The pleasant tartness of a fine coffee. Acidity, along with flavor, aroma and body is  one of the categories used in judging coffee.

The earliest cultivated species of coffee tree and still the most widely grown.  All gourmet specialty come from Arabica beans.  So named because it was originally thought that coffee came from Arabia.

The sense of heaviness, richness or thickness in the taste of coffee.

An odorless, bitter alkaloid responsible for the stimulating effect of coffee and tea.

The volitale coffee essence developed in the bean during roasting.

A term describing coffees whose taste shifts layers pleasurably and gives the impression of depth and resonance.

Aroasted coffee, almost black in color, which is thin-bodied and has a bittersweet taste.

Coffee which has been processed by removing the husk after the berries have been allowed to dry.  Coffee produced by this method is often inferior to that processed by the Wet Method.

The off-taste of a coffee which has been carelessly processed.

A method of brewing coffee in which hot water is forced under pressure through a bed of finely ground coffee.  Alternately, the roast of coffee used in this process.

Coffee grown on medium sized farms as opposed to peasant plots or large plantations.

The aftertaste of a coffee derived from the body.

A vareity of coffee bean grown on a lower-growing, higher yield tree which produces coffee of inferior quality and higher caffeine content than Arabica.  It is used primarily in lblends of less expensive preground commercial coffees and in instant blends.

Coffee prepared by removing the skin and pulp from the bean while the berry is still moist.  Most of the world's great coffees are produced by the wet method.

Coffee which has been roasted but not yet ground.