Coffee. It’s our starter to the morning, the booster we need to get us going through the day and the bane of our sleep’s existence at night. We drink it pretty often, but there’s a world of facts about coffee that even we didn’t know! Here’s a list of 6 things you didn’t know about coffee until now!
1. The word “coffee” comes from the Arabic word for “wine.”
We know! There’s practically barely any correlation, but it’s true. The Arabic word for wine, “Qahwah”, later became “Kahveh” in Turkish, then “Koffie” in Dutch, which is where the English word “coffee” hails from!
Source: Etym Online
2. There are four main components to a coffee’s flavour.
Usually, most of us would just label coffee as ‘bitter’. But, there’s more to the flavour notes than what meets the eye, or rather, the tongue. Coffee experts taste coffee for 4 things, bitterness, acidity, sweetness, and saltiness! What’s more, the brewing length of your coffee has a major impact on the balance of these four flavours!
Source: Truly Experiences
3. Where you get your beans from matters.
We’ve talked about tasting notes. But did you know that where your coffee beans are sourced from greatly affects the taste? Coffee is very sensitive, it’s like wine in that regard, as it takes on the flavours and aromas of its environment. Each region is known for their unique tasting notes and aromas that it naturally imbues into its coffee. For instance, coffee from Africa is known to be fruity, floral, and sweet!
Source: Perk Coffee
4. What’s single-origin coffee?
Ever wonder why cafes boast about their single-origin coffee? What is it exactly? Why should you even care? Well, single-origin coffee is a simple term for a BIG definition. It’s basically coffee that’s sourced from, well, a single origin. Whether that may be a producer, crop, or region from one country.
But it’s so much more than that, as it’s as unadulterated as coffee can be. The flavours of single-origins are significantly pronounced, robust, and exotic compared to coffee blends, which is most of what you’ll find today in most cafes. The availability of single-origin coffee is also limited as producers can’t harvest huge quantities of the stuff consistently.
Essentially, the distinct and robust flavours of a single-origin bean reflect the characteristics of where it was grown!
Source: Perfect Daily Grind
Here’s a list of different single-origin beans, where they come from, their tasting notes and their pairings!
- Costa Rica’s La Minita El Conquistador
Region: Costa Rica Dota
Roast Level: Medium Dark
Processing Method: Washed
Tasting Notes: Butter, Dark Chocolate, Cocoa, Vanilla
Immerse yourself in a fragrant world of cream, dark chocolate, cocoa, and vanilla. With creamy, chocolatey and bitter notes, these beans brew up a coffee that pairs well with hot milk! This is the perfect coffee for your hot mochas and lattes.
- Guatemala Huehuetenango SHB
Region: Guatemala Huehuetenango
Roast Level: Medium Dark
Processing Method: Washed
Tasting Notes: Floral, Caramel, Cocoa, Fruity
Higher altitudes mean a slower maturation process with these beans. Bringing out flavours of floral notes, caramel sweetness, rich cocoa intensity, and fruity flavours. With the combination of heavy and light-tasting notes, these beans go with a pairing that contains both! Opt for a fruity, chocolatey cake-like black forest to go with this coffee, best had as an espresso!
- Brazil’s Ipanema Estate Dulce
Region: Minas Gerais
Roast Level: Medium Dark
Processing Method: Natural
Tasting Notes: Chocolate, Nut, Caramel & Vanilla
With a rich chocolate, caramel-ly flavour and the fragrance of fresh fruit and flora, these beans create a heavy-bodied result, with round flavours. We recommend it with a fresh buttery croissant dipped in the coffee!
- Indonesia Sumatera Mandheling
Region: Indonesia Gayo
Roast Level: Medium Dark
Processing Method: Wet-Hulled
Tasting Notes: Butter, Nut, Licorice, Dark Chocolate
Due to these beans’ unique wet-hulling method, they have floral notes, caramel sweetness, intense cocoa, and a variety of fruity flavours. Don’t these notes remind you of baked goods? These beans are best paired with warm nutty walnut banana bread!
- Colombia Huila El-Divino Nino
Region: Colombia Huila
Roast Level: Medium
Processing Method: Washed
Tasting Notes: Plum, Kiwi, Hawthorn, Grapefruit
The freshness of plums, the juiciness of kiwi, the tartness of hawthorn and the aroma of pomelo. These light and refreshing notes will bring a level of tangy fruitiness to your palette. The best pairing with it? Interestingly enough, thick and creamy custard!
- Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
Region: Yigarcheffe
Roast Level: Medium Light
Processing Method: Washed
Tasting Notes: Floral, Lemon, Citrus, Tropical Fruit
Sipping this coffee invokes walking through the vibrant floral fields of Ethiopia, accompanied by hints of lemon, citrus, and tropical fruit fragrances. These beans curate a flavour profile that pairs perfectly with cheese. Specifically, subtle tasting soft cheeses!
- Kenya AA FAQ
Region: Kenya AA FAQ
Roast Level: Medium
Processing Method: Washed
Tasting Notes: Tangerine Blackberry, Citrusy
Due to it’s careful washing process and medium roast, flavours of sweet blackberry and citrus are brought out. With zesty flavours like these, there’s only one clear answer. A lemon blueberry Danish to bring out the fruity notes of the coffee!
5. Pour over coffee exists in an entirely different league.
In a similar vein to single-origin coffee, it’s been blowing up in trendy cafes and the like. But is there actually any difference?
Well, of course. Pour over coffee delves into an entirely new world of flavours and experiences. It essentially entails hand pouring hot water over coffee grinds in a filter, slowly, carefully, but surely brewing the beans in a gentle manner.
The result? Crisper acidity, brighter flavours, and a lighter body that’s only present in pour-over coffee!
And the best part is, you can get pour-over, single-origin coffee in coffee drip bags or in a full pack of beans of your choice at these select HWC outlets from the 1st of October!
- H001 HWC 1 Utama
- H008 HWC Pavilion Bukit Jalil
- H009 HWC Kepong Metro Perdana
- H011 HWC Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
- H012 HWC The Gardens Mall
- H015 HWC Setia Utama
- H014 HWC Bukit Tinggi 2
- H026 HWC Bangsar Shopping Centre
One-Day Exclusive Offer!
Here’s an exciting hot tip: On the 1st of October, in celebration of International Coffee Day, HWC Coffee brews up some incredible deals just for you!
Online and In-Store: Enjoy a fantastic 30% discount on ALL coffee-related merchandise.
In-Store Exclusive: To make International Coffee Day even better, when you visit HWC in-store, you can indulge in a Buy 1 Free 1 offer on delightful pour-over coffee!
These promos are only up and running for one day, so be sure not to miss out!
Click on these links to get some single-origin coffee today!
https://hwccoffee.my/brandstores
6. Coffee is actually a fruit!
On a technicality. The coffee cherries we harvest the seeds from, coffee beans, classify as fruits! But wait, coffee is a brewed drink. So, does coffee now classify as tea? Comment below!
Source: Third Wave Coffee Roasters
Click here for more information on HWC’s single-origin pour-over coffee!
And that’s been 6 Things You Didn’t Know About Coffee Until Now! Looking for more coffee-related articles? Read about how you can Snap OOTDs at These 9 UNIQUE & IG-WORTHY Starbucks Stores in Malaysia!
