What is White Coffee?

White coffee is a fairly new kind of specialty coffee that can be found at a few coffee shops and drive-thru’s around town. To understand what white coffee is, a quick explanation of the roasting process is in order; coffee beans are actually a seed like the pit of a cherry. When they are freshly harvested (before roasting) they are green and very hard. The roasting process brings the coffee through a spectrum of colors from green to light yellow, to light brown, to dark brown. This process brings out the rich, somewhat bitter flavor associated with regular coffee. Also, the roasting process is essentially roasting the caffeine out of the coffee. That’s right—the darker the roast, the less caffeine you are getting. So if you are looking to get buzzed, brew yourself a big pot of light roast coffee!

White coffee is the result of very little roasting, stopping at the light yellow stage of roasting, and therefore is very caffeinated and has a light nutty or seedy flavor as opposed to the dark, rich, traditional coffee taste. The bean is still quite hard at this point and therefore requires a special grinder that is strong and sharp enough to shave the beans adequately. For this reason, white coffee will typically come pre-ground for the coffee shop as opposed to the barista grinding the beans fresh for you as is custom when pulling regular espresso shots. 

The beautiful spectrum of coffee beans. Want to see it in person? Check out Caffe Adagio in downtown Bellingham!

So if you're looking for a slightly different coffee drink, or need a little more pep in your step for the day, ask your barista if their coffee shop carries white coffee and what drinks they recommend it in; it usually tastes best in regular lattes, flavored lattes, and white mochas-- or feel free to get creative!


Have you had white coffee before? Did you like it? How would you describe the flavor? What drink do you usually order with white coffee?


Until next time,
Coffee Mug