Chasing Unicorns: The Problem of Coffee Generalizations  

We often see two extremes and both are based upon a fundamental misunderstanding of how coffee works.  On the one hand, we have people contact us looking exclusively for coffee from a certain country based upon a prior positive experience with a particular coffee.  On the other hand, we have people contact us who refuse to try coffees from a certain country based upon a prior bad experience with a coffee from that country or perhaps even a certain continent.  The problem with both extremes is that both are based upon a false generalization of coffee.  There is no one coffee or one coffee flavor profile for all coffees from a particular continent, country, state, province/city, or even one farm.  For example, not all coffees from the country of Colombia taste the same.  Yet, there are coffees from Colombia that taste very similar to coffees from the continent of Africa and other places around the world.  Even at the farm level, there are often more than one variety of Arabica coffee being grown with its own unique flavor.  Furthermore, give the same green coffee to ten roasters, and depending on how they roast the coffee you could have ten unique flavor profiles.  So what is our point?  Rather than look for a particular coffee unicorn, we would recommend looking for coffees with the general flavor profile you enjoy wherever they may be found.  There is a world of flavor that awaits those who are willing to try new things!