High altitude coffees and how they influence the flavor

If you consider yourself a true coffee grower and want to discover all the secrets of this ancient product, keep reading. Since Incapto we explain to you How high altitude coffees influence the flavor of the final product that you and I drink at home.

What is high altitude coffee?

The coffee has become one of the most consumed and cultivated drinks all over the world and, in fact, if you are reading this article it means that, at a minimum, you drink one or two cups of coffee a day. The coffee is harvested in multitude of regions around the world.

The reality is that the climate and climatological circumstances are not the same in all regions and that there are conditions that are more beneficial than others for growing coffee. It is in this context that high altitude coffee emerges.

When we buy a package of coffee from a good brand, the first thing we will see on the label is the height of the farm where the coffee trees were grown. This is expressed in meters above sea level.

When is coffee considered high altitude?

The definition of high altitude coffee can be a bit confusing, since it is not specifically and concretely included in any official manual. It is about conditions and altitude in which the coffee plant in question has been grown.

It is generally considered that the higher the height of the cropland, the more quality we will obtain in each of the resulting coffee beans. This high-altitude coffee is harvested, roasted and prepared in various ways, but the determining factor that will make it special is that has grown to a higher height to many other plants.

The truth is that this minimum height at which coffee trees must be harvested is different for each country. They all differentiate between 3 different categories, but the meters above the sea of each of the categories may vary:

SHG: Strictly High Grown. Strictly high altitude coffee.
HG: High Grown. High altitude coffee.
SC: StandardCentral. Central, or average, height.

In each country, the height for each label is different. For example, coffee from Honduras must have been grown at more than 1520 meters above sea level, to be considered SHG. But in Mexico, on the contrary, a lower height is enough.

So that you can have a standard reference, a strictly high-altitude coffee has always usually been grown at more than 1500 meters above sea level. From this minimum level, each country develops its different considerations.

For a coffee to be considered high altitude, more factors must also come into play, in addition to the altitude at which it was harvested. Parameters as difficult to calculate as density, plant temperature or rainfall of the season.

For example, the temperature should be between 20º and 25º so that it is considered high altitude coffee and the rains should be moderate, conditions that are only met in the tropical climate. It would be possible, then, that a harvest is considered SHG and that the following year, in the same place, it is not because the specific conditions have not been met.

How tall is a coffee bean?

Height directly influences the physical appearance of a coffee bean and if you have the opportunity to get your hands on a green bean, we recommend that you take a good look at it and find the main characteristics of this seed.

The beans of a tall coffee they are denser, because of the slow growth that takes place in a high altitude environment. Furthermore, the seeds have a closed fissure zigzag or slightly twisted.

The coffee that has been grown at lower altitudes, on the other hand, has a much lower density and the fissure is practically open.

How altitude influences the taste of coffee

The high altitude coffee that is harvested at more than 1,000 meters above sea level, It usually has very intense notes of chocolate, cocoa, nuts, wood and vegetables that we cannot find in coffee from lower altitudes. When we grind and stir these beans, the drink we are left with is much more bitter, making it ideal for making intense espressos.

When the coffee harvest is between 1,000 and 1,500 meters, the grains acquire flavors that evoke honey, panela, dried fruit, caramel or sugar. Therefore, the profile of these cups is much sweeter and it is advisable to prepare them for espressos and filters.

The high altitude coffees that have their farmland more than 1,500 meters high, they acquire nuances of red fruits, more floral and citrus. In addition, they can also present notes that remind us of melon, watermelon or tamarind. This type of coffee is recommended to prepare filtered, in order to highlight its acidity.

Now you know that High altitude coffee greatly influences the flavor of the final product. Take a look at our website Incapto, where we work with the best quality coffee and send it directly to our customers' homes, so you can enjoy the maximum pleasure in each of your cups.

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# Coffee