If you are truly coffee lover, you might have come across something called white coffee. At first, you might think it is just the regular coffee that is mixed with some kind of white creamy liquid or milk. However, it is not. So let find out what is white coffee and why it is so hot right now in the coffee market.
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What is white coffee?
White coffee has nothing to do with the additional ingredients or using special types of coffee beans, but what makes it “white” is the roasting process. Instead of roasting at 230oC to 250oC, white coffee bean is only roasted at 160oC within half amount of regular roasting time. In other words, the word “white” does not mean the coffee has white color but indicate the extremely light roasting level of the coffee bean.
What is the difference between white coffee and regular coffee?
As it is very lightly roasted, thus the coffee bean has bright color and much harder than the regular bean. You might need to use the commercial grinder to grind it for the best quality.
In term of taste, the sugar in the bean is not caramelized due to low temperature and short roasting process. The white coffee does not have a bitter taste. Instead, the coffee will taste the nuttier and more acidic flavour.
Is white coffee stronger than regular coffee?
Many people say that it has higher caffeine level than regular coffee since it is roasted very lightly.
The caffeine content in the coffee bean before and after roasting is unchanged or only deviated by 0.1% – not enough to have a significant impact on caffeine levels. In other words, white coffee has the same amount of caffeine as regular coffee if using the same green bean.
The caffeine level is only different when you use a different variety of coffee bean. For example, the caffeine content in the Arabica bean is only half of the Robusta bean.
What are white coffee benefits compare to regular coffee?
As we know, coffee contains many natural chemicals that are good for our health, such as Chlorogenic acid and other anti-oxidants. During the roasting process, these healthy elements will be burned off and disappeared. Thus the longer the roasting process, the less number of healthy compounds will remain.
As it is extremely light roasted, thus it retains the most amounts of healthy chemicals in the coffee bean than other regular roasts. Therefore, drinking white coffee is claimed to be healthier than regular coffee.
Does Starbucks have white coffee?
Currently, Starbucks has not offered white coffee drinks yet. Please do not confuse with Starbucks’ flat white which is made with espresso and steamed milk.
You might check out some local coffee shop as they might offer it.
Where to buy white coffee bean?
As mentioned above, the white coffee bean is much harder than a regular bean, which might require it to be ground by the commercial grinder. Therefore you might consider buying the white coffee ground instead.
Here are some good brands that you might consider
Caffe Bianco from Caffe Appassionato
Caffe Appassionato is a well-known coffee roaster in Seattle, Washington since 1990.
Their white coffee ground is made from 100% Arabica bean and packed in 2 sizes: 1lb and 2 lbs bag.
Wired Willey’s White Coffee
You also can try Wired Willey’s White Coffee which is also freshly roasted and ground in Washington. It is the highest-rated white coffee on Amazon.
It comes in a bag of 1lb, 2 lbs or 4lbs.