World Coffee 2011-2012

Best Coffee in the World – Finest Exotic Gourmet Coffees 2011-2012

The eternal quest for the perfect cup of coffee and the perfect shot of espresso ends here. We have calculated the answer to this holy grail by considering all of the characteristics of the world’s finest coffees including the acidity of the coffee, the body, the fine aromas, the overall sweetness and/or bitterness and of course the aftertaste.ee

Only Arabica coffee plants have made the list though that is not to say that some non-Arabica beans may reach the standard in the future. All of the coffee beans on the World Coffee 2012 list are grown at high elevations with fertile, well-drained soil and a climate with cool temperatures allow the sensitive Arabica plants to thrive, yet never so cold as to freeze which would severely damage the crop and the coffee plants.

These coffee beans cultivated in the world’s prime coffee growing regions must find their way to the consumer without being harmed at any step of the process. First they must be harvested by hand and only at peak ripeness. The coffee cherry then must be processed properly and quickly to avoid any damage to the subtle qualities of the beans within.

After processing the green coffee beans, which have been milled but not yet roasted, must be transported to the roaster and given just the right amount of roasting for the particular coffee bean.

After roasting the coffee must be shipped directly to the consumer within a few days, ideally in the proper packaging which is a valve-sealed bag so as to allow any harmful gases still emitting from the roasting to escape, while not allowing any oxygen in which can quickly degrade the fine tastes and aromas of the gourmet coffee. Also important is the storing of the coffee once you receive it – make sure to keep it in a cool, dark and dry place and definitely not in the freezer or refrigerator.

At this point all that is left is the grinding (preferably using a conical burr grinder) and then proper brewing. Then you can enjoy an ancient beverage in all of its glory, and you will never go back to ordinary coffee again.

To begin your exploration of World Coffee you will need the finest coffee beans in the world. Here they are:

Sumatran coffees are among the world’s finest gourmet coffee beans and include the esteemed Sumatra Lintong Coffee known for its earthy sweetness. The dry processed Sumatra Mandheling Coffee is known for its complexity in its tastes and aromas, as well as its brightness – indeed the acidity is quite brilliant, and infused with chocolate and licorice notes. Apply a Dark Roast to Sumatran coffee beans to really bring out their rich sweetness that makes them a respected world coffee.

Hawaii Kona Coffee – Grown in the good old U.S. of A, this fine coffee benefits from an ideal growing area on the fertile volcanic slopes along the western side of the Big Island of Hawaii. This is “Kona Coffee Country” where nearly 700 small, independent coffee farmers cultivate their plants on steep, rocky slopes and hand-pick the gourmet Arabica coffee beans. The flavor of Kona coffee is quite delicate and light yet with an interesting complexity that delights the palate. With a medium body and vibrant acidity, Kona coffee exhibits wonderful spice and wine notes that carry into the aromatic aftertaste. While Kona coffee has been Hawaii’s premier product for many years, the recent emergence of Kau, also on the Big Island, has impressed judges at gourmet coffee tasting events. Also showing potential to enter the premium coffee market are coffees now being cultivated by small farmers in the Puna, Hamakua and Hilo regions of the Big Island of Hawaii. World coffee aficianados make sure to stop by the Big Island during harvest season as the whole region celebrates the 10-day Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.

India Monsooned Malabar Coffee gains its exceptional flavors and aromas from the monsooning of the coffee beans which involves leaving them exposed to the moist winds of the rainy season in warehouses or open-roof silos. This monsooning may last as long as three years and changes the color of these exotic world coffee beans, which are normally slightly green, giving them a somewhat yellowish tint or even a light brown color. The result of the monsooning process on the coffee beans’ flavor is that the beans take on a loamy, woody quality along with a wonderful sweetness and overall deep intensity that shines through in the brewed cup. Monsooning causes the acidity of the coffee to become somewhat subdued while adding complexity and intensity and depth of this mild bodied coffee. India Monsooned Malabar Coffee is often used to provide additional depth to espresso coffee blends. Spice and wine notes shine through and reflect the coffee’s dry processing.

World Coffee 2011-2012 continued:

Java Arabica Coffee is a gourmet world coffee that has established itself among the top of the list of premium coffee beans. With an exceptionally heavy body, Java Arabica has only a medium acidity but a wonderful sweetness that blends into a long-lasting finish alive with notes of smoke and spice. Some earthy tones come through in this coffee which is wet processed. Java Arabica is grown in Indonesia on Java Island at an elevation of about 1,400 meters above sea level. The Dutch government established coffee estates in the region in the 1700s and five of these old estates still today produce the area’s finest coffees, which also happen to be among the best coffee beans in the world.

