Cofique answers your brewing questions about this favorite morning indulgence.

There are two main species of coffee:

• Arabica accounts for over 60% of the commercially sold coffee. It is characterized by its bright acidity, and its aromatic notes, which range from floral and fruity, to nutty and chocolatey.
• Robusta is more commonly used in Italian style espresso blends, and instant coffee. It has a very strong or bitter taste, due to the fact that it contains double the caffeine content of Arabica coffee.

Caffeine Content

While you might think that dark roasted coffee has more caffeine than light roasted coffee, the truth is that the roast level has an insignificant impact on the caffeine content.

In fact, what actually impacts the caffeine content in a cup of coffee are these variables: coffee-to-water ratio, brewing method, and total brew time.

Coffee Extraction

Imagine an arbitrary scale. On one end you have sourness, which represents extreme acidity, and on the other end of the scale you have bitterness. What happens when coffee is under-extracted is that it results in a sour, or acidic, tasting cup of coffee. On the other hand, over-extracted coffee results in an extremely bitter taste.

Bitterness and acidity are not undesired attributes. When they are perfectly balanced, they provide a well-rounded cup of coffee. The key here is to ensure that neither bitterness or sourness dominates.

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