The Coffee Dictionary

By Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood

An illustrated A-to-Z guide to coffee terms, techniques, beans, equipment, and more, from a champion barista.

Here is the ultimate Arabica to Zambia guide to all things coffee. This informative dictionary covers everything that goes into brewing the perfect cup. There’s something new to learn on every page! More than two hundred entries, colorfully illustrated with artwork throughout, expertly explain everything from terms and techniques to beans and roasts to equipment and methods.

Newbies and connoisseurs alike will while away the hours “pouring” over the amazing amount of information in this essential reference—a delicious brew for coffee lovers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781452166780

Book preview

For Lesley

First published in the United States in 2017 by Chronicle Books LLC.

First published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by Octopus Publishing Group.

Text copyright © 2017 by Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood.

Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Tom Jay.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4521-6678-0 (epub, mobi)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN 978-1-4521-6665-0 (hc)

Chronicle books and gifts are available at special quantity discounts to corporations, professional associations, literacy programs, and other organizations. For details and discount information, please contact our premiums department at [e-mail] or at 1-800-759-0190.

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Aerobie and Aeropress are registered trademarks of Aerobie, Inc.; Brita is a registered trademark of Brita, LP.; Chemex is a registered trademark of the International Housewares Corporation.; GrainPro Cocoons is a registered trademark of GrainPro, Inc.; Le Nez du Café is a registered trademark of Éditions Jean Lenoir, SARL.; Nespresso is a registered trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.

