Generic Arabica varieties.

[Yelta]

I find it frustrating that there is so much variation in the naming of Arabica bean varieties from given areas.
I bought a couple of kilos of green Colombian Supremo recently only to find with the help of Google that the terms Supremo and Excelso refer to bean size and have nothing to do with quality.
Roasted 500 grams yesterday and its pretty average, maybe in a few days.

[Andy]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

I bought a couple of kilos of green Colombian Supremo

(editorial note, not from CoffeeSnobs)

and its pretty average

Which is why I sample roast 100s of beans a year to select the few that appear on BeanBay.

CoffeeSnobs - "We leave average to others"


8-)

[Thundergod]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

I bought a couple of kilos of green Colombian Supremo

(editorial note, not from CoffeeSnobs)

I think that was understood.

[Yelta]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

If ya dont experience average or below every now and again then you wont appreciate above average when it comes your way.

[Yelta]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

(editorial note, not from CoffeeSnobs)

Your right, but it most certainly came from a sponsor.

[Andy]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

I bought a couple of kilos of green Colombian Supremo

(editorial note, not from CoffeeSnobs)

I think that was understood.

Yes TG, I would assume understood by regular CS visitors but when someone googles it in the future I wanted to make sure that was clear.

We really do go to great lengths in time, effort and expense to provide great coffees and a misread post is damaging forever.

Your right, but it most certainly came from a sponsor.

...and they need to sell coffee that is commercially viable. CoffeeSnobs coffee should average $20+ a kilo green not the $10/kg that everyone enjoys.

Not everyone is silly enough to sell green coffee at cost or under actual cost and certainly without covering any wages or actual expenses. We choose to do so and rely on site sponsors to pay our bills. A type of coffee communism maybe!?!? I think the unique model here is a win-win-win for sponsors, CSrs and us.

Anyway... back on topic. Most of the coffee produced in the world are of mixed varietal, multi farm as the processing and packing mills are often central to a township at best. 100s or 1000s of small holder farmers bring cherry to the mill for processing. It doesnt make the coffee bad coffee but will make it generic to the region.

By the same token, just because a coffee has a traceable linage doesnt mean its good, it just means you know who to blame if its bad and if its good you know who to visit again!

As always coffee needs to judged in the cup, dont get too hungup on tracability and varietal.

[gbatterley]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

As a socialist Im proud to be a part of coffee communism.

[jasonscheltus]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

aaand back to the topic...

Varieties are tricky because specific types actually change as they grow in one place for a long time. So "Typica" from Kona is genetically different to "Typica" Sumatra - despite sometimes having the same parents.

Ive been trying to keep the wikipedia entry coffee coffee cultivars up to date from various sources, it should be relatively recent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_varieties

[Yelta]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

Varieties are tricky because specific types actually change as they grow in one place for a long time. So "Typica" from Kona is genetically different to "Typica" Sumatra - despite sometimes having the same parents.

Terroir.

[jasonscheltus]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

Varieties are tricky because specific types actually change as they grow in one place for a long time. So "Typica" from Kona is genetically different to "Typica" Sumatra - despite sometimes having the same parents.  

Terroir.

what does terroir have to do with coffee varieties?

[Yelta]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

Varieties are tricky because specific types actually change as they grow in one place for a long time. So "Typica" from Kona is genetically different to "Typica" Sumatra - despite sometimes having the same parents.  

Terroir.

what does terroir have to do with coffee varieties?

Quite a bit if you understand the concept.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terroir

[jasonscheltus]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

According to your link, terroir includes: Climate, Soil type, Topography

Not a lot there about how specific cultivars can change genetically depending on where theyre grown.

And thanks for sounding condescending too, thats exactly what coffee forums need - someone dropping one French word as an explanation. Nice one.

[Thundergod]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

And thanks for sounding condescending too, thats exactly what coffee forums need - someone dropping one French word as an explanation. Nice one.

I didnt take it that way Jason.

Whats wrong with "leading a horse to water".

I do it too.

Short answers, rather than spoon feed the whole answer.
Its an attempt to make the reader do some research.
Ive always done it.

I used to fix computers from a help desk.
I could either step them through the solution command by command or ask themto make some decisions along the way.
Of course I steered them in the right direction so we always got to my destination, but the user always felt theyd had input.

I see this as the similar.

Whats wrong with planting the seed and having the reader go find out more information themselves?

If Jon had written a long post explaining the intricacies of terroir, someone else was just as likely to come along and label him a pompous know-it-all.

You cant win either way it seems.

Sacré bleu! :

[hazchem]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

pompous know-it-all.

and yet, by posting a one word answer the same impression has been achieved.

I bought a couple of kilos of green Colombian Supremo recently only to find with the help of Google that the terms Supremo and Excelso refer to bean size and have nothing to do with quality.

maybe you should have done the research before purchasing then to avoid disappointment? Im sure that the naming/coding of origins with terms like Supremo, A, AA, SHB, SHG et al has been discussed on this very forum many times ...

[Yelta]

Re: Generic Arabica varieties.

Roasted 500 grams yesterday and its pretty average, maybe in a few days.

Time takes care of everything, 5 days later and the Colombian Supremo is drinking very nicely. ;D