Topic: caffeine

How well do you know your coffee?

By Ray Huot | September 28, 2007 |

There are two types of drinkable coffee in the world: Arabica and Robusta. They are commonly referred to as gourmet and truck stop. Industry insiders call them specialty coffee and canned coffee. There are several reasons why specialty coffee is more expensive.Arabica coffee naturally has more flavor than Robusta coffee. Surprisingly, it also has about one-third less caffeine than its cheaper cousin. (Yes, that truck stop brew does have more caffeine.) Specialty coffee tastes stronger because it has more natural taste not because it has more caffeine. Also, specialty coffee tends to be roasted darker, which adds more flavor to the beans.

Arabica sells for a premium not only because of its taste, but because of how it is grown and processed. Arabica plants take longer to start producing crop, are more susceptible to disease, are grown at higher altitudes and use much more hand labor, all of which add to production costs. «Read the rest of this article»

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