Chanchamayo
Market
name for a respected coffee from south-central Peru.
Cafe Americano
A
few shots of espresso poured with hot water to fill a typical drip-style
coffee cup or sometimes espresso brewed drip-style.
Cafe au Lait
Coffee
drink combining one-third drip coffee with two-thirds hot frothed milk.
Cafe con
Panna
Espresso dabbed with whipping cream.
Cafe Latte
A shot of espresso served in a
tall glass poured with 3 to 4 times that amount steamed milk and a dab
of foam.
Cafe Macchiato
A
shot of espresso marked with a dab of foam.
Cafe Mocha
A shot of espresso served in a
tall glass poured with 3 to 4 times that amount steamed chocolate milk
(made from powder or syrup) and a dab of foam or whipped cream and a
shake of shaved or powdered chocolate.
Caffe Americano
An
espresso lengthened with hot water.
Caffe Latte
A
serving of espresso combined with about three times as much hot milk
topped with froth.
Caffeine
An
odorless, bitter alkaloid responsible for the stimulating effect of
coffee and tea.
Canephora
The coffee
species second in importance to "Coffee Arabica," "Coffee Robusta" is
known by botanists as "Coffee Canephora."
Cappuccino
An
espresso drink comprised of one serving of espresso topped with hot
milk and froth.
Caracas
A
class of coffees from Venezuela, ranging from fair to excellent in
quality.
Caracol
Also
known as Peaberry. A small, round bean formed when only one seed,
rather than the usual two, develops at the heart of the coffee fruit.
Peaberry beans are often separated from normal beans and sold as a
distinct grade of a given coffee. Typically, but not always, they
produce a brighter, more acidy, but lighter-bodied cup than normal beans
from the same crop.
Caramelized
Corresponds
to the taste acquired by roasted beans that have been dipped in sugar,
dextrin syrup, or molasses before roasting. Also perceived in
spray-dried instant coffees.
Caramelly
A sweet
aroma suggestive of candy or syrup.
Carbony
A roasty aroma suggestive of a burnt substance that is
present in many very dark-roasted coffees.
Caturra
A
relatively recently selected botanical variety of the Coffea arabica
species that generally matures more quickly, produces more coffee, and
is more disease resistant than older, traditional arabica varieties.
Many experts contend that the caturra and modern hybrid varieties of
Coffea arabica produce coffee that is inferior in cup quality and
distinction to the coffee produced by the traditional "old arabica"
varieties like bourbon and typica.
Celebes
Former
name of Sulawesi. Single-origin coffee from the island of Sulawesi,
Indonesia. Most come from the Toraja or Kalossi growing region in the
southeastern highlands. At best, distinguished by full body, expansive
flavor, and a low-toned, vibrant acidity. At worst, many display
unpleasant hard or musty defects. Some display an earthiness which many
coffee lovers enjoy and others avoid.
Chaff
Flakes
of the innermost skin of the coffee fruit (the silverskin) that remain
clinging to the green bean after processing and float free during
roasting.
Chaff (Roasting)
Chaff is
paper-like stuff that appears though the roasting process. These little
brown flakes are fragments of the innermost skin (the silverskin) of the
coffee fruit that still cling to the beans after processing has been
completed. Roasting causes these bits of skin to lift off the bean.
Chemical
A definite
chemical flavour (such as formaldehyde) not to be confused with Rio
flavour.
Cherry
Common
term for the fruit of the coffee tree. Each cherry contains two regular
coffee beans, or one peaberry.
Chiapas
Coffee-growing
state in southern Mexico. The best Chiapas coffees are grown in the
southeast corner of the state near the border with Guatemala, and may
bear the market name Tapachula after the town of that name. At their
best, Chiapas or Tapachula coffees display the brisk acidity, delicate
flavor, and light to medium body of the better known Mexican coffees of
Oaxaca and Vera Cruz States.
Chicory
The
root of the endive, roasted and ground, it is blended with coffee in
New Orleans style coffee.
Chipinga
Region
in eastern Zimbabwe near the border with Mozambique that produces the
most admired coffees of that country.
Chocolaty
A roasty, sweet aroma suggestive
of unsweetened chocolate, cocoa, or even vanilla.
