The 5 best coffees in the world

Much more than a simple drink, the pleasure of enjoying a good coffee is a real ritual. Beyond the flavor and comfort of each sip, Cafés Méo offers to accompany you, through a sensory journeyto discover the unique territories they offer us the best cereals with the most delicious aromas. Between traditional cultivation methods, ancestral know-how and geographical exposure, we offer you a selection of the best coffees in the world. Although it is always difficult to reward a great winner, because coffee is above all a story of personal tastelet yourself be transported to the peaks of Indonesia or under the sun of Jamaica to learn even more about this world of flavours.

How to choose the best coffees in the world?

The task is far from easy and we will all have different opinions on the subject. Nothing more natural because coffee is a matter of taste, aromas and palatability. You can love yours arabica spicy, while others will be attracted by its bitterness, its slightly chocolatey or even floral and fruity taste. However, there are some essential criteria for guide your choices and allow you to enjoy your exceptional cuppa.

• Origin: Each terroir offers unique flavors, which will profoundly influence the aroma, taste and bitterness of your nectar.

• Cultivation and harvest: Coffees coming from sustainable agricultural practices and cultivation at high altitudes often guarantee a more qualitative selection of beans and, therefore, higher quality.

• Processing and roasting of the beans: Coffee cherries can be washed, for a lighter, more acidic taste, while sun-dried fruit will give you a fruity note. In general, the dry method is best suited to Robusta beans, while most Arabica is wet processed. Adequate, slow and controlled roasting will allow the coffee beans to take on color, aroma and flavor.

Let us now travel together through North America, Asia and South America, these three magnificent continents, birthplaces of the creation of your favorite coffees.

Jamaica and its Blue Mountains, for enthusiasts

• Origin: Jamaica
• Tasting notes: Sweet, balanced, chocolate and hazelnut
• Price estimate: €170 and kg

Introduced to Jamaica by settlers from Martinique in 1728, only a century later was coffee developed and sublimated into the Blue Mountain area.

Often considered as such one of the best coffees in the world by enthusiasts, it draws its characteristic taste from a perfect combination of ideal exposure to the sun and rich volcanic soilall grown at high altitude.

Blue Mountain is known for its sweetness, perfectly balanced, with a subtle hint of chocolate and hazelnut.

How can we accompany it to enhance it?

Don’t hesitate to give yourself a little indulgence with a dark chocolatestrong in cocoa, to offer you a perfect mix of sweet and bitter in your mouth. And if you’re more of a sweet/savory person, opt for one cheese as refined as an aged gouda, the taste surprise will be there. And as always, tradition goes well with the instant pleasure of a coffee, a slightly sweet pastry like Madeleinewill highlight the Blue Mountain aroma.

The Geisha of Panama and its unique aromas

• Origin: Mouthpiece, Panama
• Tasting notes: Floral, fruity, bergamot and mango
• Price estimate: €80 and kg

Originating from the town of Geisha in Ethiopia, it was in Panama in the 1960s that it became the jewel of coffee connoisseurs. Recognized for its originality, the Geisha has a particularly recognizable taste profile. Unique and complex, it offers a barely hidden subtlety of flowers and fruits. Between the bergamot, tropical fruits and a delicious touch of mangoGeisha is considered by many specialized magazines to be simply the best coffee in the world.

The flavor of balanced acidity

This very particular and refined taste, this controlled acidity, is the result of a perfect alchemy. Panama Geisha is mainly grown in the Boquete region, which benefits from ideal conditions. The plants are generally grown in the shade to protect the beans from excess sunlight. Thus making it possible to obtain this combination of floral and fruity flavours, a worthy heritage of the elements that constitute the richness of this land, and of a know-how that is as precise as it is rigorous.

Hawaii’s luxurious Kona Coffee

• Origin: Kona, Hawaii
• Tasting notes: Sweet, fruity, caramel and nuts
• Price estimate: €100 and Kg

In all modesty, Kona coffee is one of coffee the most expensive in the world. But its high price is not its most noticeable feature, Kona is recognized for its purity and the high quality of its grains. Grown on the big island of the Hawaiian archipelago, it benefits from the best climatic conditions to offer this delicious fruity sweetness. You can almost feel the ecstasy of a little taste of tropical paradise, thanks in particular to that little touch of caramel.

The sun as a secret ingredient

Kona coffee benefits from a geographical and meteorological position particularly favorable to its development. With a level of sunshine Almost 70% per daythe archipelago benefits from an exceptional microclimate, the perfect alchemy between rain and heat is an ideal cocktail for the development of coffee plants.

Gourmet and spicy, Mandheling Sumatra from Indonesia

• Origin: North Sumatra, Indonesia
• Tasting notes: Woody, spicy and slightly full-bodied
• Price estimate: up to €300 per kg

The Mandheling is named after the people Mandailing which historically grows this coffee in North Sumatra growing it at almost 1800 meters above sea level. Considered «the grand cru» of Indonesian coffees, it owes this distinction to its particular preparation and washing technique. Indeed, cereals are shortcrust pastry and not fermented by humidification, before being browned in the sun. The diversity and richness of the ecosystem that surrounds it contribute greatly to the quality of its aromas and its intensity.

The Kopi and his Luwak controversy

The Luwaks it has long been considered a small animal harmful to local flora. But its invaluable help in the natural fermentation of coffee beans ended up making it a major player. The Luwak, who loves coffee beans, cannot digest them completely and ends up rejecting them, thus participating in the natural fermentation of the beans.

This very natural technique has inevitably become a local tourist attraction, unfortunately leading the most unscrupulous operators to lock up the little Luwaks for intensive breeding.

Without forgetting the giants of Brazil

While quantity should never be confused with quality, the fact is that Brazil is the 1st producing country of world coffee for more than 300 years, should in no way ruin the reputation of its Arabicas. Grown in 5 main geographical areas (Minas Gerais, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Sao Paulo and Paraná), Brazilian coffee is a global reference. The market leader obliges, the plantations benefit from the most modern technologies, thus favoring their exploitation in large volumes.

With the multitude of producing farms, it is difficult to reduce Brazilian coffee to one flavor note. However, we see that most of the typical aromas of this country are generally close to chocolate, hazelnut or fruity profiles.

From the mountains of Jamaica to the volcanic slopes of Hawaii, each producing region has its own unique features to offer you its best coffee. You will surely find in this list the flavor that will make you melt. Unless you’re more inclined to do so organic coffeesan equally aromatic, full-bodied and diversified range. Whether you prefer delicate floral notes, fruity flavors or chocolate, let yourself be transported with Méo on this journey of taste.