Contents

7 Introduction

13 A–Z

12 A

13 Acidity | TASTING

13 Aeropress | BREWING

15 Agitate | BREWING

15 Agronomy | GROWING

16 Agtron scale | ROASTING

16 Altitude | ORIGIN

18 Arabica | SPECIES

23 B

23 Barista | BREWING; ESPRESSO

23 Basket | BREWING

24 Bean to cup | BREWING

27 Bicarbonate

27 Blending | ROASTING

28 Bloom | BREWING

31 Blossom | GROWING

31 Body | TASTING

32 Bolivia | ORIGIN

32 Boston Tea Party | HISTORY

35 Bourbon | VARIETY

35 Brazil | ORIGIN

36 Brew ratio | BREWING

38 Brix | GROWING

38 Buffer | WATER

41 C

41 C market | TRADING

41 Cafetière

41 Caffeine | STIMULANT

43 Cappuccino | DRINK TYPE

44 Capsules | BREWING

47 Carbonic maceration | GROWING; PROCESSING

48 Cartridge filter | WATER FILTRATION

48 Cascara | COFFEE BY-PRODUCT

51 Castillo | VARIETY

52 Channelling | BREWING

55 Chemex | BREWING

55 China | ORIGIN

56 Clean | TASTING

56 Climate change | GROWING

59 CO2

59 Coffee futures market

59 Cold brew | DRINK TYPE

60 Colombia | ORIGIN

60 Constantinople | HISTORY

63 Costa Rica | ORIGIN

63 Crema | ESPRESSO

64 Cup of Excellence | COMPETITIONS

65 Cupping | TASTING

67 D

67 Decaf | PROCESSING

67 Defects | GROWING; HARVESTING

68 Democratic Republic of Congo | ORIGIN

71 Density table | SORTING

71 Development | ROASTING

72 Dose | BREWING

72 Drum roaster | ROASTING

75 Dry aroma | TASTING

75 Dry distillates | TASTING

77 E

77 Ecuador | ORIGIN

77 El Salvador | ORIGIN

79 Espresso | BREWING; DRINK TYPE

80 Ethiopia | ORIGIN

83 Eugenioides | SPECIES

84 Europe | COFFEE CULTURE

84 Evenness | HARVESTING; ROASTING; BREWING

86 Extraction | BREWING

89 F

89 Fair trade | CERTIFICATION

90 Fermentation | PROCESSING

90 Fika | COFFEE CULTURE

93 Filter

93 Fines

93 First crack | ROASTING

93 Flat burr | GRINDING

94 Flat white | DRINK TYPE

97 Flavour notes | TASTING

97 Flow rate | BREWING

98 Flower

98 Freezing | STOR AGE

101 French press | BREWING

103 Fresh crop | HARVESTING

103 Full immersion | BREWING

105 G

105 Gear | BREWING

105 Geisha | VARIETY

106 God shot | ESPRESSO

109 Green | UNROASTED COFFEE

109 Grinding | PROCESSING

110 Grooming | ESPRESSO

113 Guatemala | ORIGIN

113 Gustatory | TASTING

117 H

117 Hawaii | ORIGIN

117 Heat exchanger | BREWING

118 Honduras | ORIGIN

118 Honey process | PROCESSING

123 I

123 Ibrik coffee

123 Importing | TRADING

124 Independent coffee shops | COFFEE CULTURE

124 India | ORIGIN

126 Indonesia | ORIGIN

129 Instant coffee | COFFEE CULTURE

130 International Coffee Organization | TRADING

130 Invention | TECHNOLOGY

131 Italy | COFFEE CULTURE

133 J

133 Jamaican Blue Mountain | ORIGIN

133 Japan | COFFEE CULTURE

135 K

135 Kaldi | COFFEE LEGEND

135 Kenya | ORIGIN

136 Kopi Luwak | PROCESSING; ANIMAL RIGHTS

139 L

139 Latte art | COFFEE CULTURE; PREPARATION

140 Le Nez du Café | AROMA

140 Leaf rust | GROWING; DISEASE

142 Lever machine | EQUIPMENT; ESPRESSO

142 Lloyd’s of London | HISTORY

145 M

145 Maillard reaction | ROASTING

145 Mechanical drying | PROCESSING

146 Melbourne | COFFEE CULTURE

146 Mexico | ORIGIN

149 Moka pot | BREWING

151 Mucilage | ORIGIN

151 Multi boiler | ESPRESSO

155 N

155 Naked shot | BREWING

156 Natural process | PROCESSING

159 Nicaragua | ORIGIN

159 Nordic | COFFEE CULTURE

161 Nutate | ESPRESSO

163 O

163 Old Brown Java | AGED COFFEE

163 Olfactory | FLAVOUR

164 Oliver table

164 One-way valve | PACKAGING

166 Origin | PROVENANCE

167 Oxidation | STORAGE

169 P

169 Pacamara | VARIETY

169 Panama | ORIGIN

171 Paper

171 Papua New Guinea | ORIGIN

171 Parabolic | DRYING

172 Past crop | OLD COFFEE

175 Peaberry | COFFEE BEAN TYPE

175 Peru | ORIGIN

176 Phosphoric acid | GROWING; TASTING

176 Plunger

176 Portafilter | ESPRESSO

179 Pour-over

179 Pressure | ESPRESSO

180 Producing | GROWING

183 Q

183 Q Grader | QUALIFICATION

183 Quaker | DEFECTS

185 R

185 Radiation | ROASTING

186 Raised beds | PROCESSING

186 Rate of rise | ROASTING

189 Refractometer | TESTING

189 Resting | FRESHNESS

190 Reverse osmosis | FILTRATION

190 Ripe | HARVESTING

193 Robusta

193 Roller grinder | GRINDING

194 Rwanda | ORIGIN

197 S

197 Sensory science | TASTING

197 Signature drinks | COMPETITIONS

198 Silver skin | GROWING; ROASTING

201 Single origin

201 Slow brew | COFFEE CULTURE

201 Soil | GROWING

202 South Korea | COFFEE CULTURE

202 Species | ROBUSTA AND ARABICA

205 Spittoon | TASTING

