Coffee Wiki

AeroPress

A versatile pressure-assisted immersion brewer with an exceptionally wide parameter range, favoured for travel, experimentation, and forgiving daily use.

Batch Brew

Automated drip brewing designed for volume and consistency, capable of producing excellent filter coffee when brewed to SCA Golden Cup standards.

Chemex

A pour-over brewer using an exceptionally thick bonded paper filter that produces one of the cleanest, most sediment-free cups in manual coffee brewing.

Cold Brew

A room-temperature or cold-water immersion method steeped for 12–24 hours, producing a low-acidity, full-bodied concentrate that is smoother and sweeter than hot-brewed coffee.

Espresso

A concentrated, pressure-driven extraction method that produces a small, intense shot with significant emulsified oils, dissolved solids, and crema.

French Press

A full-immersion brewer using a metal mesh filter, producing a heavy-bodied, oil-rich cup with more texture than any paper-filter method.

Hario V60

A cone-shaped pour-over brewer that rewards technique and highlights clarity, brightness, and origin character in the cup.

Kalita Wave

A flat-bottomed pour-over dripper with three small drainage holes and distinctive wave-filter design that promotes even extraction and more forgiving flow control than cone drippers.

Moka Pot

A stovetop brewer that uses steam pressure to push boiling water through ground coffee, producing a strong, concentrated brew with deep body and low acidity.

Siphon (Vacuum Pot)

A theatrical two-chamber vacuum brewer that uses vapour pressure and partial vacuum to brew coffee at a precise, stable temperature with exceptional clarity.

Turkish Coffee

One of the world's oldest brewing traditions: ultra-fine ground coffee simmered in a small pot called a cezve, served unfiltered with grounds settled at the bottom of the cup.

Brazil

The world's largest coffee producer, known for low-acid, nutty, and chocolatey naturals that form the backbone of most espresso blends globally.

Colombia

A year-round producing origin with exceptional geographic diversity, delivering consistently balanced, approachable cups that introduce the world to specialty coffee.

Costa Rica

A Central American origin known for honey processing innovation, diverse microlot production, and exclusively arabica cultivation, producing sweet, balanced coffees from multiple distinct growing regions.

Ethiopia

The genetic and cultural birthplace of Coffea arabica, producing some of the world's most complex and florally distinctive cups from ancient heirloom varieties.

Guatemala

A high-altitude Central American origin with diverse microclimates producing coffees ranging from rich chocolate and caramel to bright citrus and stone fruit, depending on region.

Indonesia

A vast archipelago producing full-bodied, low-acidity coffees shaped by the wet-hull process, with distinct earthy, herbal, and dark fruit character from Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi.

Kenya

One of the world's most distinctive coffee origins, producing intensely complex cups defined by blackcurrant, tomato, and citrus from unique SL varieties and double-fermentation processing.

Panama

A small Central American origin famous for Geisha coffee, whose floral, bergamot, and stone fruit character has commanded the highest auction prices in specialty coffee history.

Rwanda

A small East African origin producing exceptional washed Bourbon coffees with bright citric acidity, floral aroma, and stone fruit sweetness, shaped by high altitude and post-1994 industry rebuilding.

Yemen

The birthplace of modern coffee culture and one of the world's oldest producing origins, growing ancient heirloom varieties in terraced mountain farms with a distinctive wine-like, complex character.

Anaerobic Fermentation

A controlled oxygen-free fermentation process that produces intensely complex, often polarising flavour profiles through CO2-pressurised sealed tank fermentation.

Carbonic Maceration

An experimental fermentation process borrowed from winemaking, where whole coffee cherries ferment under CO2 in sealed tanks, producing clean, fruit-forward, almost candy-like flavour profiles.

Honey Process

A partial-mucilage processing method that sits between washed and natural, producing a sweet, medium-bodied cup with complexity that avoids the fermentation risk of full naturals.

Natural Process

The oldest coffee processing method, drying whole cherries with fruit intact to produce intensely fruity, wine-like, full-bodied cups with high fermentation complexity.

Washed Process

The dominant specialty coffee processing method, removing all fruit before drying to produce a clean, terroir-forward cup that expresses origin character with exceptional clarity.

Wet-Hulled (Giling Basah)

An Indonesian processing method where parchment is removed from still-wet beans, producing swollen blue-green beans that dry rapidly and develop earthy, full-bodied, low-acid flavour characteristics.

Brew Ratio

The relationship between coffee dose and water volume that determines brew strength and extraction efficiency, expressed as a ratio and measurable with TDS and extraction yield.

Channeling

A flow defect in espresso where water finds and exploits a path of least resistance through the coffee puck, causing uneven extraction that produces simultaneous over and under-extraction.

Coffee Tasting and Cupping

The systematic approach to evaluating coffee flavour through cupping, aroma analysis, and structured sensory scoring used by professionals and enthusiasts to compare and assess coffee quality.

Extraction Science

The fundamental science of how water dissolves compounds from ground coffee, what those compounds are, and how to use extraction yield and TDS to diagnose and improve any brew.

Grind Guide

A comprehensive guide to grind size, burr geometry, particle distribution, and how to dial in by taste for any brew method.

Roast Levels

How heat transforms green coffee into roasted coffee through the Maillard reaction and caramelisation, and how different roast levels shift the flavour from origin-driven brightness to roast-driven depth.

Water Chemistry

Water makes up over 98% of a cup of coffee, and its mineral composition directly affects extraction efficiency, flavour clarity, and equipment longevity.

Arabica vs. Robusta

The two dominant commercial coffee species differ fundamentally in genetics, flavour, caffeine content, growing requirements, and market positioning — with profound implications for what ends up in the cup.

Bourbon Variety

One of the most important arabica varieties in specialty coffee, known for sweetness, complexity, and distinct colour mutations including Red, Yellow, and Pink Bourbon.

Catimor, Castillo, and Rust-Resistant Varieties

A family of disease-resistant arabica varieties derived from the Timor Hybrid, planted across millions of hectares in response to coffee leaf rust — with significant implications for flavour and the specialty coffee industry.

Ethiopian Heirloom Varieties

The genetically diverse wild and semi-wild arabica populations of Ethiopia — the birthplace of coffee — that contain more variety than all other arabica cultivations combined.

Geisha Variety

A wild Ethiopian arabica variety that produces extraordinary floral, bergamot, and stone fruit character when grown at high altitude — and has commanded the highest prices in specialty coffee history.

Maragogype

A giant Typica mutation producing the largest arabica beans in the world, with a distinctive silky texture and mild, complex cup character when grown at sufficient altitude.

Pacamara

A large-beaned Central American hybrid of Pacas and Maragogype, producing an unusually complex cup with floral, chocolate, and fruit notes and exceptional sweetness when grown at high altitude.

SL28 and SL34

Two Kenyan varieties selected by Scott Laboratories in the 1930s that produce the intense blackcurrant, tomato, and grapefruit character that defines Kenya's position in specialty coffee.

Typica

The foundational arabica variety from which most cultivated coffee descends, prized for exceptional cup quality and complex sweetness but vulnerable to disease and low in yield.

Burr Grinders

Grinders that use two abrasive surfaces to crush coffee to a consistent particle size — the most important purchase in home coffee brewing after the coffee itself.

Gooseneck Kettle

A kettle with a long, curved spout that allows precise control over water flow rate and pour direction — essential for pour-over coffee methods that depend on controlled water delivery.