Beanz

[garyscottadamson]

For around 10 years I''ve been running a specialist tea house in the UK. I''m hoping to introduce coffee soon. As of present I''m researching coffee in depth and I cant seem to find the answer to the question ''If beans were to be arranged in strength order, what would the list look like.''

 

[equus007]

more info

do you want strongest flavor or caffiene content

what beans are you talking about? A specific roasters or general roast protocol(which there is none)? Should robusto be included?

You've found the right place to ask just be more specific.

In general:
The more you roast a bean the stronger the "coffee" flavor up until the point that you char out all the goodness. Conversely the darker the roast the less caffinated it will be.
Flavor by region w/African being the "strongest" or "dirtiest", C/S.American mid range and Indonesian/SE Asian(Hawaii and Jamaica as well) more mello and inclusve of rarer flavors.

All this being said it really depends on how you brew it to a great deal as well.

 

[garyscottadamson]

I'd like to focus upon flavour rather than caffene content, and Arabica rather than Robusto, as most people would prefer Arabica over Robusto. Please correct me if I'm wrong?

I'm planning on ordering as many different samples of single origin coffee as possible. I'd then like to be able to try them all. In order to beable to truly appreciate the unique charcter and flavours of each, I'll need to begin with the lightest and move on to the strongest.

To do this I'm going to need some sort of order. Also, If I was to employ a Barista, would the Barista take control of non espresso coffee?

 

[equus007]

re

barista...a good one...will control all coffee related stuff

I would suggest tasting by roaster rather than by strength. Try everything a roaster has to offer and then move to another roaster. for practicalities sake you will probably want to stick wit one roaster for all your coffee. otherwise the legwork gets very time consuming. If the roaster you decide on doesn't do something that one of the other roasers does approach them and ask them for a special order. Its really easy to do and from the roasters perspective they know those beans are sold and they don't have to worry about them moving before they oxidize.

 

[ElPugDiablo]

If you want to focus upon flavor, then you need to know a bit about flavor and aroma of different coffees. For example, a good Kenya will have black berry and currant aromas and red wine liked flavors; a good Yirgacheffe is floral and citrus liked, and is almost like a fine Darjeeling. They are not light or dark, weak or strong; those are based roasting style and brewing weight.
Here is a good site for you to read up on.
http://coffeereview.com/reference.cfm?ID=45