Food Commodities 21

Coffee

Coffee is a dark brown, aromatic beverage made by brewing roasted and ground beans of the coffee plant (Genus Coffea). The beans of coffee plant there are two general varieties, they are usually named for the geographical location where they are grown. Arabica coffee beans and Robusta coffee beans. A term used imprecisely to describe the beverage as generally consumed in the United States and made from approx.



History of Coffee

An Ethiopian Legend

Coffee grown worldwide can trace its heritage back centuries to the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau. There, legend says the goat herder Kaldi first discovered the potential of these beloved beans. 

The story goes that that Kaldi discovered coffee after he noticed that after eating the berries from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic that they did not want to sleep at night. 

Kaldi reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery, who made a drink with the berries and found that it kept him alert through the long hours of evening prayer. The abbot shared his discovery with the other monks at the monastery, and knowledge of the energizing berries began to spread.

As word moved east and coffee reached the Arabian peninsula, it began a journey which would bring these beans across the globe.

The Arabian Peninsula

Coffee cultivation and trade began on the Arabian Peninsula.  By the 15th century, coffee was being grown in the Yemeni district of Arabia and by the 16th century it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey.

Coffee was not only enjoyed in homes, but also in the many public coffee houses — called qahveh khaneh — which began to appear in cities across the Near East. The popularity of the coffee houses was unequaled and people frequented them for all kinds of social activity. 

Not only did the patrons drink coffee and engage in conversation, but they also listened to music, watched performers, played chess and kept current on the news.  Coffee houses quickly became such an important center for the exchange of information that they were often referred to as “Schools of the Wise.”

With thousands of pilgrims visiting the holy city of Mecca each year from all over the world, knowledge of this “wine of Araby” began to spread. 

Coffee Comes to Europe

European travelers to the Near East brought back stories of an unusual dark black beverage. By the 17th century, coffee had made its way to Europe and was becoming popular across the continent. 

Some people reacted to this new beverage with suspicion or fear, calling it the “bitter invention of Satan.” The local clergy condemned coffee when it came to Venice in 1615. The controversy was so great that Pope Clement VIII was asked to intervene. He decided to taste the beverage for himself before making a decision, and found the drink so satisfying that he gave it papal approval.

Despite such controversy, coffee houses were quickly becoming centers of social activity and communication in the major cities of England, Austria, France, Germany and Holland. 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.  

Coffee began to replace the common breakfast drink beverages of the time — beer and wine. Those who drank coffee instead of alcohol began the day alert and energized, and not surprisingly, the quality of their work was greatly improved. (We like to think of this a precursor to the modern office coffee service.)

By the mid-17th century, there were over 300 coffee houses in London, many of which attracted like-minded patrons, including merchants, shippers, brokers and artists.

Many businesses grew out of these specialized coffee houses. Lloyd's of London, for example, came into existence at the Edward Lloyd's Coffee House.

The New World

In the mid-1600's, coffee was brought to New Amsterdam, later called New York by the British.

Though coffee houses rapidly began to appear, tea continued to be the favored drink in the New World until 1773, when the colonists revolted against a heavy tax on tea imposed by King George III. The revolt, known as the Boston Tea Party, would forever change the American drinking preference to coffee. 

"Coffee - the favorite drink of the civilized world." - Thomas Jefferson

Plantations Around the World

As demand for the beverage continued to spread, there was fierce competition to cultivate coffee outside of Arabia. 

The Dutch finally got seedlings in the latter half of the 17th century. Their first attempts to plant them in India failed, but they were successful with their efforts in Batavia, on the island of Java in what is now Indonesia.  

The plants thrived and soon the Dutch had a productive and growing trade in coffee. They then expanded the cultivation of coffee trees to the islands of Sumatra and Celebes.

Coming to the Americas

In 1714, the Mayor of Amsterdam presented a gift of a young coffee plant to King Louis XIV of France. The King ordered it to be planted in the Royal Botanical Garden in Paris. In 1723, a young naval officer, Gabriel de Clieu obtained a seedling from the King's plant. Despite a challenging voyage — complete with horrendous weather, a saboteur who tried to destroy the seedling, and a pirate attack — he managed to transport it safely to Martinique.  

Once planted, the seedling not only thrived, but it’s credited with the spread of over 18 million coffee trees on the island of Martinique in the next 50 years. Even more incredible is that this seedling was the parent of all coffee trees throughout the Caribbean, South and Central America.

The famed Brazilian coffee owes its existence to Francisco de Mello Palheta, who was sent by the emperor to French Guiana to get coffee seedlings. The French were not willing to share, but the French Governor's wife, captivated by his good looks, gave him a large bouquet of flowers before he left— buried inside were enough coffee seeds to begin what is today a billion-dollar industry.

Missionaries and travelers, traders and colonists continued to carry coffee seeds to new lands, and coffee trees were planted worldwide. Plantations were established in magnificent tropical forests and on rugged mountain highlands. Some crops flourished, while others were short-lived. New nations were established on coffee economies. Fortunes were made and lost. By the end of the 18th century, coffee had become one of the world's most profitable export crops. After crude oil, coffee is the most sought commodity in the world.

