The coffee plant, also known as under the taxonomic genre Coffea, and originally native to Ethiopia, is a valuable agricultural crop – a special biennial agrarian gift.
Coffea can grow to a height of 3 – 9 metres. The flowers of coffee plants are white in colour, and usually bloom for just a few days. After which, fruit clusters known as cherries will start to sprout. The cherries are green while growing. The colours change from green to yellow, and become red when they mature. When the cherries ripened, the colour will be a deep crimson red. At this stage, the cherries are ready for picking.
Each cherry has two chambers or locules that hold two beans. And they are covered by papery skin that must be removed before roasting. Cherries with one bean, usually round, are called peaberries.
Coffee trees generally produce good crops at five years of age, and can generate / yield crops for about 15-20 years.
Coffee trees do not thrive well in extreme climates. The “coffee belt” has the best environment for the growth of coffee. The coffee belt refers to the regions located between the Tropic of Cancer (The Northern Tropic) and the Tropic of Capricorn (The Southern Tropic). The best annual mean temperature for them should be around 70°F (21.1°C). Adequate rainfall is also a crucial condition for the plant to develop and grow fine.
The ideal altitudes for healthy growth of coffee plants vary. For Coffee Arabica, the perfect altitude will be a high of 1, 800 m. It takes about six to seven months for the Arabica fruits to ripen after flowering. Arabica crop is harvested per year.
While Arabica crop grows well at high altitudes, Coffee Robusta on the contrary grows best at lower altitudes at around 915 m. Generally, Robusta fruit can be harvested two to three times per year.
Coffee trees typically grow best in rich, well drained, organic soil, particularly in regions with disintegrated volcanic ash. The enemies of coffee trees are frost, the coffee bean borer, and the fungus Hemileia Vastatrix.
There are two methods in processing coffeee cherries – dry and wet methods. The dry method is the oldest type of processing. This manner involves stripping all the cherries from the branches. Subsequently, the cherries are thoroughly dried and put into machines to remove the dry outer layers or coverings, pulps, and papery skins.
The wet method, unquestionably, uses water to process the cherries. Coffee processed through this technique is called wet processed OR washed coffee. In this approach, the cherries are immersed in water, and consequently, only ripe cherries are picked. The skin of the cherries are softened by soaking them in water. The skin and pulp are then removed, leaving a sticky film. The cherries are then fermented for about 24 hours, washed and spread out to dry. After which, they are placed into hulling machines which remove the papery skins. This modus operandi tends to be more expensive, but it is believed to produce better flavour coffee. The reason is due to the fact that only ripe cherries are picked using the wet method.
Whichever methods are used, both processes result in dried, green coffee beans. They are painstakingly picked, sorted, and graded for quality, type, and size etc, packed accordingly for export to all over the world.
We at BrewRatio could not emphasize more on the efforts put in acquiring this amazing gift – from planting – growing – processing – producing – roasting. The final product of roasted coffee beans are bestowed upon us from the thorough endeavours of many farmers and growers. So treasure this exquisite plant – come savour its splendour, go fresh with its taste.
