Elements of good coffee

What does a good cup of coffee mean to you?

How do you define a good cup of coffee? Just like any other food or beverage, we have our own definition towards its quality.

Whether it is extraordinarily delicious or simply pleasing, the scale is created based on your experience of tasting different types of food and drinks and how conscious you are while eating them so that your brain will remember the taste – also known as your sensory memory.

When it comes to coffee, people might deem different elements they care about as the most important ones that make up a good cup of coffee. Here’s what we got from the responses of you guys:

There’s no right or wrong in defining it, and we shall keep an open mind while searching for delicious coffee. What matters most is to enjoy a cup of coffee that we like, isn’t it?

Upon our 8th anniversary, we want to share the stories behind the coffee we serve every day, unfolding these 8 elements that we believe contribute the most to a good cup of coffee. Our team brainstormed on how to turn these elements into illustrations, and with By.byno’s help, these elements became so lively!

Some doodles from our team to draft out the ideas.

The 8 Elements of Good Coffee

Weather

all climates matter

The uncontrollable element that influences the most on the plants’ growth. The sunlight, the air, the wind, the rain. All climatic factors eventually impact the coffee quality, production volume, growth rate & generation of new varietals.

Soil

where life begins

There would not be healthy coffee trees without healthy soil. All organisms living on land play a crucial role in signalling one another when dangers come, providing nutrients for the plants to grow.

Variety

gene, the basic unit of inheritance

Quality of the coffee bean stems from its gene. Variation of a species is the result of naturally occurring mutation, which means each variety has a distinct appearance, contributing to its unique characteristics.

Farmer

the caregiver

A key role that defines the quality of coffee cherries who dedicated to find the best way of nurturing & processing each coffee plant by knowing clearly what happens behind farming.

Exporter

the bridge between farmer and roaster

The one who delivers the latest market trend to the farmers, allowing them to improve coffee quality, which impacts a better livelihood by selling coffee at higher prices. They also ensure good quality coffee is exported to the roaster by running accurate quality control during exporting.

Roast

unleashing the potential

For us, roasting is about maximising the potential of each green coffee that brings out the best characteristics of the seeds that reflect the farmer's effort. This is the phase where we experiment with a mindset that never trap inside a box.

Brew

attention to details

Brewing coffee is more than just an aesthetic act, but an act that requires attention to details, an act that tells a story. While understanding clearly what makes up a good brew, the conversation between baristas & consumers is the key to nurturing a sense of appreciation towards the cup of coffee.

Me, You, Us

a complete cycle

Through appreciation & feedback, consumers play a role in strengthening coffee sustainability. In return, we can continue the effort of making good coffee.

We hope this series tells a simple story behind what makes up a good cup of coffee. If you wish to collect these lovely illustrations, visit our merchandise page to get your collection book, with a full set of stickers with printed descriptions.

10% of each merchandise purchase will be donated to the Seeds for Progress Foundation. We will be launching a special edition T-shirt too, stay tuned for more details!

Once again, a special shout out to the local illustration artist, By.byno for transforming our thoughts into these beautiful drawings.

And to all Sweet Blossom Coffee lovers, thank you for riding this journey with us. Our journey in making good coffee continues because of you.