Elevate Your Coffee Knowledge: Origins, Growth and Roasting 

Interested in elevating your coffee knowledge? Read on to find out where coffee comes from, how its made and which coffee will give you the biggest buzz.

Where does coffee come from? 

Coffee comes from a variety of places and most countries do not grow their own coffee beans and instead import them from other countries, including Brazil, Columbia, Vietnam, Indonesia and India. The biggest importers of coffee beans include Germany, France and Italy. You might be surprised to learn that the United States does not have any coffee farms at all! Coffee beans are grown in over 50 countries, but not all of them feature coffee as a large part of their industry. 

We import our coffee from carefully selected farms in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Guatemala and Peru. 

What does '100% Arabica' mean?

There are several species of plant which coffee beans are harvested from. Arabica is one of these plants (Robusta is another common variety). ‘100% Arabica’ means that all our beans come from the same species of coffee plant. This ensures that every cup of New Kings Coffee has the same soft, sweet quality with acidic overtones. While this is true, there are still delicious variances between each of our carefully selected Roasts. For example, our Dark Roast has notes of peach syrup and spices, while our Light Roast has notes of blackcurrant and red cherry. Try them all to decide your favourite!

What does single origin mean?

Single origin means that all the beans in each cup come from the same farm. This means that not only do they come from the same country (Guatemala, Peru, Ethiopia or Indonesia) but they have the same single farm origin. Without this promise, you cannot ensure the same great flavour that each cup of New Kings Coffee provides.

What is Swiss Water Process?

We make our Decaf Roast using Water Processing developed in Switzerland and Peruvian beans from San Ignacio. This decaffeination process uses pure water, temperature and time to create a coffee that is 99.9% caffeine free (no decaf roast is 100% caffeine free). This a gentle and chemical-free process that makes no compromise on flavour. We’ve run taste tests that have confirmed that our customers cannot tell the difference between fully caffeinated coffee and our decaf roast.

How coffee is grown?

Coffee beans are grown at high altitudes and are pruned to keep them short and dense. Pruning is done by a peeler who cuts off branches of the tree every six months or so. This helps prevent the tree from becoming too tall and bare, which would make it more susceptible to diseases and less likely to produce quality coffee.

Coffee plants are typically grown at elevations between 6,500 feet and 10,000 feet above sea level—that's about 1 mile straight up! It takes about five years for a coffee tree to bear significant fruit - usually about seven years, but once it does it does so consistently. 

How coffee is made?

In order to make coffee, coffee ‘cherries’ are usually roasted until they turn brown and become coffee beans. Some roasters will use longer roast times to produce very dark-coloured and bitter beans. In the past, this was done to preserve the beans in their dry form, but today roasting is done primarily for flavour reasons.

Roasting brings out more of a coffee bean's natural flavours by removing moisture and reducing acidity. The longer you roast your beans, the more intense those flavours will be. 

Which coffee has the most caffeine?

Arabica and Robusta are the two main types of beans cultivated for coffee and Robusta has the most caffeine. Arabica beans are more expensive than Robusta, but they have a better taste and higher quality. Robusta coffee is used in many instant coffees because of its lower price point compared to Arabica. Robusta has more caffeine than Arabica, which means it also has a stronger flavour and more bite to its taste. Opt for Robusta products if your priority is maximising caffeine content. 

How caffeinated is New Kings Coffee?

Caffeine quantity is variable based on crop seasonality, roasting variances, brewing conditions and several other factors. For this reason, we do not specifically test for it but we know the average cup of coffee contains approximately 95mg of caffeine.

We use a 0 to 5 rating for each of our roasts to indicate the strength. 0 is the lowest strength, and 5 is the highest. Our Sumatran Dark Roast is 4/5, our Guatemalan Medium Roast is 3/5, our Ethiopian Light Roast is 2/5, and our Decaf Roast 2/5.

How is coffee decaffeinated?

In order to decaffeinate coffee, the beans are steamed and then rinsed repeatedly with a special chemical solvent that flushes away the caffeine. The solvent is also known as a decaffeinating agent. The decaffeinated beans are then dried, and the solvent is removed.  

We hope this blog has not only elevated your coffee knowledge, but also instilled a newfound appreciation for the craftsmanship behind every brew.