In the Cane

From oval-shaped beans, Arabica has 
a sweeter, fruitier taste. Rounder, Robusta 

has that brassier edge, because of its higher 
caffeine content. Besides mouthfeel and smell, 

how does one navigate these flavor profiles?
Chocolate, jasmine, citrus, smoke; roasted barley,

cinnamon, clove, wet soil. Body is the weight or 
density of the coffee on your tongue; acidity, what 

bursts as a brighter note after you swallow. There are 
those who won't take coffee any other way but black. 

No sugar or honey, no cream, no crown of froth— 
as if to do otherwise might mean a disposition 

toward weakness, robust meaning having great 
strength. Upright, vigorous like robur (an English oak), 

as if what's sweet didn't also live in fields of hardy
cane, making generous sugar without the bees.