Welcome, Leaderboard Lite players! We're stoked to have you on board, we want you to HAVE FUN and drink good coffee.
We know this game can seem daunting, and that there are a lot of educational resources, but we wanted to remind you that that this is meant to be fun and educational, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to perform! The Leaderboard hi-score, although sweet, isn’t the point—the point is to learn and improve your sensory skills.
Here's a brief guide on the origins and varietals featured in the current season of Leaderboard, and each origin has some information on what their coffees generally taste like. If a varietal has a unique aspect to look for (whether visually or by taste), we'll have listed it to make it easier for ya!
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S19 LITE: ORIGINS
BURUNDI is a small country in East Africa with coffee and tea as their primary exporting products. It is quite difficult to get coffee exported in Burundi, but is always worth it. There are 6 main regions that grow coffee, including: Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Muyinga, and Ngozi. Most of the processing here was washed, though we are seeing more and more honey and naturals in the market.
- PROCESSES: Most Burundi coffees are of the Bourbon or Red Bourbon varietal, and coffees are generally washed process. We have seen increasingly more natural-, honey-, and anaerobic natural-processed Burundi coffees.
- FLAVOUR PROFILE: Burundi coffees, especially washed process coffees, tend to have a tea-like and silky mouthfeel, sometimes even having a savoury plum or light red fruit characteristics to it as well. Coffees can have floral notes which can remind us of many African coffees, and have tropical fruit or berries with sugars that are generally lighter (sugarcane, honey, light brown sugar, or a light caramel).
COLOMBIA is a large South American country and is one of the largest exporters of coffee. We see many grades of Colombian coffee around the world, ranging from the low end of commercial coffee all the way to award winning, competition grade specialty coffee.
- PROCESSES: Colombia typically produces washed coffees historically, however we have been seeing more naturals and honeys from here, and spectacular experimental/innovative processing coming from various regions and producers.
- FLAVOUR PROFILE: Identifying Colombian coffees may be one of the most difficult due to the many regions and profiles that exist as a result of the diverse terroir. We know it’s a tough one, so don’t be so hard on yourself if you can’t identify it! Colombian coffees typically have a balanced acidity and sweetness, and oftentimes tastes fruit-forward and juicy, with lots of milk chocolate in the aftertaste.
COSTA RICA supplies a small portion (less than 1%!) of the world’s coffee supply. There are several regions that we see coffee from more often, including: Central Valley, West Valley, Turrialba, Orosi, and Tarrazú. Regions we see less coffee from include: Guanacaste, Tres Ríos, and Brunca.
- PROCESSES: Costa Rica mainly processes their coffees as washed, or honey (which is more commonly distinguished between white, yellow, red, and black honey). We are also seeing natural process coffees coming out of Costa Rica.
- FLAVOUR PROFILE: Usually a little difficult to identify because of varying flavour profiles, though generally has high sugar sweetness reminding us of brown sugar, caramel, and toffee. When processed as a honey or natural, it typically has tropical notes and citrus notes. As a washed process coffee, it is clean with medium to heavy body, has milk chocolate or dark chocolate notes, high sweetness, and complemented by a bright acidity.
ETHIOPIA is known to be the birthplace of coffee. The majority of coffee farmers and producers in Ethiopia are smallholder farmers, owning less than 1 hectare of land. Cherries are mostly picked and sold to a cooperative, or dried naturally and then sold to a cooperative. Many coffees you see from Ethiopia will not have a farmer or producer’s name for this reason. When you see one specific name, it is likely because they are a larger, privately owned estate, or a larger cooperative with one head manager or owner.
- PROCESSES: Coffees from Ethiopia are usually washed or natural, and we may occasionally see a honey or experimental process coffee.
- FLAVOUR PROFILE: Ethiopian coffees generally taste fruity and flral, oftentimes reminding us of peaches, black tea, pineapple, and sometimes blueberries or strawberries.
LAOS is not widely known for coffee production, but has been producing coffee since the 1920s. Some other crops grown in the area include rubber, and bananas. Lao coffees are mostly Robusta and Arabica species, and are grown on the Bolaven Plateau, typically between 850 to 1300 masl. As a country with relatively newer Arabica production, most production is low yield, and there are currently more smallholder farmers than larger estates around.
- PROCESSES: Coffees from Laos are usually washed Arabicas, and we have seen rare natural and honey processed Laotian coffees.
- FLAVOUR PROFILE: Lao coffees typically have a light to medium body, with medium citrus or apple, and sometimes gentle floral notes. You may also get hints of spice or earthiness, and is typically gentler on the palate than most coffees from Asia.
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S19 LITE: VARIETALS
BOURBON (sometimes referred to as RED BOURBON) is one of the main arabica varieties in the world, and is typically differentiated by peak ripeness colour (red, pink/orange, yellow). It was originally introduced in Brazil, and it made its way through Latin America and East Africa. There is a lack of research regarding the many Bourbon-related varieties. From this season’s Leaderboard Lite list of countries, we have seen coffees labelled Bourbon and/or Red Bourbon grown in Burundi, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Laos.
> https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/bourbon
GESHA/GEISHA originates from Ethiopia, but is now grown in many countries due to the unique flavour profile and market value. Gesha varietal coffees typically have a lot of floral and tea-like notes to the coffee, and can often exhibit a longer bean shape. https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/geisha
LANDRACE + HEIRLOOM ETHIOPIAN varieties originate from Ethiopia with non-traceable specificity of varietals; also known as “heirloom varietals”. The Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) is currently doing more research on Ethiopian varietals, finding and naming unique varietals or strains of coffee such as 74110, or Dega. Typically very small bean size after roasting, oftentimes has some variation in size, and can sometimes have longberries mixed in. Landrace varietals typically taste floral and fruity, and can oftentimes taste like tea.
SL-28 originated from Kenya’s Scott Laboratories, a research program that conducts coffee varietal research. SL-28 is a Bourbon-related varietal, and provides a great price for farmers & producers due to the market demand. This is grown most commonly in Kenya, but have recently been grown in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and El Salvador. This varietal can oftentimes taste of blackcurrant, tomato/red fruit, and/or black tea.
> https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/sl28
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S19 LITE: SECTION B GUIDE
This season, we asked you to COMPARE COFFEES 01 + 02, to determine WHICH WAS GROWN AT A HIGHER ELEVATION.
Coffees grow at different elevations, and oftentimes it shows through aspects such as bean density, acidity, and origin. For example, Brazilian coffees almost always grow at a lower altitude than Colombian or Ethiopian coffees.
For this question, usually coffee grown at a higher altitude exhibit: higher density, slightly smaller beans (providing other variables are constant), and sometimes slightly higher acidity. In contrast, lower altitude coffees are lower density and more hollow, have larger seeds (generally, and providing other variables are constant as well), and usually more muted or lower acidity. Generally, floral qualities show best at higher elevation coffees.
Good luck!