What's Your Favorite Coffee?: The Inflated Significance of Brand

What's your favorite coffee? How do you even answer that question? If you're like most people and you are asked what kind of coffee you prefer, you will answer with a brand name. Recently, a friend and I were engaged in conversation about Starbucks and he made the comment, "I don't really like Starbucks. Dunkin' Donuts is my favorite coffee." As I've unpacked this sentiment of the past few weeks, I've realized a common thread in the coffee preferences of the ordinary consumer. Most people equate a type of coffee to a brand of coffee. If you ask most people to list five kinds of coffee, they will probably say something along the lines of Folgers, Maxwell House, Starbucks, Eight o' Clock, and perhaps Dunkin' Donuts. The problem is that, especially with Starbucks and more high-end roasters, the brands themselves roast a variety of coffees all of which are unique in and of themselves. If you say you like Dunkin' Donuts better than Starbucks, which Starbucks coffee have you been drinking? Ethiopia Sidamo? Guatemala Antigua? Sumatra? Each of these coffees, though roasted by the same company, are completely different. The kind or type of coffee should speak more to the coffee's origin than to how it is marketed.

That being said, while I do think the brand is slightly overrated in the perception of quality coffee, the roast profile of the coffee does have a fairly significant bearing on how the coffee tastes when it is brewed. The finest beans from the most exclusive regions of the world are worthless if roasted improperly. Phoenix Coffee in Cleveland roasts all of its coffees to a medium 'full-city' roast (just a little darker than average). Peet's coffee in California is famous for all of its coffees being roasted darkly. Starbucks from Seattle is, perhaps unfairly, notorious for the same reason although its spectrum of roasts is broader than most people realize. Mass market coffee brands like Folgers and Maxwell House are roasted very lightly, bringing out little flavor. The lighter roasts, however, are what the typical coffee drinker is used to. Yet, even Folgers and Maxwell House have what they call a 'French Roast,' which is coffee jargon for an extremely dark roast. The point is that, while each brand has its own trademark roasting trends, it is unfair to lump such a diverse range of coffees together as one kind simply becausw they all have the same logo on the package.

If you are interested in a particular flavor of coffee but don't know how the different origins translate into the stuff that ends up in your cup, here's a brief summary of the coffee flavors of the world. Typically, Latin American coffees are roasted fairly lightly. If you don't like dark, roasty notes in your cup, a Latin American coffee is usually a safe bet. As far as the flavor goes, many Latin American coffees taste faintly nutty, lightly crispy, and smooth with subtle hints of cocoa. Some of the most popular Latin American origins are Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico. African Coffees are probably the most unique. They are roasted anywhere from medium to somewhat dark. The flavors in African coffees are usually fruity, with winy hints of citrus, dark and light berries, and sometimes even dark chocolate. Some of the most popular African origins to look out for are Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Yemen, and Burundi. Asian/Pacific coffees are the kinds of coffees that you either love or hate. They are typically roasted anywhere from medium to extremely dark. The weight of the coffee is heavy on the tongue and the flavor is usually very earth, with hints of grassy herbs and pungent flowers. Some of the most popular growing regions in the Asia/Pacific area are Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Papua New Guinea, and Hawaii. Whatever kind of coffee you prefer, make sure you're making the decision based on the bean and brew rather than on the packaging and promotion.