Glossary: Coffee, tea and cocoa

A

AeroPress: A handy plastic brewing device in which coffee steeps briefly and is then pressed by hand through a paper filter with a plunger.
Affogato: An Italian dessert in which a scoop of vanilla ice cream is topped with freshly brewed hot espresso.
Alkalisation (Dutch process): Treatment of cocoa with alkaline salts that makes the powder darker, milder and easier to disperse in liquid.
Americano: A coffee drink made from espresso diluted with hot water to a cup of roughly filter-coffee strength.
Anaerobic fermentation (coffee): A processing method in which coffee cherries or depulped beans ferment in airtight containers without oxygen.
Arabica: A coffee species (Coffea arabica) that supplies most of the world's coffee and is known for a delicate acidity and complex aroma.
Degassing valve: A one-way valve in coffee packaging that lets carbon dioxide escape from freshly roasted coffee but does not let oxygen in.
Assam: Strong, malty black tea from the state of the same name in north-east India.
Autumnal flush: The autumn harvest after the monsoon, mainly for Darjeeling and Assam; the teas are usually darker, softer and rounder than earlier flushes.

B

Bancha: A Japanese everyday green tea from later harvests with larger, more mature leaves; mild, somewhat coarser and cheaper than sencha.
Bombilla: A metal drinking straw with a filter end used to drink mate traditionally from a gourd; also the basis for chimarrão and tereré.
Bourbon (coffee variety): A classic Arabica variety named after the island of Bourbon (today Réunion), known for a sweet, rounded cup.
Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP): A leaf grade for broken black tea; the smaller leaf pieces quickly give a strong, dark liquor.
Brew ratio: The ratio of ground coffee to water used in brewing.

C

Cappuccino: An espresso drink with hot milk and milk foam, traditionally in roughly equal parts.
Caturra: A compact Arabica variety, a natural mutation of Bourbon from Brazil, widely grown in Latin America.
Ceylon tea: Tea from Sri Lanka, formerly called Ceylon – mostly black tea, mild to strong depending on altitude.
Chai: The Indian word for tea; in Europe usually spiced black tea with milk (masala chai).
Chanoyu (Japanese tea ceremony): The Japanese tea ceremony, in which matcha is prepared and served according to a set sequence; also called the "way of tea" (chadō, sadō).
CO2 process (decaffeination): A decaffeination process in which supercritical carbon dioxide under high pressure dissolves the caffeine from green coffee.
Cold brew: Coffee steeped in cold or room-temperature water for many hours.
Cortado: A coffee drink from Spain made of espresso topped with roughly the same amount of warm milk and little foam.
Crema: A light-brown, fine-pored layer of foam on a freshly made espresso.
Criollo: Original, aromatic variety group of cocoa that is regarded as particularly fine but accounts for only a small share of the world harvest.
CTC method: A mechanised method of black tea manufacture (crush, tear, curl) in which the leaves are crushed, torn and rolled into small granules.
Cupping: A standardised tasting method for coffee in which coarsely ground coffee is steeped in bowls and slurped from a spoon.

D

Darjeeling: A tea-growing area in north-eastern India at the foot of the Himalayas, known for fine black teas.
Doppio: A double espresso, made with roughly twice the amount of coffee in the double basket of a portafilter.
Dust (tea): The finest leaf grade of tea, made of very small particles, which brews especially quickly and is used mainly in bagged tea and instant products.

E

Earl Grey: Black tea flavoured with oil of bergamot, a citrus fruit.
English Breakfast: Strong black tea blend traditionally drunk at breakfast, often with milk.
Decaffeination: A process that removes most of the caffeine from green coffee or tea.
Espresso: A coffee drink made by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee.
Espresso macchiato: An espresso crowned with a dab of milk foam, so it contains only a little milk.
Excelsa: A coffee type once considered a separate species and now usually classified botanically as a variety of Coffea liberica; known for tart, fruity notes.
Coffee extraction: The dissolving of flavours and compounds from ground coffee by water.

F

Fannings: Fine tea leaf particles obtained when sifting black or green tea and used mainly in tea bags.
Filter coffee: Coffee in which hot water runs through ground coffee in a filter and drips into a pot or cup.
First crack: The audible cracking of beans during roasting that marks the transition to a drinkable roast.
First flush: The first harvest of the tea season in spring, best known for Darjeeling.
Fixing (kill-green): Brief heating of fresh tea leaves that deactivates the leaf's own enzymes and so stops oxidation, as in green and yellow tea.
Flat white: An espresso drink with finely steamed, velvety milk and only a thin layer of foam.
Flowery Orange Pekoe (FOP): A leaf grade for whole-leaf black tea of young leaves with a certain share of leaf buds (tips).
Forastero: Robust, high-yielding variety group of cocoa that makes up most of the world harvest and delivers a strong, tart cocoa flavour.
French press: A coffee pot in which ground coffee steeps in hot water and is then pressed down with a mesh plunger.
Fruit infusion: An infusion of dried fruit and fruit pieces without tea leaves and without caffeine.

