Library
Everything you need to know about specialty coffee
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Glossary
Glossary
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African Beds
Raised beds generally layered with chicken mesh (metal mesh) to increase airflow for better and more consistent drying of cherry and parchment.
A
Anaerobic Fermentation
A type of coffee processing that usually refers to a sealed tank fermentation. The coffee can be either depulped or whole cherry and then fermented dry or in clean water in an airtight tank to prevent the oxygen from being introduced. This type of fermentation can limit the microbial population and activity, though depending on days spent in the tank produce an intense flavor profile.
A
Arroba
An arroba is one-tenth of a carga, or 12.5 kg. It is used to measure smaller quantities of coffee in Colombia specifically.
A
Berry Borer Beetle/Broca
An insect that invades the cherry to lay eggs. The berry borer beetle has an immunity to the caffeine. Its points of entry and exit exposes the bean to other damages. The berry borer beetle may kill the seed embryo and introduce off flavors to the cup.
B
Bill of Landing
Also knows as BL, B/L, or BOL is a document issued by shipping companies to describe the details of the cargo/container. Its receipt by the buyer often trigger a transfer of funds and enables clearing customs.
B
Black
Is a primary defect that appear as a partially or fully blacken bean. This may be caused by frost damage or fungus damage, severe overripening, moisture damage, fermentation errors, and other factors, and can have a significant negative impact on cup quality.
B
Brix Scale
Measured with a refractometer, brix is a method of measuring sugar content of a water based solution.
B
Carbonic Maceration
Usually refers to whole cherry anaerobic fermentation. Tropiq has chosen to differenciate between Anaerobic Natural (for CM dried as a natural process) and Anaerobic Washed (for CM depulped before it's dried).
C
Carga
A carga is equal to 125 kg of parchment. it is a term used in Colombia and it comes from the maximum weight a mule can carry.
C
Chipped
C
Container
Our standard shipping container for international trade is a 20-foot. A full container load averages between 275-325 bags at around 19200 kg.
C
Credit
C
Cultivar
A variety of coffee that has been deliberately cultivated by selective breeding. These will not usually produce true to type offspring; rather, they are often hybrids or selected mutations and must be propagated with human intervention.
C
Demucilage
Partial or complete removal of the coffee's mucilage down to the parchment either through fermentation or demucilage machines.
D
Density
A measurement of the amount of coffee that can fit in a given 3-dimensional space, mathematically expressed as mass divided by volume.
D
Depulping
D
Dry Mill
Facility for hulling parchement sorting defects thorugh color, density, screen size and bagging for export.
D
ECX
E
Eco-Pulper
A depulping machine that can process coffee cherry using less than a tenth of the water a normal depulper uses.
E
European Prep
Central American coffees uses the term EP to indicate screen size (15-18), in addition to SHB or SHG to refer to the highest grade of coffee based solely on elevation.
E
Excelso
Although it refers to a specific screen size separation in the ICO Size grading manual, "Excelso" is broadly used to refer to coffee that is ready for export in Colombia.
E
Exporter
E
FOB
Free on board. The seller must deliver the coffee onto the ship at the port in the port of loading. The buyer agrees to book and pay for shipping, insurance, and any customs, and overland freight costs incurred on arrival to the port of destination
F
Farmgate Price
F
Fermentation
A metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substances through the actions of enzymes.
F
Floaters
The pre-processing step responsible for sorting out lower quality cherry before depulping, fermenting, and/or drying.
F
Grade
In Ethiopia, coffee is graded from G1-G5 where G1 is the highest quality on the market and G5 represents commercial coffee.
G
Honey Process
A coffee processing method in which coffee cherry skins are removed and then dried without removing the mucilage.
H
Jute
A type of plant fiber used to make the bags used to hold and transport coffee and many other products.
J
Mechanical Dryer
Large cylinders that lets dry heated air pass through the parchment to speed up the drying process. In some countries, air humidity is so high that it's impossible to dry without.
M
Moisture Content
M
NANS
No Approval No Sales. NANS is a contract term meaning the pre shipment samples must be approved by the buyer before the coffee is stuffed and shipped.
N
Parchment
The layer of cellulose beneath the mucilage that protects the coffee bean and resembles parchment paper when dried.
P
Pasilla
This term refers to the by-products of coffee processing, including defective beans and those that are smaller in size in Colombia specifically.
P
Potato Defect
A taste defect resembling the flavor and aroma of raw potatoes, caused by the presence of pyrazines, likely the result of a bacterial infection of the coffee cherry.
P
Purchasing point
Farmers often have to walk long distances to deliver cherry to a buyer. A purchasing point is a place where cherry buyers are set up to collect and pay for cherry.
P
Quaker
Identifiable once the coffee has been roasted and showing a pale color, normally giving a peanut taste to the coffee. Associated with Immature coffee.
Q
Soaking
S
Special Prep
S
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