Terroir & Coffee Part 1 | Intro to Coffee Origins

Are you a Colombian coffee lover? Maybe you’re more of an Ethiopian type. Or perhaps Brazil is your go-to country for a shot of caffeine. Maybe you’re reading this and you don’t get the hype when it comes to a coffee’s country of origin.

I mean, how much does it really matter where a coffee is grown?

A coffee’s origin is one of the three greatest factors that impact its final taste–the other two being roasting and brewing. To put it another way: it’s as important as one of the legs on a three-legged table.

Let’s break down why that is. When we talk about a coffee’s “origin”, we are referring to everything that happens to the coffee bean before it gets exported: the growing environment, the cultural context of its country–everything.

But first, a quick introduction to what coffee is, for those who may not know.

Coffee isn’t actually a bean; it’s the seed of a coffee cherry that is produced by the Coffea Arabica plant. Everything that impacts how this plant is grown, harvested, and processed is included in what we would call the “origin” of a coffee.

There are two main categories we think of when we think of a coffee’s origin: the environmental factors (sometimes called “terroir”) and its coffee culture as a country.

Environmental Factors in Growing Specialty Coffee

If you’ve ever glanced at the label of a specialty coffee bag, you’ve probably seen some information splashed on the label. Variety. Elevation. Processing method.

What do they all mean? And how do they impact the taste of your coffee?

All of those things encompass what we call “terroir” (pronounced tehr-war). Terroir isn’t a small dog or a fancy term reserved for wine enthusiasts. It’s basically how the growing environment of the coffee affects its taste.

Every choice made along the way makes a big difference when it comes to the final product. And believe us when we say there are a lot of choices! Beginning with which variety to plant.

Impact of Variety on Coffee Flavor

Just like apples—Gala, Red Delicious, Honeycrisp—coffee has thousands of varieties, each with unique flavor profiles.

Which variety a coffee producer chooses to plant makes a profound impact on how it tastes. A Caturra, for example, is typically more fruity, acidic, and tart than a Typica, which is generally more bitter, balanced, and full-bodied.

When it comes to a coffee’s origin, the variety matters! But variety isn’t the only factor when it comes to a coffee’s origin.

Impact of Elevation on Coffee Flavor

Most likely you’ll see the elevation a coffee is grown at printed on the bag in meters. Something like, 2050m or masl (meters above sea level). Why is the exact elevation so important? And why is it measured in such a foreign measuring system like…meters?

First, the United States is literally the only country in the world (out of ~190!) that solely relies on the Imperial system for measurement. So, really, it’s not the rest of the world that’s weird for using the metric system; it’s us for not using it.

Now that that’s out of the way, why does elevation matter in coffee? Simply put, coffee that is grown at higher elevations (>1000m) ends up being of higher quality than that grown at lower elevations.

As the cooler temperature slows down the ripening process of the coffee cherries, it allows them to become more nutritionally dense and more packed with flavor compounds. So, as the altitude increases, the biochemicals of the bean decrease in chocolate and nutty notes and increase in citric, floral, and sugary notes, resulting in smoother, sweeter, more flavorful coffee.

When it comes to a coffee’s origin, elevation matters.

Impact of Climate and Soil on Coffee Flavor

Not featured on the bag but equally important when it comes to a coffee’s origin is the climate and soil in which it’s grown.

The Coffea Arabica plant, like many of us, loves a good tropical climate. It prefers high humidity, moderate (not heavy) rainfall, and a good balance of sun and shade.

It also thrives in soil that is well-drained, nutrient-dense, and rich in organic matter, such as volcanic soil.

One of the challenges coffee farmers face is the degradation of soil after planting a singular crop like coffee for a long period of time. The biodiversity of plants that made the soil rich begins to decrease over time and more and more fertilizer is required to supplement it. Pests also become more of a problem, increasing the need for pesticides or other solutions.

These are real problems for the coffee farmers of the world and with them come a variety of choices that impact the overall health of the plant and flavor of the coffee.

But back to what’s on the bag. How does the processing method affect how your coffee tastes?

Impact of Processing Method on Coffee Flavor

Depending on its natural resources, a country will usually prefer one kind of processing method over another.

For example, in Ethiopia, where water scarcity is an issue, the natural method is preferred since it doesn’t require water. Coffee beans are laid out to dry with the whole cherry still on.

In countries with an abundance of water, however, like Colombia, Peru, or places in Central America, the washed method is more common. The beans are separated from the cherries and washed before drying. Honey processed coffees are in-between these two: they remove the outer skin of the cherry, but leave the mucilage on as the beans dry.

This decision has a huge impact on taste!

Washed coffees tend to bring out more fruity, floral, caramel, and acidic notes; natural coffees impart unique red wine and strong body notes; and honey processed coffees have attributes of both!

These choices made at origin–which variety to grow, what elevation to grow it at, and how to process it–play a critical role in your coffee’s overall flavor, quality, and taste.

But interestingly, there is one more factor we would include in considering a coffee’s origin: the coffee culture of the country.

Impact of Coffee Culture of Country on Taste

How much a country invests in its coffee industry greatly impacts the quality and taste.

The reason why certain countries begin to be known for their coffee is generally because of how much time and resources it has put into cultivating a strong in-country coffee culture.

Many countries like Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, and Colombia have whole institutes devoted to researching best practices in coffee and varieties that grow best in the local environment. And then they go out and educate coffee farmers about these things so they can achieve the best possible coffee product!

This raises the standard for coffee in the country, provides a level of quality control, and imparts a sense of community and partnership, thus strengthening the in-country coffee culture. The payoff is visible as the coffee being exported is known to have consistent quality.

Those labels on your bag of specialty coffee aren’t decoration; they are vital pieces of information! They tell you about all those choices that were made at origin that affect how that coffee tastes. They tell you, in a sense, the story of that particular bag of coffee. And understanding how important each choice is will hopefully enable you to appreciate that story even more the next time you read it.

So the next time you're sipping on that bright, citrusy Ethiopian or that nutty, chocolatey Guatemalan, remember—you’re tasting a story written by a million different choices of sun, soil, and societies.