In this month’s forum, we will be talking about the many forms of coffee-based drinks that people all over the world enjoy. This may seem a little out of topic for our product which is ice, but what is iced coffee without the ice? Iced coffee has grown popular especially during summer, or in countries with only tropical climate.
First, let us talk about the base of any coffee – the coffee beans.
Contents
Types of Coffee Beans
There are four major types of coffee beans found in different countries. Although each nation has something unique to offer to your cup, researchers have classified them between arabica, robusta, liberica, and excelsa.
Arabica (Coffea arabica)
Arabica is the commonly used coffee bean in the world. Reports suggest that 60-80% of the world’s coffee drinks are derived from arabica coffee beans. However, arabica trees are very delicate, in that they require high altitude surroundings to prosper, with ample amount of sunny and rainy days before they can bear good beans.
Adding to their sensitivity is low resistance against diseases such as blight, whereby a whole arabica plantation run the risk of getting infested easily. This is the reason why most farmers avoid crowding arabica plants as diseases spread easily.
Arabica-derived coffee is said to have low caffeine and is on the sweet side than other types of coffee. Due to low caffeine content, it is not advisable to dilute with sugar and creamer as it may affect the coffee’s flavor greatly. It is also best prepared with hot water to capture the flavorful taste.
Robusta (Coffea caniphora)
Robusta is the coffee bean type that is quite the opposite of Arabica, in that it can withstand harsh weather conditions and do not require rainful. Deriving from its name ‘’robust’’, it is relatively easy to grow because it is almost disease-resilient and more robust taste.
Robusta reportedly contains 2.4% more caffeine, with richer and stronger taste. This is why it is the widely-used variety for iced coffee drinks and those that are diluted with sugar and creamer as the taste is not affected very much.
Liberica (Coffea liberica)
Liberica is a variety that has a fairly new and interesting origin. The outbreak caused by coffee dusts that devastated arabica plants around the 1890s-1900s resulted to producers scrambling to find a new variety that has a similar taste but more resilient to disease outbreaks. Coffee dusts are orange, powder-like organisms that infect the plant’s leaves and then the beans are left rotten. The Philippines, which was an American territory around that time, was the first country to develop such plant to produce liberica coffee beans. This has widely boosted the country’s economy as they become a single coffee supplier at that time. However, this supply chain did not last long due to the changing global landscape, particularly the desire of countries to claim independence from being colonies.
Liberica can easily be identified from other coffee beans as it is asymmetrical and possess irregular shape. It also has distinct aroma that is like its fruity and floral taste. Some coffee drinkers also claim that it has the most different flavor from other coffees as it has a woody taste.
Excelsa (Coffea excelsa)
Excelsa can also be reclassified as a variant of liberica as their trees and coffee beans are similar in shape and size. Their trees both grow up until 20-30ft, with beans similar to almonds in appearance. It only accounts for 7% of total coffee supply in the world but is slowly gaining popularity among coffee lovers due to its low supply.
Despite having numerous similarities, liberica and excelsa have different their tastes, with excelsa having a tarty flavor that is usually used to boost flavors in coffee.
Famous Coffee-based Iced Drinks
Iced Coffee
Iced coffee is probably the simplest and classic coffee-based cold beverage. Its preparation is also the easiest as you only need to brew it in hot water, just like how you would in hot blended coffee, then cool it through ice. You may add sweetener and creamer as you like.
Cold Brew
Cold brew is a recently popularized iced coffee drink that is made by submerging coffee beans to cold or lukewarm water instead of preparing it hot as you would in iced coffee. In this way, the taste is said to be smoother and less strong that regular iced coffee. You may store the beans in water for as long as you want, then add sweeteners and creamers as preferred.
Iced Latte
Iced latter is prepared with espresso and milk then chill with ice. Most coffee shops offer this to add variety to product offerings.
Iced Viet or Thai Coffee
Remember robusta coffee beans? It is widely popular for milk-infused coffee drinks and Southeast Asian drinks like the Vietnamese and Thai iced coffee are no exemptions.
It is prepared by brewing robusta beans and adding condensed milk over ice. The strong coffee flavor of robusta beans partners with rich creamy sweetness of condensed milk make it a popular drink not only in Southeast Asia but even specialty shops across the world.
Frappe
Frappe is a general term used to refer to variety of coffee-based cold beverages that are slushy in texture. It is most commonly prepared by blending coffee with ice and sweeteners, may it be in the form of syrup, cream, milk, caramel, chocolates, and the like. Whipped cream usually tops off this popular cold drink to give it a distinct feature.
Nitro
Nitro is a relatively new iced coffee variant as new technology paved the way for its creation. It is infused with nitrogen bubbles, much like what the beer industry uses, to give it a foamy top and beer-like texture.
Mazagran Coffee
Mazagram is a new variant that crosses three worlds of cold beverage – coffee, tea, and alcohol. It is typically made by mixing espresso, lemon, sweetener, and liquor, specially rum, to give its unique flavorful taste.
club.atlascoffeeclub.com