| Cappuccino | A hot drink made with espresso and foamed milk. The european style of cappuccino calls for 1/3rd espresso, 1/3rd hot milk, 1/3rd foam in a cup holding approximately 5 ounces of beverage. Named after the Catholic Capuchin monks in Italy who wore robes that looked similar to the foam of the espresso drink. |
| Caturra | An Arabica cultivar developed from Bourbon. Small in size but quite dense with growth, it requires greater inputs than older Arabicas but rewards the grower for it with higher yields and fine quality. |
| Chaff | Pieces of the innermost skin of the cherry (the silverskin) that clings to the green coffee after processing. This skin comes loose in the roaster. |
| Cherry | The ripe fruit from a coffee tree. Typically contains 2 beans, or 1 peaberry. |
| Clean | A term used to describe coffee with no discernible defects in its flavor. |
| Cup of Excellence® | The brainchild of George Howell, Cup of Excellence® is a stringent three-stage yearly competition to find the very best lots of green coffee produced in a particular country, followed by a worldwide internet auction of those coffees, the first of its kind. The third stage of the competition involves an international jury composed of Specialty coffee buyers (judges from the last Brazil competition were from: Finland, Norway, Holland, France, Greece, England, Italy, the USA, India, Australia and Japan). Only a few lots win each year. Six countries are participating in 2005: Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. Farms whose coffees have won the Cup of Excellence® are given credit and exposure through the web, through the press and through participating merchants who have bought the coffees. These farmers are thus given a rare opportunity to step out of the anonymity which guarantees their dependence on the commodity market – regardless of the quality they produce. Cup of Excellence® began in 1999. See the definition of lot for further information. |
| Cupping | A process used by professionals to sample and evaluate coffees. Similar to a wine tasting.
Every coffee that is considered for purchase must be carefully cupped. The cupping process first involves detection of any defects or inconsistencies that might appear from cup to cup; one bad bean can destroy even a pot of coffee. Specialty coffee cupping then proceeds to explore for positive traits. Coffees that are chosen for quality purchase must be outstanding in clean cup (no defects, taints or muddiness), sweetness, refined acidity, smooth body, distinct pleasant flavor, elegant aftertaste and good balance. All coffees must be measured for correct moisture content before purchase as is done by Terroir™. This is critical since wetter, unstable coffee deteriorate rapidly.
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