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Why does Density Matter and What affects

the Density of Coffee? Search

Mason Wilson · July 9, 2018 · Wisdom

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 There are seemingly countless factors that can affect the quality and flavor of coffee in the
cup, and everyone along each step of the chain must do their part to ensure they are doing
their producing the best possible results.

For the barista, this might mean tirelessly working on perfecting extraction for each different
brewing method. For the shop manager, this might mean finding the right beans for their shop,
and ensuring freshness and quality from the roaster.

Further up the chain, the roaster will need to consider other factors, both environmental and
according to each different bean. For choosing a proper roast profile, knowing density is one
Wisdom (20)
of the most basic pieces of information a roaster needs. This information will determine the
charge temperature, among other key variables, and help to determine and shape the flavor in Promotions and raises? As a
the cup. barista, what’s the next step
to your career in coffee?
For farmers, denser beans may not only signify a coffee with a richer flavor, but a higher return How a Great Coffee Shop
per bean and per coffee tree and therefore, a higher return per hectare. manager can make your
coffee shop more profits

So by now you will probably be asking yourself, why does density impact flavor? And if that’s 11 Actual Confessions |
Coffee Shop Owner’s
true, then what factors will producer a denser bean? Let’s jump into those questions now…
The Beans and I (A
Momentary Discussion
Before We Roast)

W H AT I M PAC T W I L L D E N S I T Y H AV E O N T H E C O F F E E B E A N ? Q-Grader Recertification

Why does Density Matter
and What affects the
Density of Coffee?
After all these years, what
do you really know about
coffee courses?
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 coffee courses?
How to Reduce the
Smokiness during Coffee
Roasting
The Art of Feeling Out
Coffee for Sample Roasts
Roasting Profiles: How Torch
Roasts "Mountain Man"
Coffees
What really makes a Coffee
Shop Successful?
What in the world is
“sustainability?”
Steps to open a coffee shop:
Four Championship Aero-
press Recipes you should try
Experiment: Tamping
pressure effect on espresso
My Surprising Discovery of
Fine Robusta
7 Deadly Myths Coffee
Shops Believe and What you
Really Need to Do About It
A coffee bean is basically like a honey comb. It is a cellulose structure (similar to wood). The
CLIMBING THE Q
job of this structure is to hold nutrients for the embryo. However we sometimes find beans
Where Does Coffee Come
that are only partially full and have lower body and weaker flavor. From (Scrolling Infographic)
Does Variety matter to the
Denser beans are more full of sugars and flavor precursors, so this translates to more flavor
flavor of coffee?
after roasting. Why do beans have different amounts of nutrients?

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 Coffee Voyager (17)
WHAT AFFECTS DENSIT Y? Mbula Musau - The Talented
Taster
Uncle Zhang’s turn point on
his 40th
The fourth generation of
coffee growers – Nilton
Perez
It's My Choice, I Choose Me -
Xu Xin
We are All Witnesses to One
Woman's Persistence - Erna
Knutsen
Barista Suavecito - Guo’s
Mountain Man Journey
The one that bring joys to us
- Mason
A Momentary Thought; A
Lifetime of Learning -
Summer
From Global 500 to Personal
#1 - Gretchen Xu
The Brawny Barista - Leo Li
Just an Ordinary Person -
Linda

picture credit to: illycafe Marty's Spiritual Journey

The World Outside of the
We all know about altitude and it’s effect on flavor, but I also want to discuss mainly World - Life in B.C. (“Before
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 equivalent altitude at different latitudes, shade, density of planting, and aspect of the Coffee”)

mountain. Coffee Voyagers - Samuel

Tattoo-Armed Barista: Joel
Many coffee professionals probably know about how the higher in elevation you go, the better
Coffee Voyagers - Peter Yu
coffee flavors you can gain access to. This is why you see most specialty coffees grown, at the
Meet the first Kuwaiti Q
lowest, at around 1200 meters. Grader: Muhammad Alhasan

Coffee’s cellular respiration slows down the higher up in elevation you go (because it’s colder),
which means the coffee retains more sugars and nutrients. That process directly affects the Passion (4)
end cups’ flavor. So, theoretically the higher in elevation you go, the better right?
Good Laos coffee that you
can not miss
You are both correct AND incorrect. It is correct that the higher you go the better the flavors,
What do you know about
but you can go too high and begin dealing with frost problems. So, the standard highest this country's Coffee ?
elevation is around 2200 meters at the max, but this is around the equator like Ethiopia,
6 Things I learned while
Kenya, etc. processing coffee In China
Coffee Mountain Men
Below is an example of the normal elevation : flavor representation.

