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Which fruit product is most consumed by Americans (and a growing number of Filipino middle class, especially call center workers)?

If you answered coffee, you were correct. The coffee “bean” is actually the pit of the round fruit of the coffee tree. (It’s called a “cherry” by growers).

Varieties: Two species account for most of the coffee we drink. Arabica, grown at high altitude and rich in flavor, is the larger crop. Robusta, mostly from Africa, is hardier but thinner in flavor.

Important producers:

• Brazil: The quality ranges from indifferent to good. Best: Bourbon Santos.
• Columbia: Good to superlative coffees.
• Costa Rica: Arabicas, ranging from poor to great. Costa Rican coffees are rated by the hardness of the bean. Trust you coffee merchant to provide strictly hard bean (SHB) or good hard bean (GHB), the mountain-grown best.
• Jamaica: Look for mellow, aromatic Blue Mountain.
• Java: The word java was once slang for coffee. However, the finest trees were destroyed in World War II and replaced by robusta. Sturdy, rich heady Indonesian arabica is now very scarce.
• Kenya: All Kenya’s crop is arabica–mild, smooth, and round.
• Vietnam: Nearly all coffee grown in Vietnam is of the robusta variety.  One of Vietnam’s domestic offerings, “weasel coffee,” has the potential to appeal to the palates of high-end drinkers the world over.

Roasting: Slightly roasted beans have little taste. Overroasted ones taste burned. Variations in roasting time affect flavor, but there is no right or wrong, just personal preference. Darker roasts are not stronger. The strength of the brew depends on the amount of coffee used.

Some roasting terms:

• Light City Roast: Often called cinnamon. Can be thin.
• City Roast: The most popular. Makes a tasty brew.
• Full City Roast: Beans are dark brown with no show of oil. Preferred by coffee specialty shops.
• Viennese roast: Somewhere between Full City and French Roast.
• French Roast: The beans are oily, and the color is that of semisweet chocolate. Nearing espresso, but smoother.
• Italian/espresso roast: The beans are oily and almost black. Serious coffee, drunk in small amounts.
• French/Italian Roast: Dark and full flavored, but not as bitter as espresso.

Choosing coffee: Most coffees are a blend of two or more varieties. A skillful blender balances his components.

Suggestion: Start with a coffee merchant’s house blend. Like house wine, it must please a broad range of tastes and demonstrate the quality of the merchant’s offerings. Go on to try as many blends. Most merchants sell their coffees in half-pound or even quarter-pound amounts.

Source Lyn Stallworth, The Pleasures of Cooking; Vietnam: Silent Global Coffee Power