AA.   Capitalized letters are grade indicators usually describing the size of the bean

Aroma is your first impression of coffee, and it signals its taste. Your sense of smell allows you to differentiate between thousands of distinct aromas. Your sense of taste is capable of distinguishing only four basic sensations. The aroma of a coffee is responsible for its popularity and allure.

Acidity 
The sharp lively quality characteristic of high-grown coffee, tasted mainly at the tip of the tongue. The brisk, snappy quality that makes coffee refreshing. It is NOT the same as bitter or sour and has nothing to do with pH factors. Coffees are low in acidity, between 5 and 6 on the pH scale.

Altura.   "Heights" in Spanish; describes coffee that has been high- or mountain-grown.

Antigua.   Market name for one of the most distinguished coffees of Guatemala, from the valley surrounding the old capital of Guatemala Antigua.

Body is the sensation of consistency, texture and fullness created by coffee. It can be compared to the difference in 'mouth-feel' that red wine has over white wine.
Some coffees feel heavier in the mouth. Coffee from Indonesia, especially Sumatra, is very heavy and has much body. Ethiopian Mocha has the least body. Brazilian coffee is in the middle. With light-bodied coffees, the flavor is so delicate that milk should not be added. If you prefer milk with your coffee you should choose a medium to heavy-bodied coffee.

Bourbon Santos.   Also known as Santos. A market name for a category of high-quality coffee from Brazil, usually shipped through the port of Santos. The term Bourbon Santos is sometimes used to refer to any high-quality Santos coffee, but it properly describes Santos coffee from the Bourbon variety of arabica, which tends to produce a fruitier, more acidy cup than other varieties grown in Brazil.

Brazil.   The best (usually dry-processed Bourbon Santos) can be a wonderfully deep, complex, sweet coffee particularly appropriate for espresso.

Buttery is a pleasant term most commonly associated with espresso. It is used to describe the buttery feel created in the mouth by the oils and fats transferred from the beans to the brew. The fat content of the bean is crucial for the formation of the 'crema' or froth that contains the aroma of a good espresso.

Bitter, burnt and scorched are unfortunate attributes. Bitter and burnt are flavor characteristics related to the roasting process. Bitterness is a taste found in dark-roasted coffees. The darker the roast, the greater the bitterness. Bitterness can also be experienced if the coffee grinds are over-extracted. This can happen if the grind is too fine, not enough coffee is used, or too much coffee is brewed from the grinds. Burnt is obviously a most undesirable flavor. Scorched flavors are caused by the water temperature of the espresso machine being too hot.

A Blend is a combination of two or more single origin coffees.

Costa Rica.   The best Costa Rica coffees (San Marcos de Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Heredi, Alajuela) display a full body and clean, robust acidity that make them among the most admired of Central American coffees.

Espresso 
A brewing method that extracts the heart of the bean. It was invented in Italy at the turn of the century. A pump-driven machine forces hot water through fine grounds at around nine atmospheres of pressure. It should take between 18 to 23 seconds to extract a good shot. This will produce from 3/4 to one ounce of great liquid. This produces a sweet, thick and rich, smooth shot of espresso. Comes from the Latin word "Expresere" which means "to press out."

Ethiopia.   Ethiopia is a very complex coffee origin. The best Ethiopia dry-processed coffee (Harrar or Harar) tends to be medium-bodied and brilliantly acidy with rough, fruity or winy tones. The best washed Ethiopian coffee (Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, some Limu, and some washed Djimah) is light-bodied but explosive with complex floral and citrus notes.

Fair Traded Coffee.   Coffee that has been purchased from farmers (usually peasant farmers) at a "fair" price as defined by international agencies. The extra paid these farmers under fair trade arrangements is extremely modest, by the way.

Flavored Coffees.   Coffees that in their roasted, whole-bean form have been mixed with flavoring agents.

French Press A device for making coffee in which ground coffee is steeped in water. The grounds are then removed from the coffee by means of a filter plunger which presses the grounds to the bottom of the pot.

French Roast    coffee brought to degrees of roast considerably darker than the American norm; may range in color from dark brown to nearly black and in flavor from rich and bittersweet to thin-bodied and burned.

Guatamala.   Guatemala is a complex coffee origin. Strictly Hard Bean grade coffees from the central highlands (Antigua, Atitlan,) tend to exhibit a rich, spicy or floral acidity and excellent body. Coffees from mountainous areas exposed to either Pacific (San Marcos) or Caribbean (Cobán, Huehuetenango) weather tend to display a bit less acidity and more fruit.

Indonesia.   Indonesia coffees are usually marketed under the name of the island of origin; see Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java, Timor. Most are distinguished by full body, rich flavor, and a low-toned, vibrant acidity.

Java, Java Arabica.   Unlike most other Indonesia coffees, which are grown on tiny farms and often primitively processed, Java coffees are grown on large farms or estates, most operated by the government, and are wet-processed using modern methods. The best display the low-toned richness characteristic of other Indonesia coffees, but are usually lighter in body and more acidy.

Kenya.   Kenya coffees are celebrated for their deep, winy acidity and complex fruit and berry tones. Of the world's great coffees, Kenyan probably is the most consistent in quality and most widely available.

Mexico.   The best Mexico coffees (Oaxaca Pluma, Coatepec, Chiapas) are distinguished by a light body and a delicate, pleasant acidity. Highland Chiapas coffees can be bigger and more richly acidy.

Mocha-Java  Traditionally, a blend of Yemen Mocha and Java Arabica coffees, usually one part Yemen Mocha and two parts Java Arabica. Mocha-Java is the world's oldest coffee blend.

Organic Coffee, Certified Organic Coffee.   Coffee that has been certified by a third-party agency as having been grown and processed without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or similar chemicals.

Peaberry  Your typical coffee fruit (cherry) has two beans in it, but Peaberry coffee is made when the cherries form with a single bean.

Sidamo   Market name for a distinguished light-to-medium bodied, fragrantly floral or fruity wet-processed coffee from southern Ethiopia.

Sumatra.   Single-origin coffee from the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Distinguished by full body, deep, expansive flavor, and a low-toned, vibrant acidity.

Supremo.   Highest grade of Colombia coffee.

Swiss Water Process.   A trademarked decaffeination method that removes caffeine from coffee beans using hot water, steam, and activated charcoal rather than chemicals or solvents.

Tanzania.   Tanzanian coffees display a rich flavor and full body, with a vibrantly winy acidity that makes them resemble the coffees of neighboring Kenya.

Timor.   Single-origin coffee from East Timor. Distinguished by fullish body, expansive flavor, and a low-toned, vibrant acidity.

Varietal  Coffee grown in different geographical regions. Though all coffee comes from the same species of plant, the climate and soils in different parts of the world can alter the taste of coffee grown there.

Yirgacheffe (YUR ga Shef ay).   Market name for one of the most admired washed coffees of Ethiopia, distinguished by its fruit-like or floral acidity and high-toned, complex flavor.

Zimbabwe.   Zimbabwe coffee exhibits excellent cup presence and the vibrant, winy acidity characteristic of East Africa coffees. Some rank it second in quality only to Kenya among Africa coffees.