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Naming Coffee

You can tell a lot about a coffee by its name.

Naming Coffee relies on the following five items:

By region and the country they came from
By Blend
By Roast
By Flavor
By the type of bean

Let's take a closer look:

Region and County

Coffee comes from many places around the world. They are named according to the area, region and then country they originate from. For example, Sumatra Mandheling is from the Mandheling region of Sumatra. Easy right?

Blend

Blends are mixes of at least two different coffees. Many coffee roastes will create and name their own blends, so it is likely you will see many different names. To figure out which coffees are in the blends, you will have to read the package.
Breakfast Blend is a popular name amongst distributors. It is usually made of mild coffees.

Roast

There are 5 different levels of roasting ranging from very light to very dark.

Cinnamon Roast coffee is a light cinnamon brown color and is the mildest of all roasts. It has the highest acidity and is usually the roast used by commercial producers of coffee.
Full City Roast coffee is a dark brown color. Beans roasted to this level show no oils on the surface and they have a caramel-like flavor.
Viennese Roast coffee is dark brown and shows small amounts of oil on the surface. It has a fuller body and flavor than Full City Roast
French Roast Coffee is very dark brown in color and has good amounts of oil on the beans surface making them a little shiny. It has a very full bodied taste.
Espresso/Italian Roast coffee is the darkest roast. It is a very dark almost black color. It has a lot of oil on the bean surface and they are very shiny. It has the fullest flavor and body and is mainly used for brewing espresso.

Flavor

Many gourmet coffees are flavored. They are usually beans that have been roasted to a Full City Roast and then flavored. Popular flavors include French Vanilla, Hazelnut, Mocha (Chocolate), and Cinnamon. The possibilities for flavored coffees are limited only to the imagination. Most coffee retailers offer a variety of flavored coffees.

Type of Bean

There are two types of beans, Peaberry and Marigogype (Mary-go-gee-peh).

Peaberry beans are beans that didn't split after the harvesting process. These beans are highly sought after because they provide a delicious, full flavored coffee. They come from many countries including Tanzania and Guatemala.
Marigogype beans are larger in size and provide a good flavor as well.

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