Fruity coffee beans and blends

What makes fruity coffee taste the way it does?

A fruity coffee is mostly about acidity. Not sourness, but the fresh, juicy sharpness you also find in an apple or a blackcurrant. Three things decide how much of it ends up in your cup:

• Origin: arabica grown high up ripens slowly and tends to keep more acidity and fruit.
• Processing: in a washed coffee the fruit is removed before drying, which gives a clean cup with citrus and floral notes. In a natural coffee the whole cherry dries around the bean, which often brings riper, berry-like flavours.
• Roast: a lighter roast keeps the fruit; the darker a coffee is roasted, the more chocolate and roasted flavours take over.

Fruity coffee is not the same as flavoured coffee. Nothing is added: the fruit notes come from the bean itself, just like the other coffee flavours you taste in the cup.

The origins in this category

East Africa: the brightest cups

Ethiopia is where arabica comes from, and Ethiopian coffees are known for floral and citrus notes. Yirgacheffe, a region in the south of the country, is often lighter and almost tea-like. Kenya is known for a pronounced, blackcurrant-like acidity and a full body, and Tanzania sits close to Kenya in style.

Central and South America: fruit in balance

In Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Colombia the fruit is usually softer and sits alongside caramel, nut or cocoa. Cerrado from Brazil is the mildest of the group. These are a good step if you find East African coffee too bright.

Blends, tasting packs and decaf

Besides single origins, this category also includes Italian and other European espresso blends, several sample packs and tasting packs, and decaf options such as our Decaf Special. A tasting pack is a practical way to compare a few coffees side by side before you commit to a larger bag. Prefer not to grind at all? The Ethiopia drip bags are filter pouches with ground coffee that you hang over your cup and pour hot water through.

How to brew a fruity coffee

• Filter and pour-over: the clearest way to taste the fruit. A V60, Chemex or filter machine lets the acidity and aroma come through.
• Espresso: a fruity single origin tastes brighter and sharper as espresso than an Italian blend. If it is too sour, grind a little finer.
• With milk: milk rounds off the acidity and can hide the fruit. For a cappuccino, a blend is usually the easier choice.
• Cold brew: steeping in cold water brings out sweetness and keeps the acidity low, which turns a fruity coffee soft and juicy.

Which one to choose?

Want the most fruit in your cup? Start with Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe or Kenya and brew them as filter coffee. Prefer a rounder cup with just a hint of fruit? Choose one of the Central American origins. And if you mainly drink espresso or coffee with milk from a bean-to-cup machine, one of the blends in this category will feel more familiar.