When we describe a coffee as "acidic”, we’re not warning you that it will make you pucker. We’re telling you that the coffee is alive. That it has something to say.

The first time someone explained coffee fermentation to me, I nodded politely in the way people do when they absolutely do not understand what’s happening but would still like to appear employable in a specialty coffee setting.

The cup you drank this morning had a lineage. It came from a specific plant, with a genetic history, grown at an elevation, selected by the farmer for particular reasons. And almost none of that appears on the label.

The varietal of a given coffee is an entrance into the story of that lineage. 

If you’ve ever taken a sip of coffee and wondered how some people can pick out tasting notes like peach, jasmine, and caramelized sugar, you’re not alone. Tasting coffee is a skill — one that develops over time.