G

Geisha (Gesha): An Arabica variety from south-western Ethiopia that became famous mainly through cultivation in Panama and is known for floral, tea-like aromas.
Yellow tea: A rare Chinese tea category in which fixed leaves are kept warm and moist, turning them yellowish and milder.
Genmaicha: A Japanese green tea mixed with roasted rice grains, giving it a nutty, cereal-like taste.
Grain coffee (coffee substitute): Coffee-like drink made from roasted barley, rye, malt or chicory – without coffee beans and caffeine-free.
Giling basah (wet hulling): A processing method common in Indonesia in which the parchment is removed while the bean is still moist; typical of earthy, low-acid coffees.
Gongfu cha: A Chinese brewing style with a small teapot or gaiwan, plenty of leaf and many short infusions, practised especially for oolong and pu-erh.
Green tea: An unoxidised tea whose leaves are heated early and stay green.
Gunpowder: A Chinese green tea whose leaves are rolled into small, firm pellets; the base for Moroccan mint tea.
Gyokuro: A Japanese green tea from shaded tea bushes that tastes especially sweet and rich in umami and is brewed at low water temperatures.

H

Hot-air roasting (fast roasting): A roasting method in which coffee beans are heated by a strong stream of hot air; in industry often a fast roast lasting only a few minutes.
Hojicha: A roasted Japanese green tea with reddish-brown leaves that tastes toasty and caramel-like with hardly any bitterness.
Honey process (pulped natural): A processing method in which coffee beans are depulped but dried with the fruit mucilage still attached.
Honeybush: A caffeine-free infusion from South African Cyclopia shrubs that smells of honey and tastes mild and sweetish.

J

Jasmine tea: Usually a green tea scented with fresh jasmine blossoms, giving it an intensely floral aroma.

K

Coffee belt: The name for the growing zone around the equator between the tropics, where almost all of the world's coffee is grown.
Coffee capsule and coffee pod: Pre-portioned coffee for specific machines: capsules made of aluminium, plastic or compostable material, pods made of filter paper.
Coffee cherry: The fruit of the coffee plant, which usually contains two seeds that later become coffee beans.
Coffee blend: A mix of coffees of different origins or varieties intended to achieve a consistent flavour profile.
Bean-to-cup coffee machine: A coffee machine that grinds, doses, tamps and brews beans at the push of a button and often froths milk too.
Ready-to-drink cocoa: Ready-mixed cocoa drink based on milk, usually sold chilled or UHT-treated, which is legally generally a milk mixed product.
Cocoa bean: Seed of the tropical cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) which, after fermentation, drying and roasting, yields cocoa mass, cocoa butter and cocoa powder.
Instant cocoa drink powder: Sweetened, quick-dissolving powder to be mixed with milk, which besides cocoa usually contains a high proportion of sugar.
Cocoa powder (high-fat and low-fat): Powder made from roasted, ground and partly defatted cocoa beans which, under the German Cocoa Ordinance, contains at least 20% cocoa butter in dry matter, or less when highly defatted.
Karlsbad coffee maker: A traditional porcelain coffee maker in which a porcelain strainer with fine slits replaces the paper filter.
Keemun: A Chinese black tea from Qimen County in Anhui province, known for a soft, fruity, malty aroma with cocoa notes.
Kenyan tea: Black tea from Kenya, one of the world's largest tea exporters, mostly produced by the CTC method and strong in flavour.
Kluntje: A large piece of white or brown rock candy placed in the cup before the tea is poured in East Frisian tea culture.
Caffeine content of coffee: The amount of caffeine in the coffee bean and drink, which depends mainly on the coffee species, dose and brewing method.
Herbal infusion: An infusion of dried herbs or plant parts that does not come from the tea plant.

L

Lapsang Souchong: A Chinese black tea from the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian that is dried over pinewood fires and therefore tastes strongly smoky.
Latte macchiato: A milk drink in a tall glass in which espresso is poured into hot, frothed milk, creating visible layers.
Liberica: A coffee species (Coffea liberica) from West and Central Africa with large beans and a strong, often smoky and fruity flavour; only a small share of the world market.
Instant coffee: Dried coffee extract that dissolves instantly in hot water.
Solvent process (decaffeination): Decaffeination of green coffee with approved extraction solvents such as dichloromethane or ethyl acetate, which are then largely removed.
Lungo: An espresso pulled with more water for longer, giving a larger, milder drink.

M

Grind size: The fineness of ground coffee, which must be matched to the brewing method.
Matcha: A finely ground powder of shaded, steamed green tea leaves that is consumed whole.
Yerba mate: Caffeinated infusion made from the dried leaves of the South American mate plant.
Milk coffee (café au lait): A coffee drink of coffee and hot milk in roughly equal parts, traditionally drunk from a bowl in France.
Moka pot: A stovetop brewer in which steam pressure forces hot water upward through coffee grounds.

N

Washed processing: A processing method in which the fruit pulp is removed and washed off before the beans are dried.
Nilgiri: A black tea from the Nilgiri Hills in southern India that tastes fresh, fragrant and mild and is harvested almost all year round.

