What the heck is a varietal? Why is it on every decent bag of coffee: Heirloom Varietal, Caturra Varietal, Pacamara Varietal, Geisha Varietal… the list goes on (also sometimes called varieties). Do these names mean anything, or are they just a fancy words to make the label look better? Well, yes, they do mean quite a bit. There is information about our potential coffee purchases to be gained from these words, it’s just a matter of learning what they really mean, and discovering how this knowledge can affect our coffee choices.
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Lately, having been doing some research into the different varietals (why Maragogype is different from Maracatu for example) I came across a couple of sites with some good basic direction. One of these is Stumptown Coffee Roasters, from Portland, Oregon, as well as Barefoot Coffee Roasters who explain varietals very well. Another great source of info, which popped up in my Twitter feed today, was from Mr. Steve Leighton of Has Bean, who I discovered has been building up a collection of varietal profiles on his blog: www.hasblog.co.uk. Knowing typical, basic flavour characteristics of these different coffees can make all the difference when sitting at that beautifully impressive-looking brew bar, faced with a list of fancy names, but feeling too intimidated to ask what they mean for fear of being shown the door and given directions to the nearest Starbucks.*
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* Most baristas are actually very friendly and would love to answer any questions the best they can, so do ask!
Thanks for this … very helpful !
For the interested, and perhaps pedantic, I thought I’d quickly explain the whole variety/varietal mixup.
Variety is the correct term to use when referring to non-specific instances. One might say that the Bourbon variety is prized for its sweetness, the that the Geisha variety is low yielding, difficult to grow but capable of intense floral and citrus aromatics.
Varietal is the correct term to use in a specific instance of a variety. If you were to drink a cup of coffee from Hacienda Esmeralda then that cup would be the Geisha varietal. Or the that a lot of coffee from Finca Mauritania is a Bourbon varietal.
The best explanatory analogy I can come up with is the use of profession and professional. Engineer is a profession, but Bob (an engineer) is an example of a professional. You would talk about the engineering profession (in broad sweeping terms) rather than the engineering professional (unless you wanted to specifically reference Bob).
I’ll accept the argument that language is about communication, and is malleable and changeable. Varietal is used more often than not for everything – and accurately communicates what we need it to – so it could be argued that it isn’t wrong to use it that way.
That does make more sense really – thanks!
Thanks for a good post with some links that will help fill a knowledge gap I’ve been meaning to plug for some time now.