Strong Coffee Beans Guide: What are the best coffee beans for you?
There’s no doubt that coffee is complex and hard to differentiate. Even though coffee lovers around the world know just how special each unique variation is, they still struggle to find the best strong coffee beans for them. There are hundreds of coffee species but Arabica and Robusta are the most popular, and Arabica is far more common in Australia and New Zealand.
In this guide, you will learn about the different types of strong coffee beans and brew styles to help you determine what suits your unique flavour palate.
Arabica Coffee Beans
If you are in Australia or New Zealand, the coffee you order at a local cafe or coffee shop will most likely be of the Arabica species. Average altitude ranges from 1000masl to 1500masl. Arabica beans thrive in humid and warm conditions. If it is too hot or cold, the tree will not produce an adequate yield with the proper flavour profile. Arabica beans require the tropical climates found in between the tropics of cancer and capricorn, generally those places that have single season weather all year round. Sweeter than their robusta counterparts, the more delicate conditions required to grow Arabica translate to a softer, smoother and more vibrant coffee profile and aroma
The Arabica beans make your coffee sharp in taste, light in texture, and fruity in flavour, making it the more popular choice among coffee consumers in Australia and New Zealand. From the moment you take a sip of coffee made from this delicious bean, you will understand what high-quality coffee tastes like.
Robusta Coffee Beans
On the other hand, robusta beans are as their name states ‘robust’ and blunt in flavour with a higher caffeine content per gram. These strong coffee beans make up approximately 30% of the world’s total coffee production. Known for their robust, deep flavour and high caffeine content, Robusta beans are commonly used for instant strong coffee or milk coffees as their strength cuts through the milk and gives the drinker a satisfying, dark chocolate flavour.
Robusta beans are bold with a full body flavour and low acidity, which makes the coffee taste extremely full-bodied. Most people who enjoy this strong coffee type are used to the traditional style of powerful Italian coffee. It is common to have coffee blends with higher robusta content as opposed to Arabica in parts of Europe and the Middle East
Water Decaffeination Process Beans
In a coffee-obsessed country like Australia, asking for a decaf coffee may seem strange. But decaf has become more and more popular in recent years. The Water Decaffeination Process uses water from the mountains to remove the caffeine from strong coffee beans without compromising the beans flavour.
As Di Stefano states, the process involves:
- Gently steaming green beans to start a physical reaction allowing the beans to breathe
- Immerse the beans in water that is saturated with the flavour of coffee, creating a balanced, easily maintainable coffee flavour
- Dry the beans to remove moisture
- Once dried, we analyse the beans for their size, colour and moisture levels
- Cupping takes place after roasting a small batch and grinding coarse to analyse flavours
- If successful and the caffeine has been removed, the flavour is a lighter, smoother drink without the kick you would normally expect from a cup of coffee.
Strong Coffee Beans