205 Steaming | MILK FROTHING

206 Strength | DRINKING

209 Sudan Rume | VARIETY

209 Sugar | SWEETENER

210 Super taster test | TASTING

211 Sustainability | GROWING; TRADING

212 Syphon

213 T

213 Tamping | ESPRESSO

213 Temperature | HOT AND COLD

214 Terroir | GROWING

217 Thermodynamics | SCIENCE

217 Third place | COFFEE CULTURE

218 Third wave | COFFEE CULTURE

221 Turkish coffee | BREWING; COFFEE CULTURE

221 Typica | VARIETY

223 U

223 Umami | TASTING

223 United States of America | COFFEE CULTURE

227 V

227 V60 | BREWING

227 Vacuum pot | BREWING

228 Variety | GROWING

231 Vietnam | ORIGIN

231 Volatiles | TASTING

232 Volumetrics | BREWING

235 W

235 Washed process | HARVESTING

236 Water | BREWING

239 Weighing scales | BREWING

239 World Barista Championship | COMPETITIONS

243 X

243 Coffee X | SPACE COFFEE

245 Y

245 Yemen | ORIGIN

245 Yield | TERMINOLOGY

247 Z

247 Zambia | ORIGIN

250 Index

254 Acknowledgements

256 About the Author

Introduction

It seems that there are two ways to fall in love with coffee. Either you start drinking coffee from an early age and develop a relationship with it over time, becoming more and more engrossed with its culinary and cultural potential; or you have almost no interest in coffee and then have an epiphany, a cup of coffee that changes everything. This is followed by disbelief and confusion coupled with excitement–and then you never look back.

The latter scenario applies to me. I had almost no interest in coffee. I drew portraits and painted things as my first real vocation. Like many an artist, I worked hospitality jobs on the side and over time, I realized my passion lies there. I met my wife and we thought we would do a bit of travelling. After six months in India, we ended up in Melbourne, Australia, with a work visa.

Unbeknown to us at the time, the city of Melbourne was home both to a vibrant café scene and to an equally impressive coffee culture. I got a job in the city in a café downtown and it wasn’t long before I was discussing coffee with many of the regulars. It was they who brought the subject up, and to be honest, I was a bit lost. Sure, I was finding it an interesting challenge to master this difficult latte art thing, but quite why coffee was a complex culinary phenomenon was not obvious to me. One of the regulars could see I was intrigued, though, and suggested that on my lunch break I pop up the road to a small café called Brother Baba Bhudan. I wandered up, and a lady with a coffee plant tattoo crawling up her leg asked me whether I would like to try the single-origin coffee. She said it was from Kenya and had notes of strawberry and vanilla. I must be honest – I was sceptical. I had no idea what coffee coming from Kenya meant (why would it be different from any other coffee?) and the flavour notes, I thought, would be lost on me.

Then I stepped outside onto the pavement and tasted the espresso. There it was – the epiphany. I simply could not believe how incredible this little beverage was. It instantly changed how I saw coffee and its potential. Not only did I get the flavour notes, it was one of the most incredible things I had ever tasted. To say that I enjoyed it is a huge understatement. My mind started going crazy. Why have I only just found out that coffee could taste and be like this? Not just I but my wife, too, bubbled over with excitement and we knew immediately that we wanted to work in coffee. Next day, I changed jobs and began the ongoing and endless pursuit of chasing and understanding coffee. We used our time in Melbourne to visit roasters and cafés and take courses with barista champions, before finally heading home.

Back in the UK we started an events company, moved to a new town to open a shop, dived into the world of competitive coffee, collaborated with scientists and espresso machine manufacturers, and continued to learn and explore coffee. The coffee world really is a rabbit hole.

For me, coffee has proved to be endlessly fascinating, engaging, and rewarding. Coffee is many different things for different people. This amazing drink is full of flavour, intrigue, history, and countless stories. With this dictionary, I am excited to explore and discover coffee with you.

—Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood

A

Acidity | TASTING

You may have heard acidity being described positively as brightness and negatively as sourness. This is the thing