Coffee is the second most consumed drink worldwide, with billions of people taking it every day. Although most of us enjoy the rich taste and aroma in our morning cup, a very few among have truly appreciated the long way coffee bean has traveled. It starts with the simple coffee bean seed, a small and seemingly harmless entity that, like all other fully grown ones, counts as one of the global commodities. In this blog, you dive through a life of Coffee from Seed to Cup in connection with agricultural importance, environmental importance & economic aspects along with wonder crops.
An Oral History of 8 Coffee Table Books It comes from a plant that was discovered in Ethiopia, where coffee (Coffea) originated. The story goes that goats became uber naughty after feasting on red cherries from the coffee plant, leading a guy named Kaldi the goat herder down a path of discovery. Over time, the cherries with these plants eventually led to our coffee beans.
The path of Coffee from Ethiopia crossed over to Yemen where it became heavily cultivated and traded. Coffee found its way in Persia, Egypt and the Ottoman Empire by the 15th century. In time, coffee was brought to the West by European traders, a development which spurred on the global coffee culture.
Coffee is a tropical plant grown between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Coffee plants require high altitudes, warm temperatures neither too hot nor too cold, and fertile soil to be at their best. There are around 120 species of coffee, but the most commonly used varieties in commercial cultivation are Coffea Arabica (Arabica) and Coffea Canephora (Robusta). Arabica has a more delicate, gentle flavor and Robusta tends to have a taste profile that is rockier and worse. These species produce the same seeds as coffee beans.
Growing Coffee Coffee-berries or seeds are known as beans The coffee-growing process starts with planting the small coffee bean seeds. To ensure strong and productive trees, farmers need to choose high-quality seeds from healthy coffee plants. The seeds are usually sown under shade in nursery beds, where they will germinate after a few weeks. The quality of the seedlings depends on the conditions in the nursery, temperature, humidity and soil are things that influence a lot.
The nascent coffee plants, which are called seedlings after germination, are cared for in a nursery for six to twelve months. They are then planted on coffee farms and grown until they are strong enough. The plants of coffee take 5 years to fruit. So, the process is hackneyed with extreme patience and management.
Coffee plants are versatile shrubs that develop year-round and weatherproof crops. The coffee plant transplanted to a permanent growing site grows and develops. In the wild, coffee trees can grow up to 20 feet tall in the shade of natural forests, however on farms they are pruned to a height of 5-7 feet for ease of harvesting.
The coffee plant and jasmine have in common that the flowers are small, fragrant and bear similarity to each other. These coffee flowers turn into what we call coffee cherries after pollination. Commonly, two coffee bean seeds are the primary product of culturing each coffee cherry. Ripening of cherries: It takes about 9-11 months for the cherry to be ripe, turning from green to bright red when ready to harvest.
Whether we like it or not, the coffee cherry harvesting process is backbreaking and manual work, especially if carried out in regions that prioritize manual picking to ensure perfect ripeness. Coffee is one such product, which in many coffee-growing countries (especially in Africa and Latin America) is hand harvested by communities en-masse at the peak of the harvest season.
In others, this is accompanied by mechanical harvesting, especially if coffee farms are grown on flat terrain. But it cannot discriminate between ripe and unripe cherries; this can affect coffee cup quality. This is why almost exclusively premium specialty coffees are picked by hand.
Once the coffee cherries are picked, they must be processed immediately to prevent spoilage. The processing method you chose will greatly influence the taste and cup quality of your final coffee product. Most coffee is processed in two ways: dry and wet.
The Dry Process
Coffee cherries are left to naturally dry in the sun in the number 1 process called the dry заказывая кофе. Dry: This is the most ancient coffee processing method and remains broadly practiced in countries with hot, dry conditions. The cherries are turned regularly, a process that lasts several weeks to ensure all the elements have been sufficiently sun-dried. When this part dries, the outer layer of the cherry is taken off and you will get what we know as coffee beans.