Cibao
Market
name for a good, generally low-acid coffee from the Dominican Republic.
Cinnamon
A spicy aroma suggestive of
cinnamon.
Cinnamon Roast
Also
known as Light Roast and New England Roast. Coffee brought to a degree
of roast of coffee lighter than the traditional American norm, and
grainlike in taste, with a sharp, almost sour acidity. This roast style
is not a factor in specialty coffee.
City Or Full City
Roast
">"City" is a roast that is slightly darker than the American
roasting norm. "Full City" is definitely darker than norm; sometimes
patches of oil on surface.
City Roast
Also
Light French Roast, Viennese Roast, Light Espresso Roast, High Roast,
and Full-City Roast. Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast
somewhat darker than the traditional American norm, but lighter than the
classic dark roast variously called espresso, French, or Italian. In
the cup, full-city and associated roast styles are less acidy and
smoother than the traditional American "medium" roast, but may display
fewer of the distinctive taste characteristics of the original coffee.
Among many newer American specialty roasters, roast styles once called
full-city, Viennese, etc. may constitute the typical, "regular" roast of
coffee.
Clean
Coffee
cupping or tasting term describing a coffee sample that is free from
flavor defects.
Coatepec, Altura
Coatepec
Market name for a respected washed coffee
from the northern slopes of the central mountain range in Veracruz
State, Mexico.
Cobán
Market
name for a respected high-grown coffee from north-central Guatemala.
Cocoa
A bittersweet aroma suggestive of
unsweetened chocolate.
Coffee Oil, Coffeol
The
volatile coffee essence developed in the bean during roasting.
Cold-Water Method
Brewing
method in which ground coffee is soaked in a proportionally small
amount of cold water for 10 to 20 hours. The grounds are strained out
and the resulting concentrated coffee is stored and mixed with hot water
as needed. The cold water method produces a low-acid, light-bodied cup
that some find pleasingly delicate, and others find bland.
Colombia
The
standard Colombia coffee is a wet-processed coffee produced by small
holders, and collected, milled and exported by the Colombian Coffee
Federation. It is sold by grade (Supremo highest) rather than by market
name or region. It can range from superb high-grown, classic, mildly
fruity Latin-America coffee to rather ordinary, edge-of-fermented fruity
coffee. Coffees from some estates and cooperatives and from privately
operated mills are sold by region as well as by botanical variety
(Bourbon is best). Narino State in southern Colombia is currently
producing the most respected Colombia coffee. Mixed Medellin, Armenia,
and Manizales Columbia coffees are often sold together as MAMs.
Commercial Coffees
Packaged
pre-ground (pre-brewed in the case of instant or soluble) coffees sold
by brand name.
Common
Coffee of
ordinary and average quality.
Complex
Flavors that have multiple layers of sensation.
Complexity
A
tasting term describing coffees whose taste sensations shift and layer
pleasurably, and give the impression of depth and resonance.
Continental Roast
Also
known as Espresso Roast, After-Dinner Roast, and European Roast. Terms
for coffee brought to degrees of roast ranging from somewhat darker than
the traditional American norm to dark brown. Acidity diminishes and a
rich bittersweetness emerges. Among many newer American specialty
roasters, roast styles once called by these names may in fact constitute
the typical, "regular" roast of coffee.
Continuous Roaster
Large
commercial coffee roaster that roasts coffee continuously rather than
in batches.
Cooked
A typical
taste of an instant coffee treated at too high a temperature.
Costa Rica
The
best Costa Rica coffees (San Marcos de Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Heredi,
Alajuela) display a full body and clean, robust acidity that make them
among the most admired of Central American coffees.
Course
A coffee
that is rough on the tongue.
Crema
The
pale brown foam covering the surface of a well-brewed tazzina of
espresso.
Creosol
fee taste sensation characterized by a predominantly
scratching sensation at the back of the tongue. Caused by the high
percentage of phenolic compounds created by a dark roast.
Cucuta
Market
name for a coffee grown in northeastern Colombia, but often shipped
through Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Cupping
Procedure
used by professional tasters to perform sensory evaluation of samples
of coffee beans. The beans are ground, water is poured over the grounds,
and the liquid is tasted both hot and as it cools. The key evaluation
characteristics are Aroma, Acidity, Body, and Flavor.