Gourmet coffee: Best beans
Slurping is part of the business: Thimo Drews from InterAmerican Coffee GmbH.
He can recognize him by the beans: Thimo Drews identifies good coffee already in the raw state, namely the color, smell and shape of the bean, which reveals quality and origin like an unmistakable trademark. The coffee expert is Managing Director of the "InterAmerican Coffee GmbH" based in Hamburg's Speicherstadt, the most important and largest transhipment center for green coffee in Europe. But for his business, the merchant does not need full containers, his trade is the trade in exquisite green coffee, real rarities, expensive provenances, which are often only in small quantities. The gourmet beans are therefore not expected in tonnes, but rather in kilos or grams.
Alone this name should melt very slowly on the tongue: Sulawesi Tongkonan Gunung Sesean Toraja, This is the name of the most expensive coffee in the world, which comes to us from the mountainous region of Toraja on the island of Sulawesi. In the store, the customer pays up to 30 euros per 100 grams, knowing that they are drinking something very special. Because the handful of small farmers, who grow this coffee in their private gardens, harvest in total only one to two thousand kilograms per year. And because exclusive coffee only comes into its own with a special packaging, the Toraja is available in small, hand-painted wood carvings decorated with carvings.
The queen of the Caribbean
A scarce contingent makes this coffee expensive - but a gourmet coffee of course needs much more: Aroma (smell), body (wealth) and acid are the criteria, after which a coffee is judged during the tasting. The abundance describes the overall impression left by the coffee in the mouth. Acid makes the coffee lively and fresh, you can feel it at the edge of the tongue. However, too much acid causes heartburn and is undesirable. "A fine acidity in coffee - that's already worth a premium," says Thimo Drews.
The Jamaica Blue Mountain She deserves the dark green Arabica beans: "powerful in taste, round in fullness, and the balance between acid and fullness beautifully balanced," says the expert. However, the enjoyment of the queen of the beans from the Jamaican highlands is not a cheap treat: on Sylt you could order a jug of Blue Mountain for 18 marks two years ago. Today, the sales price of Caribbean beans is between 80 and 100 euros per pound.
The "sailor" from India
From India comes a coffee, which also has a very special touch: formerly got the Indian Monsooned Malabar his soft and low-acid taste during the six months he sailed to Europe on sailing ships from India. Today, a special process provides for the slightly woody note and the typical straw-brownish-yellow color of the large handpicked beans: they are exposed to the hot and humid monsoon climate for weeks after harvest and a first drying process, causing the bean to swell and develop colored.
Another rarity for lovers is the Hawaii Kona - a mild, balanced coffee, slightly nutty in the taste. The top coffee is grown on the volcanic slopes of the island. The offer is limited - the pound is from 30 euros in the specialty trade. The Ethiopia Mocca Sidamo comes as well as the Yemen Mocca Matari from the original home of coffee, both taste spicy and full-bodied, "where the Yemen Mocca has a very fruity-vinous note," says Drews.
St. Helena, Galapagos, Kenya or Hawaii - after all, the taste of varietal coffee is as different as the countries and cultures in which it is grown. It is no coincidence, however, that the gourmet coffees are made from Arabica beans, as they are generally more aromatic and milder than the cheaper Robusta varieties, which in turn are often used for coffee blends. "But who likes Robusta," says Thimo Drews, "is therefore not a worse person." Coffee enjoyment is just like many other things in life - a matter of taste.
Coffee tasting
And if you also want to taste the world's most expensive coffees or are simply curious if you even taste a difference, the Speicher-stadtmuseum in Hamburg regularly organizes coffee tastings under the guidance of experts.
