Can you determine the taste of coffee through terroir?

While at Olympia Coffee Roasters, having an intake from both Sam and Oliver, it was interesting to hear what their intake on how terroir affects the flavor of coffee. We learned that the variety is important to think about rather than where the coffee comes from. Where the coffee is grown is not the primary factor in determining a flavor. Commercially, there are only six varieties of coffee from around the world, each with slightly different characteristics. Yet if the location of where the coffee comes from doesn’t necessarily matter, then why do they source their coffee from so many locations around the world? Rather, the variety and the processing of the coffee beans is most important for flavor. The processing of coffee can be done in all sorts of ways, with natural and honey processed coffee making tasting terroir the hardest. For example, natural process coffee is harvested, spread out and dried. Different countries around the world do processing depending on their resources they have. The most common processing is washed coffee, which can be considered “higher quality”. Some places that do washed coffee are Central and Southern America, and Ethiopia. The roasting of the coffee is also very impactful on the flavor.

Favorite Coffee Related thing tasted

At Batdorf and Broson, I ordered a 12 oz vanilla latte, which cost about $4.50. The drink was presented in a while tea cup with saucer. The drink was filled to the brim, with the correct latte displayed pattern made from the thin layer of foam on the top of the drink. A thin layer surrounded the brim of the cup with espresso, which had a bitter but not overly powering flavor. The drink itself was very smooth, and was not too hot, so I was able to drink it right away. The coffee was a tan color, and very light in comparison to dark, black coffee. The taste itself had nutty tones, and the flavor of the espresso hit much more strongly when reaching the tip of my tongue from the side of the cup. The closer to the bottom of the drink, the more the flavor with bitter tones was presented. Some sediment was found at the bottom of the cup, which was just a few little specks of thin flecks of grounds, which were about sand sized. The drink also had a faint amount of nutty tones with hints of fruitiness as well. Overall, I really enjoyed the drink, and I would order this again.