Q-Grader (3)

Learn Q Grader Class with

Marty Pollack
Meet the first Kuwaiti Q
Grader: Muhammad Alhasan
CLIMBING THE Q

Torch Farmers
N t k (3)
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 Network (3)

The Ominous Green Coffee

Scale
Are you informed as to what
it takes for a coffee farmer
to be sustainable?
Harvesting and
So, this is all a great start, but I don’t think it’s a complete thought quite yet. There are many Understanding SCAA Defects
things that still have to be added to this conversation!

One thing is introducing the topic of how a change in latitude affects the necessity of such
high elevations. As you move north or south of the equator,

“The general rule is that temperature changes three (3) degrees Fahrenheit for every 300 mile
change in latitude at an elevation of sea level” and “Generally, temperature decreases three (3)
degrees Fahrenheit for every 1,000 foot (304.8 meters) increase in elevation above sea level.

Of course, the reverse is also true: temperature increases 3 degrees (16.111 degrees Celsius)
with every 1,000 foot (304.8 meter) decrease in elevation.” For example, here in Pu’er, Yunnan,
China the average elevation for coffee growing is 1200m and 20 degrees north of the equator.
This seems to be not very good at first glance, but first let’s apply the rule above:

Parameters

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 1. E L E V A T I O N

Guji, Ethiopia : 6500 feet (1981.2 meters), Pu’er, China : 3937 feet (1200 meters). Difference
between the two; 2,563 ft (781.2 meters).

2. DISTANCE FROM EQUATOR

Guji, Ethiopia: ~ 485 miles, Pu’er, Yunnan : ~ 1500 miles. Difference between the two; -1015
miles.

3.

𝝙 1000 feet elevation = 𝝙 3 degrees Fahrenheit; 𝝙 300 miles latitude = 𝝙 3 degrees Fahrenheit.

4.

Avg. temperature of Guji, Ethiopia: 80.6 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius).

Avg. temperature of Pu’er, Yunnan: 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius). Difference
between the two: 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius).

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 This (.2733) represents the calculated, relative difference in temperature (Fahrenheit) between
Guji and Pu’er. This is taking into calculation elevation and distance from the equator. So, you
can see that we have a near equivalent relative altitude in comparison to Guji, Ethiopia even
though Pu’er has an average elevation of 1200m (3937 ft.)

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 This finding shows that, even though the industry talks about how 2000m and higher
elevations are the best, you can actually get nearly the same outcome with smaller elevations
further up/down the latitude line.

Remember, farmers grow at high elevations to slow the cellular respiration rate down, but that
only allows for small areas of land to grow coffee. So, now we can see that even places under
1500m can grow good coffees as well.

*One thing you need to be careful of is: You start having to look at where the frost
line falls along the globe. This is the biggest inhibitor of growing past 20 degrees
north/south of the equator line. Frost can kill plants very easily, so you need to be
aware of your location of growing and evaluate if that area is susceptible to frost or
not.

Other important factors that can directly affect this increase/decrease of temperature at
different latitudes and potentially create more dense coffees are:

1.) Shade on the Coffee Plants - you can plant a variety of shade trees that can provide dense
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 or light shading. Shade causes cooler temps and increases density

2.) Density of Plants in an Area - You can plant your coffee trees closer or farther apart,
depending on if you’d like the coffee plants to self shade themselves or not. This also helps the
trees stay cooler in warmer temperatures and possibly not become too stressed out from the
sunlight. So the closer you plants are planted together the more density in the bean because
of self-shading

3.) Slope Aspect of Mountain - You can plant on the norther side of the mountain, so that the
sun doesn’t directly hit the plants, which means less time of direct sunlight exposure. This can
also lead to cooler temperatures, slower cellular respiration, and more density.

There are so many other factors, other than (specifically) high elevations, that go into creating
an amazing end cup.

These are variety, bacterias in the air and soil of origin, nutrients in the soil for coffee plant,
ripeness of cherries, processing methods, storage of green coffee, roasting, and then of course
the form of your end cup (latte, espresso, pour-over, etc).

*If you’d like to learn more about all the ways coffee is affected by these types of things, be
on the lookout for any of our SCI Processing (this Fall), Roasting, Farming, or Nursery classes!*

INSTRUCTOR' S PROFILE

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 Tagged: SCI

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