prêt-à-porter
There are hundreds of coffee species, but two primary ones: Coffea arabica and Coffea robusta (aka Coffea canephora). Each has its own family trees of varietals and cultivars. Typically, robusta is hardier. It’s easier to produce and less sensitive to insects, making it more affordable to grow than arabica. This hardiness derives in part from the fact that robusta has almost double the caffeine content of arabica, which makes it more toxic to bugs. The higher caffeine content also gives this coffee more of a burnt flavor. It is typically less acidic and more bitter than arabica. Robusta makes up approximately 30 percent of the coffee market. It is commonly found in coffee and espresso blends.
Everything in the grocery story is going prêt-à-porter (ready to eat or drink) and coffee is no exception. Bloomberg recently reported that the canned and bottled ready-to-drink coffee market reached $2.4 billion in 2015, and it’s expected to keep going up. The ready-to-drink market is so prolific that the NCA made a new category for it in its annual survey, including cold brews, nitroinfused coffee and frozen blended drinks. Cold brews alone jumped 540 percent in sales between 2011 and
Arabica makes up the bulk of the global coffee market. It was first cultivated in Ethiopia and Yemen. Currently, it is grown around the globe, but is predominant in Brazil, the world’s biggest coffeeproducing country. Arabica is almost exclusively found in gourmet coffees.
60 Summer 2017 / Optimum Wellness
coffee 2016, according to a recent report by market-research firm Mintel. So what’s so special about cold brew vs. iced coffee? According to Turer, “It’s from a Peruvian recipe in the 1700s. So it’s not necessarily new, [but] it’s a modified recipe that became exciting and innovative.” While iced coffee is made by chilling warmbrewed coffee and adding ice, cold brew is ground coffee brewed in cold, filtered water for an ex-
tended period of time, often 12 to 16 hours. You can drink it cold or heat it up. Nitro coffee is simply nitrogeninfused cold-brew coffee. Think of a rich, creamy Guinness beer, and apply that to coffee. It’s mostly available at coffee shops, but a few brands offer it in cans. Old or new, we think cold brew tastes quite refreshing. Some brands worth considering are Chameleon Cold-Brew and High Brew ColdBrew Coffee.
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Robusta vs. Arabica
