What is Altitude and How does it Affect Your Coffee?

What Does Altitude Have to Do with Coffee?

There are over 120 different species of the genus Coffea, and each produces different types of coffee! The most common you’ll see here at Little Bear, and within the specialty coffee industry at large, is Coffea arabica, and much like the different plants in your backyard, each species needs a different set of conditions to grow and thrive.

Altitude, or as it’s sometimes referred to, elevation, is the distance above sea level. As altitude increases the height above sea level increases which changes levels of sun exposure, rainfall, and the ecosystems that all directly affect the plants’ growing abilities. 

Does Altitude Affect Coffee?

The short answer is yes, absolutely! All plants have specific requirements needed in order for them to grow and thrive. Altitude affects the air quality, exposure to sunlight, rainfall, and which animals can be found. Each one of these factors plays an important role in the circle of life for the coffee plant as well as in creating unique microclimates.

How Does Altitude Affect Coffee Growing?

Coffee-growing regions at higher altitudes have thinner, colder air, and as a result, temperature ranges for coffee are between 64 and 73 degrees and can reach temps as low as 59 degrees.

High altitude is considered anything between 1,800 and 6,300 feet above sea level for coffee trees. Arabica coffee, which provides more than two-thirds of the world's coffee, grows at these higher elevations. In contrast, Robusta coffee, the other most common species of coffee you’ll see, grows in lower elevations, between 600 and 2,400 feet, with temps around 80 degrees. So, you can tell from temperature alone the vast difference in growing conditions.

Do the best coffees grow better at higher altitudes?

Depending on how you measure the word "better," you can decide if the best coffee is grown at higher or lower altitudes! If you base the best coffee on worldwide sales, the answer is a resounding yes; higher altitude is better. However, judging based on which altitude produces more coffee beans per acre, the answer is lower altitudes.

Several countries grow both high-altitude and low-altitude coffee, and even in countries with multiple high-altitude growing locations, the differences in growing regions can still create a wide range of different coffee flavors.

3 Ways Altitude Impacts Coffee

• Flavor

• Production

• Rainfall  

Coffee Flavor and Altitude

Higher-altitude coffees are often described as more acidic, or brighter, as well as having a more complex depth of flavor. Some examples of this are florals, stone fruits, or rich chocolates. Whereas lower-altitude coffees are known for having a smoother flavor that leans toward more earthy or grainy notes, with hints of peanut.

Coffee Production Output and Altitude

Depending on the year, high-altitude Arabica coffees make up anywhere from 60 to 75% of the global coffee consumption, with Brazil being the top producer. However, low-altitude robusta plants produce more robusta coffee annually per acre.

3 Factors That Affect Coffee Production Numbers:

• Pollination style

• Climate

• Plant Health

Robusta relies on cross-pollination with help from insects and the wind. Arabica, on the other hand, is self-pollinating. Not having to rely on outside influences is one of the ways higher-elevation coffee beans thrive, especially if conditions are not ideal.

Robusta coffee grows in warmer climates and appreciates more sunlight. On the other hand, higher-elevation coffea arabica plants struggle to survive in direct sunlight and need plenty of shade. Arabica coffee is frequently referred to as "mountain coffee" due to growing on heavily forested mountainsides. They require the shade afforded to them by the high-elevation elements to produce high-quality coffee beans.

Rainfall and High-Altitude Coffee 

Water plays an essential role in the life cycle of all living organisms! Higher elevations where arabica coffee grows tend to have distinct rainy and dry seasons, with annual rainfalls of about 5 feet. The mountainous terrain plus higher elevations tend to produce the best coffee due to the distinct microclimates and biomes they create.

This is partially thanks to the length of time the coffee trees are exposed to rainfall. Since high elevation plus mountainous slopes create a natural downward path, there is significantly more water drainage than lower-elevation coffee tends to experience. Since the altitude and terrain create drainage opportunities, the coffee trees are not sitting in water, and less water means the sugars inside the coffee cherry have time to form more complex flavor profiles.

Rainfall and Low-Altitude Coffee 

Lower-elevation coffees have less environmental help in regard to water drainage. This can lead to the coffee trees being saturated in water for prolonged periods of time, and coffee plants exposed to water for extended periods can produce coffees that are less complex. In the same way melted ice will dilute your drink and strip the distinct flavors, sitting in rainwater for long periods reduces the flavor of coffee.

The Best Altitude Produces the Best Coffee

It doesn't matter whether you choose a high-altitude or low-altitude coffee! The biggest factor in creating an amazing cup of coffee is choosing the coffee that speaks to you. Whether that’s altitude, overall cup flavor profile, processing, varietal, or the origin a coffee comes from, you can’t go wrong when you have a better idea of what you’re looking for.