It's easy to focus on the country of origin, the processing method, or the variety when you're choosing a coffee.
All of those things matter a lot. However, altitude is one of the most reliable and under-appreciated indicators of what's actually going to end up in your cup.
At higher elevations, cooler temperatures slow the development of the coffee cherry dramatically. A cherry that might ripen in a matter of weeks at lower altitude can take several months to reach full maturity in the highlands. That extended maturation time allows for a much more complex accumulation of sugars and organic acids within the seed. The result is a denser, harder bean with more stored flavour potential, and a cup that tends toward brightness, complexity, and a clean, lingering sweetness. The acidity in high-altitude coffees is not the sharp, unpleasant sourness of an under-extracted espresso — it's the vibrant, fruit-forward liveliness of a good Champagne or a ripe stone fruit. It's a highly desirable characteristic.
Lower-altitude coffees aren't necessarily inferior — a Brazilian natural from 1100 metres can be a wonderful, chocolatey, full-bodied, deeply approachable espresso. Brazilian coffees are a great illustration of how altitude interacts with processing method: the combination of lower-altitude growing conditions with natural processing produce a fantastic coffee. But if you're chasing that electric, fruit-forward, almost wine-like complexity that defines the best specialty coffees in the world, you want to be looking at high-altitude growing regions: Ethiopian and Kenyan highlands, Colombian departments like Nariño, or the mountains of Guatemala.
To purchase our Ethiopian single origin espresso click here
To purchase our Kenyan single origin espresso click here
To purchase our Limited Edition Kenyan single origin espresso click here
To read about Ethiopian coffee click here
To learn about coffee origins click here