The Wet Process
In the wet process, the cherries are pulped, which means that any outer flesh is removed and what remains are seeds (coffee beans, naturally), wrapped in a thin layer of mucilage. The beans are then washed with water and fermented from anywhere between 12-48 hours which helps to dissolve the mucilage. The beans are then washed (mechanically or by hand) and dried (sun dried, mechanical dryer).
When the coffee beans are dried to the optimal moisture amount, they are called parchment coffee because of a thin protective covering similar to parchment remains on the beans. This parchment coffee stays in bulk until it is ready to be hulled i.e. where the parchment layer that surrounds each green coffee bean is removed.
Roasting, the process that creates the delightful flavor and aroma of coffee we love, is what turns green coffee beans into roasters roasted fresh daily. It is a combination of art and science, where the temperature as well as duration of your roast can impact the flavor profile of your coffee tremendously.
Roast levels: light, medium, dark light roast coffee Light roasts retain the original taste of the coffee bean and often accentuate fruity or floral tones. Medium roasts are more balanced as they combine acidity, sweetness and body equally. Dark roasts bring out richer, stronger tastes and more smoky or caramelized nuances.
Roasting coffee beans results in the chemical change in the roast. Beans swell, weathering and turning brown. It requires great control over the time and temperature to make sure you do not burn the beans as they roast.
The roasted coffee beans are now ready for grinding and brewing. Grind size is crucial as it directly influences how extraction dependent coffee is during brewing. Espresso requires the finest grind, while methods like French press or cold brew need coarse grinds.
The methods and scripts for brewing vary from culture to culture, using the standard table pull coffee maker to some really wild ones like the siphon or Chemex cup. Whether you use a French press, pour-over cone, or espresso machine the end game is always the same, letting the most flavor of the coffee ground come out and into your mug for an amazing cup o’joe.
Global demand for coffee is increasing, and the environmental footprint of cultivating coffee bean seeds is large. Among the concerns is deforestation, as many coffee farms are situated in tropical areas of great biological diversity. As coffee farms spread, they replace forests, displacing animals.
In response, a plethora of farmers and organizations are advocating sustainable coffee farming tricks. Shade-grown coffee, where coffee grows under a canopy of already existing trees and therefore preserves natural habitats and biodiversity. Another green option, organic coffee farming utilizes natural pesticides and fertilizers instead of synthetic chemicals.
Next only to oil, coffee is one of the most traded commodities in the world [1]. Coffee cultivation is important to millions of people all over the world, especially in developing countries where human life is sustained by coffee farming. The reality is, of course, a lot more nuanced and smallholder farmers must always fight for their fair share in an industry characterized by volatile coffee prices.
That is where fair trade initiatives come in that prevent farmers from being exploited and fetching a price for their coffee beans if thereby investing in their farms and community as well. Consumers can use their purchasing power for the good of economic sustainability and social justice in coffee-growing regions by supporting fair trade coffee.
The future of coffee is uncertain, as climate change hits harder over the years. Coffee vegetation are very delicate to temperature modifications, and as such rising international temperatures will prove one of the primary culprits at the back of less land that can be used for espresso production. This has triggered an increased attention to research in developing disease resistant coffee varieties and sustainability farming practices.
These consumers are also becoming more discerning, meaning specialty coffee is an increasingly popular choice as people seek out uncommon, high-quality beans. But the trend is driving innovation in coffee farming and processing too, as producers put their beans through previously unthinkable processes in an effort to create unique tasting notes.
Conclusion
Getting coffee bean seeds from farm to cup is a series of laborious and iterative steps, for which others typically endure the vast majority of the labor. To really appreciate coffee, it is useful to be aware of each phase in the coffee life cycle. Whether we sip it for the wonderfully rich, floral flavor, or because we need a jolt of energy in the morning, coffee is truly an explosive global industry with huge environmental and socio-economic impacts.
Ranging from a dark, bold espresso to a light and fruity pour-over each cup of coffee is the end result of an extraordinary journey that starts with planting a small seed in the ground.
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