Brazil Cerrado Coffee and its cousin Brazil Bourbon Santos Coffee are well-respected in the gourmet coffee world. The Cerrado coffee offers a fine body and relatively mild acidity along with an exceptional balance. The coffee has notes of caramel that come out best when a light-roast is applied. These are among the finest Brazil Coffees, which is saying something since Brazil grows a lot of coffee being the number one producer in all of the world. Also from Brazil is the famed Jacu Bird coffee which is organic and shade-grown, and comes from coffee beans that are gathered up from the excrement of the Jacu bird.

Thank You for Exploring the World Coffee 2011-2012 – Premium Gourmet Coffee Beans

Yemen Mocha Coffee is loved for its fruitiness and sweet spice notes along with a full body that provides earthy notes. The deep tones of Yemen Mocha resonate in the mouth with an exotic musky quality that signals a true world coffee. Look for cardamom and cinnamon notes that shine through the winey acidity of this gourmet coffee. Perhaps most delightful are the hints of chocolate in the finish. Yemen Mocha is a dry processed coffee. To accentuate the chocolate and fruit tones apply a Dark Roast to these coffee beans. Your choices of specialty Yemen Mocha coffee beans includes both the Mattari which emphasizes chocolate and provides a particularly heavy body, and Sanani which is more respected for its fine balance and fruity qualities.

Panama Geisha Coffee stormed onto the world coffee scene last year when it set a record price at auction. The exquisite flavors of these prized coffee beans have made them all the rage. The Panama Geisha coffee beans come from the Coffea arabica coffee plant varietal called Geisha (Coffea arabica var. geisha). Cultivated at the Hacienda La Esmerelda farm in Panama’s Boquete region (located in the Chiriqui Province), Geisha coffee beans are unique in that the coffee cherry are quite elongated. The body of the brewed Geisha coffee has a honey sweetness and wonderful cup character with an ideal balance.  The floral aroma of Geisha coffee is alive with notes of jasmine and the acidity has a nice delicate quality that carries into the finish.

India Coffee is typically wet processed and offers a mild acidity with a medium or full body. The taste is rich yet quite subtle, and has been compared to esteemed Java Arabica coffee yet the acidity of India coffee is more in line with what you would expect from a Guatemala Coffee. A delicious world coffee, India coffee reveals tones of tropical fruit along with spice notes such as clove and cardamom as well as nutmeg and pepper.

Costa Rica Coffee is a respected world coffee and several regions of the country produce gourmet coffee beans. These include San Marcos de Tarrazu Coffee cultivated in Costa Rica’s interior mountains and known for its complexity and aromatics, Costa Rica Monte Crisol which is loved for its crisp, sweet quality and blueberry finish, and Costa Rica Alajuela Coffee admired for its robustness and complex aroma. To accentuate the fruit notes of Costa Rica coffee apply a Medium-Dark Roast.

Welcome to World Coffee 2011-2012 – Finest World Gourmet Coffees

Ethiopian Harrar Coffee comes in three wonderful varieties, all of them exquisite with spice notes and ranked among the top world coffees. The first of these Harrar coffees is the Mocha Harrar that features the prime peaberry coffee beans. The second is the Longberry that features the largest coffee beans of the crop, and the third is the Shortberry that includes the coffee beans that just a bit smaller. All of these Ethiopian Harrar coffees offer savory fruit and floral notes that shine through in the vibrant acidity along with spice notes including cardamom, cinnamon and compote. Harrars have the distinct winey qualities typical of African coffees and emphasize a brilliant pungency as well as a robust and heady aroma. Ethiopia is a center of world coffee with numerous respected varietals including Lekempti, Limu. Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Harrar, Teppi, Bebeka, Djimma and Illubabor as well as the esteemed  Sidamo coffees that reveal an amazing complexity and bright quality with a full body.

Mocha Java Coffee blends two of the world’s finest gourmet coffee beans to create the world’s oldest and most loved coffee blend. First there is the Indonesian Java Arabica coffee that provides the smooth cleanliness of the brewed cup, while the Arabian (Yemen) Mocha coffee provides the wild intensity that makes this an exotic specialty world coffee. Together they provide a great balanced coffee that is pleasant on the palate and a delight for the senses. Check out the World’s Best History of Coffee to see how this coffee blend came to be as it was a wonderful accident of history how the beans first became mixed in the hulls of the old sailing ships coming from Java to the ancient port of Mocha.

Papua New Guinea Coffee has been compared to Indonesian coffees. due to its rich, earthy qualities and relatively mild acidity. The coffee of Papua New Guinea is a gourmet world coffee that is wet processed which creates a multi-dimensional character with great balance. The taste is clean and bright with a delicate sweetness along with a wonderful complexity that comes through in the fruit-toned aroma. The coffees of Papua New Guinea tend to resemble old-style Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee because the coffee plants came from that region. The choices of gourmet world coffee from Papua New Guinea include New Guinea Kimel Coffee, New Guinea Sigri Coffee and New Guinea Arona Coffee.

Thank You for Exploring the Finest Coffees of the World on Espresso Coffee Guide and Reading World Coffee 2011-2012! Savor Your Fine Espresso and Coffee!