Coffee, explained.

The Specialty Coffee Association describes specialty coffee through the distinctive attributes that give it additional value. These include what we taste, smell and feel in the cup, together with information about origin, producer and processing. A single score cannot capture all of them.

Altitude is the height above sea level at which a coffee grows: a number, not a ranking.

Tasting descriptors refer to sensory impressions, not ingredients. Use them to compare how the coffees are described.

Roast degree is not strength: strength is how concentrated the brewed coffee is.

Acidity is one part of a coffee’s sensory character. Its intensity describes how pronounced it is, not how much you will enjoy it. Our product pages describe it per coffee:

Mouthfeel is the weight and texture of coffee in your mouth, including sensations such as drying. Body, the perceived weight, is one part of it. Neither is strength, which is how concentrated the drink is.

Java and Pacamara are names of coffee varieties. World Coffee Research traces Java to Ethiopian landrace material. Pacamara is a cross of Pacas and Maragogipe.

The Coffee Value Assessment is the SCA’s framework for recording a coffee’s attributes. It brings together physical, descriptive, affective and extrinsic assessments. Descriptive assessment records sensory characteristics; affective assessment records the evaluator’s impression of quality.

We cup our coffees with the Specialty Coffee Association’s Coffee Value Assessment.

Weigh your coffee and water, note your grind setting and keep a record of the result. Change one thing at a time. A repeatable method makes it easier to understand what changed in the cup.

Water is an ingredient in every cup. Its mineral composition and buffering capacity can change the result, even when the coffee, grind and recipe stay the same.

Minerals. Calcium and magnesium contribute to hardness and can interact with coffee compounds. More minerals do not automatically make a better cup.

Alkalinity. This is water’s ability to neutralise acids. High alkalinity can soften a coffee’s brightness; low alkalinity leaves more of its acidity perceptible. The right balance depends on the coffee and brewing method.

TDS. Total dissolved solids describe how much dissolved material the water contains. A single ppm reading does not reveal its mineral composition, hardness or alkalinity. These are different measurements.

Start with fresh drinking water that tastes clean. Choose treatment for the water you actually have: some filters reduce chlorine taste while retaining minerals; others also reduce carbonate hardness. “Filtered” alone does not describe the result.

For bottled water, read the mineral analysis rather than choosing by brand or price. Calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate are useful clues. Bicarbonate in mg/L is not the same measurement as alkalinity reported as CaCO₃.

Keep the coffee, grind, dose and brew recipe fixed when comparing suitable waters. Taste the cups as they cool, and keep a note of the water you used. This gives you a clearer comparison.

Water that tastes good in filter coffee still needs to meet your espresso machine’s specifications. Scale formation and corrosion depend on water chemistry and operating conditions.

Check hardness and alkalinity separately, and follow the manufacturer’s limits for pH, chlorides and other parameters. Chloride is different from the chlorine that can affect water’s smell or taste. Do not use untreated distilled or reverse-osmosis water in a machine unless its instructions specifically allow it.

Berlin’s tap water is generally hard. Check the Berliner Wasserbetriebe analysis for your postcode, then choose suitable treatment and maintain it as instructed. These are regional data, not a measurement at your tap.

Further reading: SCA: water and coffee acidity; Hendon et al., 2014; Bratthäll et al., 2024; BRITA: how filter types differ; Berliner Wasserbetriebe: local water quality; La Marzocco: machine water specifications.

Read the Specialty Coffee Association’s definition of specialty coffee, Coffee Value Assessment and published standards.