Chapter XXIV
GREEN AND ROASTED COFFEE CHARACTERISTICS
The trade values, bean characteristics, and cup merits of the leading coffees of commerce, with a "Complete Reference Table of the Principal Kinds of Coffee Grown in the World"—Appearance, aroma, and flavor in cup-testing—How experts test coffee—A typical sample-roasting and cup-testing outfit
More than a hundred different kinds of coffee are bought and sold in the United States. All of them belong to the same botanical genus, and practically all to the same species, the Coffea arabica; but each has distinguishing characteristics which determine its commercial value in the eyes of the importers, roasters, and distributers.
The American trade deals almost exclusively in Coffea arabica, although in the latter years of the World War increasing quantities of robusta and liberica growths were imported, largely because of the scarcity of Brazilian stocks and the improvement in the preparation methods, especially in the case of robustas. Considerable quantities of robusta grades were sold in the United States before 1912, but trading in them fell off when the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange prohibited their delivery on Exchange contracts after March 1, 1912.
All coffees used in the United States are divided into two general groups, Brazils and Milds. Brazils comprise those coffees grown in São Paulo, Minãs Geraes, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Victoria, and other Brazilian states. The Milds include all coffees grown elsewhere. In 1921 Brazils made up about three-fourths of the world's total consumption. They are regarded by American traders as the "price" coffees, while Milds are considered as the "quality" grades.
Brazil coffees are classified into four great groups, which bear the names of the ports through which they are exported; Santos, Rio, Victoria, and Bahia. Santos coffee is grown principally in the state of São Paulo; Rio, in the state of Rio de Janeiro and the state of Minãs Geraes; Victoria, in the state of Espirito Santo; and Bahia in the state of Bahia. All of these groups are further subdivided according to their bean characteristics and the districts in which they are produced.
Brazil Coffee Characteristics
Santos. Santos coffees, considered as a whole, have the distinction of being the best grown in Brazil. Rios rank next, Victorias coming third in favor, and Bahias fourth. Of the Santos growths the best is that known in the trade as Bourbon, produced by trees grown from Mocha seed (Coffea arabica) brought originally from the French island colony of Bourbon (now Réunion) in the Indian Ocean. The true Bourbon is obtained from the first few crops of Mocha seed. After the third or fourth year of bearing, the fruit gradually changes in form, yielding in the sixth year the flat-shaped beans which are sold under the trade name of Flat Bean Santos. By that time, the coffee has lost most of its Bourbon characteristics. The true Bourbon of the first and second crops is a small bean, and resembles the Mocha, but makes a much handsomer roast with fewer "quakers". The Bourbons grown in the Campinas district often have a red center.