🫘 > bean term MASL

Meters Above Sea Level (MASL)

Meters above sea level is a simple elevation measure used to describe how high a coffee farm sits above the ocean. Coffee buyers and roasters pay attention to it because elevation strongly shapes growing conditions. Higher mountains are cooler, and cooler temperatures slow the ripening of coffee cherries. That longer maturation period tends to produce denser beans with more developed sugars and acids, which is why high grown coffees are often described as brighter, sweeter, and more aromatic in the cup. This relationship between altitude, temperature, and slower fruit development is widely discussed in specialty coffee research and trade writing such as https://perfectdailygrind.com/2018/01/coffee-quality-m-a-s-l-how-important-is-altitude-really/ and https://www.roastmagazine.com/stories/beyond-elevation. (Perfect Daily Grind)

On a coffee label, MASL is mostly read as a rough flavor signal. Coffees grown below about one thousand meters often produce softer cups with heavier body and lower acidity. Coffees grown around one thousand to eighteen hundred meters tend to show balanced sweetness and fruit. Above roughly eighteen hundred meters many lots begin to show the floral and citrus acidity prized in specialty coffee. These are tendencies rather than guarantees, but when a bag of Guatemalan or Ethiopian coffee lists a farm at two thousand MASL, experienced drinkers usually expect a dense bean and a lively cup. (pactcoffee.com)