Have you ever thought what makes the coffee grown at higher altitudes much rich and flavorful than that grown at lower altitudes?
Due to limited circumstances at high altitude, the coffee beans grow more gradually and therefore have more span to develop complex sugars.
Generally, coffee grown under 3,000 feet brings a mild taste with a bland flavor. As the mountainous areas promote faster runoff, plants that grew there absorb less water. This tends to produce denser coffee cherries.
Air Density and the Coffee Flavor
Coffee becomes perfect when it gets roasted at the least temperature for the smallest count of time. People often say and consider, beans grown at higher altitudes are denser and so call for higher temperatures for roasting. Is it true?
It’s a rare known fact that only a fractional temperature as well as time is needed for high altitude coffee roasting. Dry and very thin air at higher elevations with a fewer moisture content that leading to a quicker roast over a smaller time span.
This means, roasting coffee at higher elevations avoids scorching your beans. Baking the coffee beans for too long results in a lack of expansion causing flat & overcooked flavors. Scorching of coffee happens when beans get roasted at too high temperatures, creating a woody flavor for coffee.
Higher elevation roasting can keep these problems at bay, helping you to attain the tastiest roast for your coffee.
High Altitude Roasting Makes More Complex Flavor Compounds
While you roast your coffee at high temperatures, it becomes much more rapidly roasted. A quick roast will let the complete flavor compound of the bean come to be more pronounced.
A shorter roast period at a lesser temperature gives rise to a smoother and more complex flavor with a fresh and lingering experience- brewing the perfect cup of coffee.
To wrap it up
Coffee beans grown at higher altitudes are the tastiest among all the kinds of coffee, as it has enough time to develop complex sugars and requires the lowest roasting temperatures for a shorter period, making more complex flavor compounds.
Ethiopia, the homeland of the most delightful and perfect-quality coffee available across the world is very keen and meticulous about each process associated with coffee making.
The same goes for the largest producer and exporter of Coffee in Ethiopia, Kerchanshe. As most of the Kerchanshe farms are situated at high altitudes, coffee growers harvest the perfect mature coffee cherries that only produce the delicious coffee sips.