Most people are always taken aback when I show them raw coffee beans. This is because they’re green, and in our minds, coffee beans are the deep brown color that we buy as grounds or whole beans in the market. In over three decades at Gevalia, I have traveled the globe to find the best beans for our brand. I’m always on the lookout for beans that can be included in a Gevalia blend, or can be featured alone as a Gevalia Select Varietal coffee. What’s the difference? At Gevalia, our blends are composed of seven to eight beans, whereas our Select Varietals are produced from a single bean and only available for approximately four months, when the bean is at its peak production time. This is the case with Kona coffee, which is made from a single bean into the Gevalia Select Varietal Kona Coffee.
People are also surprised when I tell them about the manner in which coffee grows and its similarities across all regions. The coffee seed and plant are biologically the same across all regions, but what produces different coffees is how and where they are grown. The most important factors in coffee production include altitude, climate and soil conditions. For example, in Antigua coffee grows at 1,400m (4,593ft) above sea level. There is a Kenyan coffee that grows at 2,000m (6,562ft), and the highest coffee in the world grows in Ethiopia, at approximately 2,500m (8,202ft). For Kona, the altitude is only 400m (1312ft). Kona coffee grows in rich soil that is formed primarily by lava and volcanic ash, and grows successfully due to all the nutrients therein.
One needs to keep in mind that maturation of the bean takes longer at higher altitudes. It is also true that more mature beans, such as the Ethiopian bean, provide a much fuller aroma than low-ground coffee.
When you pour your cup of coffee in the morning, you will now know that it began as a green bean, and was influenced by its growing climate and altitude on its way to your cup.
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