraction process. Espresso can be combined with milk (or additional water) to make other espresso-based drinks, such as a macchiato, cortado, cappuccino, latte, flat white, marocchino, americano, and more.

With all the different kinds of coffee beans to choose from (not to mention all those wonderful coffee drinks) you may be wondering what arabica coffee is – and how it affects your daily java. What is arabica coffee? Arabica coffee is a type of coffee made from the beans of the Coffea arabica plant. Arabica originated in the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and is the most popular kind of coffee worldwide – making up 60% or more of coffee production in the world.

Selective harvesting is the picking of only ripe coffee fruit by hand. Unripe coffee is left on the tree for future harvesting. Overripe coffee can either be left on the tree (not recommended) or picked and kept separate from the ripe fruit (recommended). After several weeks the picker will go back and again pick only ripe fruit. This process is repeated until the producer determines that it is no longer worthwhile to harvest. Pickers spend the day picking ripe fruit and filling their baskets. Full baskets are periodically emptied into a larger collection bag. At the end of the day, the harvest is spread out and unripe or overripe fruit as well as any foreign debris that accidentally made their way into the ripe coffee are culled. The coffee is then taken to be weighed, and payment is apportioned by weight.

The best way to store your coffee beans is in an airtight opaque (light blocking) container in the pantry (a cool place). The exception to this would be if your coffee beans came in a resealable bag with a one-way valve. In that case, it would be best to store them in their bag. That valve will let the gases your beans are releasing out, but won't let any air in – which is a good thing. If your beans didn't come in a resealable bag with a one-way valve you'll want to transfer them to a properly sealed opaque container. This will ensure that they are protected from light, and moisture. If you're more comfortable getting away from plastic storage options then transferring your beans to stainless steel or ceramic container also means they have less contact with plastic and other chemicals. Light, heat, air, and moisture can negatively affect the coffee beans causing them to lose flavor, aroma and (in the case of moisture) possibly leave them vulnerable to bacteria/mold growth. Once your beans are open they should hold pretty good flavor (in their resealable one-way valve bag or an opaque container) in your cool pantry for a few weeks. But as time goes by they will lose some of their aroma and flavor.

Your favorite morning beverage begins nestled in the middle of vibrant red cherries. It takes nearly a year for a cherry to mature after first flowering, and about 5 years of growth for a coffee tree to reach full fruit production. With the exception of Peaberry, most coffee cherries contain two beans. Peaberry accounts for about 5% of the world’s coffee, has only a single bean inside the cherry, and is a natural mutation. Most coffee cherries contain two beans. Before it gets to be an aromatic, brown coffee bean, a coffee cherry’s many layers are shed. Attention to detail and skill are needed at each step to make the most of every bean. Perhaps the single most important factor in determining coffee quality is the care taken during post-harvest processing. A single mistake can have serious implications, at times, capable of spoiling an entire batch of coffee.