COFFEE ... ALL THINGS COFFEE

A BIT OF HISTORY 

Coffee is grown in a multitude of countries around the world,  Asia, Africa, Central and South America, the islands of the Caribbean and Pacific, and all can trace their heritage to the trees in the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau.

The Arabs were the first, not only to cultivate coffee but also to begin its trade.
European travelers to the Near East brought back stories of the unusual dark black beverage. By the 17th century, coffee had made its way to Europe and was becoming popular across the continent. Opponents were overly cautious, calling the beverage the 'bitter invention of Satan.
The controversy was so great that Pope Clement VIII was asked to intervene. Before making a decision however, he decided to taste the beverage for himself. He found the drink so satisfying that he gave it Papal approval.
In England 'penny universities' sprang up, so called because for the price of a penny one could purchase a cup of coffee and engage in stimulating conversation.  By the mid-17th century, there were over 300 coffee houses in London, many of which attracted patrons with common interests, such as merchants, shippers, brokers and artists.
(http://www.ncausa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=68)

THE TREE

While there are several different coffee species, two main species of coffee are cultivated today. Arabica coffee, accounts for 75-80 percent of the world's production. Robusta coffee, accounts for about 20 percent. While Robusta coffee beans are more robust than the Arabica plants, but produces an inferior tasting beverage with a higher caffeine content.  Both the Robusta and Arabica coffee plant can grow to heights of 10 meters if not pruned, but producing countries will maintain the coffee plant at a height reasonable for easy harvesting.

To watch a 30 sec video of the process please click link. 
The Bean Growing


METHODS OF HARVESTING 

Harvest by Stripping
One sweep of a branch removes the ripe as well as the unripe berries. Commercial growers use machines to remove all the berries. This method is used when the majority of the berries are ripe. Strip on to the ground or nets then sorting the ripe from unripe. 

Selective Harvesting

Let the unripe cherries remain on the tree to ripen and be harvested at a later date. Ripeness is determined by appearance and touch. Bright red and glossy. 

Mechanical Harvesting
Large commercial growers use big harvesting machines to remove the coffee cherries from the trees

What Happens Next....

Squeeze the cherries to separate the seed or the coffee bean from the fruit.

After you have separated the beans from the fruit, some meat will remain on the beans. Soak them in a bowl or bucket of water for one to two days to break down the fruit and separate it from the bean. The fruit will float to the top and can be discarded, while the beans sink to the bottom of the bowl.

Drying the beans is a lengthy process, taking between 10 to 30 days, You will know the beans are dry when their outer skin flakes off easily.

Roasting

The final step to make the coffee bean ready for brewing coffee is to roast the green beans. Without roasting, a beverage made from the green coffee bean would be bitter and extremely acidic- in short, undrinkable.
During the roasting process the green coffee changes dramatically. The process of roasting forces water out of the bean, causing it to dry and expand in the process. Some of the natural sugars in the bean are transformed into CO2 gas, and others are caramelized into the complex flavor essences that make a good coffee. The colors darken and at the end of roasting the bean is about 18 % lighter in weight and 50 to 100% larger than when it was green. After roasting the coffee continues to “degas”, emitting CO2 which helps protect the delicate flavor and aroma of the coffee. Just one week from the time it is roasted, the coffee has already started to lose some of its best flavor and aroma.