Aroma: One of the four basic qualities possessed by all coffees, aroma is the term used to describe the scent or bouquet of the coffee.
Balanced: A coffee that features a harmonious mix of flavor, acidity and body, no one characteristic dominates the cup.
Berry: Flavor and aroma notes reminiscent of blackberries or blueberries. Some of the best coffees of East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula possess these characteristics.
Blend: Refers to a coffee such as Café Verona that combines coffees from different countries in order to achieve a taste that no single-origin coffee can offer.
Body: The feeling of weight or thickness of a beverage on your tongue.
Bright: An assertive flavour with a tangy acidity perceived at the front of the mouth, denotes high quality and a high-altitude coffee farm.
Caramelly: A subtle sweetness particularly in blend given a deep dark roast.
Citrus: An unmistakable lemon or grapefruit note that is present due to the coffee’s natural acidity, very desirable, denoting quality and growth at high altitude.
Clean: High-quality coffees that leave little aftertaste and described as clean. This characteristic is typical of coffees from Latin America.
Cocoa: A texture and flavor reminiscent of unsweetened cocoa powder. It leaves a somewhat dry but very pleasant aftertaste in the mouth.
Complex: A coffee with an array of flavors, rather than one dominant taste.
Decaffeination: The process by which caffeine is removed from coffee. Starbucks offers coffee using the direct contact method the SWISS WATER process (SWP) method. Both methods begin by immersing green coffee in warm water. Both are clean, safe processes, the direct contact method yields a more flavorful cup of coffee and is our preferred method.
Earthy: Most often used to describe Indonesian coffees, earthy flavors remind people of fresh, fragrant soil or even mushrooms. Sumatra is one of these coffees and is Starbucks most popular single origin coffee.
Elegant: Refers to coffees that have a luxurious mouthfeel and intriguing flavors.
Exotic: Unusual aromatic and flavor notes such as floral, berrylike and sweet spice-like.
Fair Trade Certified: Coffees produced by democratically run cooperatives of small-scale, family owned coffee farms can be certified as Far Trade. Starbucks is one of the largest purchasers of Fair Trade Certified coffee.
Flavorlock: Refers to the packaging material and one-way valve that guarantee our coffee’s freshness.
Floral: A fleeting and dedicate aroma reminiscent of flowers.
Full-Bodied: A heavier texture, the weightier the coffee on the tongue, the more body it has.
Herbal: An aroma or flavor that evokes herbs.
Intense: A singular, potent attribute-such as the earthiness f Sumatra or the smokiness of French Roast.
Light-Bodied: Less weighty on the tongue with a fleeting aftertaste.
Lush: Juicy redolent of fresh berries or exotic fruit.
Medium-Bodied: A smooth, even texture, neither fleeting nor overwhelming.
Natural (Dry) Processed: This coffee is dried naturally by the sun, whether on the tree or after it.
Nutty: An enjoyable flavor reminiscent of walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts or other nuts.
Organic: Coffees grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers can be certified organic. They must also be processed in mills and roasting facilities carrying organic certification.
Robusta: One of the two major commercially significant species of coffee, grown at lower altitudes than Arabica. The flavour is less refined and the caffeine content higher in Robusta beans. Starbucks does not purchase Robusta.
Semi-washed processed: Typical in Sulawesi and Sumatra. The ripe cherries are picked and laid out in the sun to partially dry for a few days .Next they are sorted and then separated from the fruit by using water. Finally the coffee beans are dried by the sun or in drying machines .Generally these coffees possess earthy and herbal flavors.
Shade Grown: Refers to coffees that are grown under a canopy of shade trees.
Single-Origin: refers to a coffee such as Kenya, which is made up of coffee entirely from one producing country, offered to showcase the distinctive character of country’s coffee.
Smooth: Medium-to full bodied coffee with a pleasant mouthfeel and no dominant characteristic.
Smoky: The darker the roast, the more smoky the aroma and flavor.
Spicy: The aroma or flavor of a spice, from sweet to savory.
Washed (wet) Processed: After the coffee cherries are washed and sorted in running water, the coffee beans are separated from the fruit by machine. Next they are placed in fermentation tanks for 12 to 48 hours. Afterward they are washed again and then dried either by the sun or by machine. This processing method enhances the coffee’s brightness or acidity.
The flavor | The farms | The coffees