Coffee - From Beans to Shelf
The harvesting of coffee beans is a huge industry. Coffee is second only to oil as a worldwide commodity.
The variety of coffee beans is staggering, but they have classified into 2 main types the arabica and the robusta. The arabica gets it name from its original home, the Arabian Peninsula. The robusta is different because it has a high caffeine content.
By contrast to wine, the coffee berry (called a 'cherry') is not valued for its fruit, but only for the bean inside. It's that bean that is aged, roasted, ground and brewed to make the 400 million cups per day consumed around the world.
There are two major classes of beans determined by their appearance red and green. The red beans have less acidity and a shaper aroma. They are used for the specialty coffees. One of the most important steps in producing good coffee is picking the fruit.
Since most beans are hand picked by laborers, at the rate of a few baskets per day, separating the red and green is a valued skill and has a large effect on the final product.
After the fruit it is soaked and scoured to remove the beans from its center. After being removed the beans are cleaned to remove any excess fruit. The beans are then laid out on the ground to dry in the sun until almost all moisture from the bean is evaporated away.
From there the beans are sorted by color and size, sometimes by hand increasingly often by machine. Some of the beans are discarded, others polished to remove the skin. For select types, the beans are then aged anywhere from three to eight years, while others go to be roasted within a year.
The oil that is contained within the beans gives them their unique flavor and aroma. This oil is released during the roasting process where the beans reach up to 400F and burst to release the inner flavor.
Naturally a wide variety of in-house techniques have developed for roasting. Beans from Java and Kenya, for example, are often lightly roasted producing a distinctive flavor. After roasting, the beans produce carbon dioxide for several days so the beans are 'de-gassed' either by airing or packaging in semi-permeable shipping bags.
The variety of coffee beans is staggering, but they have classified into 2 main types the arabica and the robusta. The arabica gets it name from its original home, the Arabian Peninsula. The robusta is different because it has a high caffeine content.
By contrast to wine, the coffee berry (called a 'cherry') is not valued for its fruit, but only for the bean inside. It's that bean that is aged, roasted, ground and brewed to make the 400 million cups per day consumed around the world.
There are two major classes of beans determined by their appearance red and green. The red beans have less acidity and a shaper aroma. They are used for the specialty coffees. One of the most important steps in producing good coffee is picking the fruit.
Since most beans are hand picked by laborers, at the rate of a few baskets per day, separating the red and green is a valued skill and has a large effect on the final product.
After the fruit it is soaked and scoured to remove the beans from its center. After being removed the beans are cleaned to remove any excess fruit. The beans are then laid out on the ground to dry in the sun until almost all moisture from the bean is evaporated away.
From there the beans are sorted by color and size, sometimes by hand increasingly often by machine. Some of the beans are discarded, others polished to remove the skin. For select types, the beans are then aged anywhere from three to eight years, while others go to be roasted within a year.
The oil that is contained within the beans gives them their unique flavor and aroma. This oil is released during the roasting process where the beans reach up to 400F and burst to release the inner flavor.
Naturally a wide variety of in-house techniques have developed for roasting. Beans from Java and Kenya, for example, are often lightly roasted producing a distinctive flavor. After roasting, the beans produce carbon dioxide for several days so the beans are 'de-gassed' either by airing or packaging in semi-permeable shipping bags.
About the Author:
Looking for information about making expresso or other coffee-centric subjects? You need look no further than the Coffee Poet blog, where we share your love of a great java. Visit http://www.coffeepoet.com for more great tips and advice.
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