Altitude

How high above sea level (measured in meters or “MASL”) a coffee plant is grown. Altitude impacts coffee bean shape and flavor with Robusta beans typically grown at lower altitudes (600-2,400 MASL) and Arabica beans grown at higher altitudes (1,800-6,300 MASL). Different origins have inherently different averages for how high coffee is grown based on the terrain of the region. Many coffee experts believe higher grown coffees to offer superier complexity. For instance, 1,500+ masl is considered very high grown 1,200-1,500 masl is high, 900-1,200 is medium, and 750-900 is low grown. There are different gradings for coffee that indicate altitude as well, such as “strictly hard bean” (SHB) also known as “strictly high grown” (SHG) coffee is grown at 1,200 MASL and is considered superior in flavor.