O

Oolong: A partially oxidised tea that lies between green and black tea.
Orange Pekoe (OP): A black tea leaf grade of whole, usually long twisted leaves; the term describes the leaf form, not a taste of orange.
Orthodox manufacture: The traditional method of black tea manufacture with withering, rolling, oxidation and drying, in which the leaf largely stays intact.
East Frisian blend: Very strong black tea blend with a high share of Assam, traditionally drunk in East Frisia with rock sugar and cream.
Oxidation (tea): An enzymatic reaction in damaged tea leaves in which compounds react with oxygen, shaping the colour and flavour of oolong and black tea.

P

Peaberry: A coffee bean that developed alone rather than in a pair inside the coffee cherry and is therefore round rather than flat.
Pu-erh: A fermented tea from China's Yunnan province that is often pressed and aged.

R

Ristretto: A particularly short, concentrated espresso made with less water.
Robusta: A coffee species (Coffea canephora) that is hardy and high-yielding, contains more caffeine and gives a strong, bitter flavour.
Green coffee: The dried, unroasted seeds of the coffee cherry, the form in which coffee is traded and stored internationally.
Rolling (tea): A processing step in which withered tea leaves are twisted and pressed to break the cells and give the leaf its shape.
Rooibos: A caffeine-free infusion from the needle-like leaves of a South African shrub, usually sold as tea.
Roast date (coffee freshness): Information on when a coffee was roasted; it says more about freshness than the best-before date.
Roast level: A measure of how far coffee has been roasted, from light with more acidity to dark with roast aromas and bitterness.
Roasting: Heating of green coffee beans, during which colour, aroma and flavour develop.

S

Samovar: A metal water heater with a tap on which a small pot of strong tea concentrate is kept warm; typical of Russian and Iranian tea culture.
Acidity in coffee: A taste impression of freshness and liveliness in coffee that comes from fruit acids and other acids in the bean and roast.
SCA score (cupping score): A score on a 100-point scale used to rate coffee in a standardised tasting; from 80 points it counts as specialty coffee.
Black tea: A fully oxidised tea with a strong flavour and a dark cup colour.
Second flush: The year's second picking, mainly for Darjeeling – stronger and rounder than the first flush.
Sencha: Japan's most popular green tea: steamed and rolled, with a fresh, grassy taste.
Portafilter: A metal handle with a basket that holds the coffee grounds and locks into the group head of an espresso machine.
Single origin: Coffee that comes from a single country, region or even a single farm.
Specialty coffee: A term for particularly high-quality coffee that scores at least 80 out of 100 points according to the criteria of the Specialty Coffee Association.

T

Tamping: Pressing the ground coffee in the portafilter flat with a tamper so that water flows through evenly.
Tea-like products: A food-law collective term for infusions made from plant parts that do not come from the tea plant, such as herbal, fruit or rooibos tea.
Tea bag: A portioned bag of filter paper or other material containing tea or herbal/fruit infusions, usually filled with fine leaf grades.
Tea grades: Trade terms such as Orange Pekoe or Broken that describe leaf size and shape of tea.
Tea plant (Camellia sinensis): An evergreen plant whose leaves give black, green, white tea, oolong and pu-erh.
TGFOP, FTGFOP and SFTGFOP: High leaf grades for whole-leaf black tea with many golden tips, used mainly for Darjeeling and Assam.
Theobromine: Bitter-tasting, mildly stimulating constituent of cocoa, chemically related to caffeine but considerably milder in effect.
Third wave (coffee): A term for a coffee movement that focuses on origin, green coffee quality and craft preparation.
Trinitario: Cross between Criollo and Forastero that originated on Trinidad and combines fine aroma with hardier plants.
Drinking chocolate: Hot drink made from melted chocolate or drinking chocolate powder with milk or water, richer and creamier than plain cocoa.
Natural processing: A processing method in which whole coffee cherries are dried before the outer layers are removed.
Drum roasting (slow roasting): A classic roasting method in which coffee is roasted over a longer period in a heated, rotating drum.
Turkish coffee (cezve): A traditional preparation in which very finely ground coffee is brought to the boil with water in a small pot and served unfiltered.
Typica: One of the oldest cultivated Arabica varieties, from which many of today's coffee varieties descend.

W

Water temperature (tea): The temperature of the brewing water, which varies greatly by type of tea and, together with steeping time and leaf quantity, largely determines the flavour.
Water process (decaffeination): A decaffeination process without chemical solvents in which caffeine is dissolved from green coffee with water and removed using activated carbon.
White tea: A lightly processed tea made from young buds and leaves that is only withered and dried.
Withering: The first processing step of tea leaves, in which they lose water and become soft.
Wulkje (cream cloud): Cream that, in East Frisian tea culture, is carefully added to the tea at the edge of the cup and rises like a little cloud without being stirred.

Z

Steeping time: The time tea or coffee steeps in hot water before it is poured off or removed.