Varieties of Coffee

There are two main species of coffee beans in the world, Coffee Arabica, and Coffee Robusta.  More than three-quarters of the beans that are sold in the world today are Coffea Arabica, the majority of the remainding bulk are Coffea Robusta also known as Coffea Canephora.

Coffee Robusta: 
These beans are of a lower grade than Arabica, and are typically grown at lower elevations. They are easier to grow and maintain, and they are also more disease resistant and produce a higher yield.  Robusta beans have more of an astringent flavor and contain a higher amount of caffeine.

Coffee Arabica: 
These are the higher quality beans and are referred to as gourmet coffee. They have half the amount of caffeine as Robusta and have more pleasing flavours and aromatic properties. Most Arabica bean varieties are name after their country or region in which they are found, or originated from. 

Other bean species include: benghalensis, Bengal coffee; Coffea congensis, Congo coffee; Coffea liberica, Liberian coffee; Coffea stenophylla, Sierra Leonian coffee; Coffea excelsia, another Liberian coffee; Coffea bonnieri; Coffea gallienii; and Coffea mogeneti, however these beans are non-existent in the export market.

Coffee Processing

Before the Coffee bean is ground down, peculated and poured into our coffee cup it goes through a series of processes spanning over a period of months.

Planting

A coffee bean is actually a seed. When dried, roasted and ground, it’s used to brew coffee. If the seed isn’t processed, it can be planted and grow into a coffee tree.

Coffee seeds are generally planted in large beds in shaded nurseries. The seedlings will be watered frequently and shaded from bright sunlight until they are hearty enough to be permanently planted. Planting often takes place during the wet season, so that the soil remains moist while the roots become firmly establish.

Harvesting

The Coffee tree starts its life as a seed and after 4 to 8 weeks it develops into a seedling. At this stage the seedling needs be handled with care making sure the soil remains moist and does not attract too much sunlight.   After about 9 to 18 months the coffee tree will grow to about 12 inches tall.  It is a further 3 years before the tree bears fruit, (known as cherries), and a further 6 years before it is fully mature and producing fruit fully. At this stage the trees are ready for harvesting.  This is done manually by the locals and usually all hands are on deck. 

In most countries, the crop is picked by hand in a labor-intensive and difficult process, though in places like  Brazil where the landscape is relatively flat and the coffee fields immense, the  process has been mechanized.

Picking

A good coffee picker can pick the equivalent of 50 to 60 pounds of coffee eans in a day.  The average life in a day. span for a coffee tree is about 20 to 25 years, yielding around 2000 beans per year.

Whether by hand or by machine, all coffee is harvested in one of two ways:

Strip Picked: All of the cherries are stripped off of the branch at one time, either by machine or by hand.

Selectively Picked: Only the ripe cherries are harvested, and they are picked individually by hand. Pickers rotate among the trees every eight to 10 days, choosing only the cherries which are at the peak of ripeness. Because this kind of harvest is labor intensive and more costly, it is used primarily to harvest the finer Arabica beans.

Once the coffee has been picked, processing must begin as quickly as possible to prevent fruit spoilage. Depending on location and local resources, coffee is processed in one of two ways:

The Dry Method is the age-old method of processing coffee, and still used in many countries where water resources are limited. The freshly picked cherries are simply spread out on huge surfaces to dry in the sun. In order to prevent the cherries from spoiling, they are raked and turned throughout the day, then covered at night or during rain to prevent them from getting wet. Depending on the weather, this process might continue for several weeks for each batch of coffee until the moisture content of the cherries drops to 11%.

The Wet Method removes the pulp from the coffee cherry after harvesting so the bean is dried with only the parchment skin left on. First, the freshly harvested cherries are passed through a pulping machine to separate the skin and pulp from the bean.  

Then the beans are separated by weight as they pass through water channels. The lighter beans float to the top, while the heavier ripe beans sink to the bottom. They are passed through a series of rotating drums which separate them by size.

After separation, the beans are transported to large, water-filled fermentation tanks. Depending on a combination of factors -- such as the condition of the beans, the climate and the altitude -- they will remain in these tanks for anywhere from 12 to 48 hours to remove the slick layer of mucilage (called the parenchyma) that is still attached to the parchment. While resting in the tanks, naturally occurring enzymes will cause this layer to dissolve. 

When fermentation is complete, the beans feel rough to the touch.  The beans are rinsed by going through additional water channels, and are ready for drying.

Sorting

Once the cherries have been picked they are ready for sorting.  This can be done in different ways depending on the outcome of the required coffee taste.  The first way is for ‘Aged coffee’ only, and involves keeping the green bean in a well ventilated warehouse for 1-7 years. This gives the beans a less acidic taste and a syrupy richness. 

Hulling

Mahines are used to remove the parchment layer from the wet processed coffee beans.  The dry process involves removing the entire dried husk of the dried cherries

Polishing

A polishing machine is used to remove any silver skin that is left on after the hulling process

Cleaning, Sorting and Grading

Before the beans are exported tthey are sorted again by sizes and weight, and then they are checked again for colour flaws or other imperfections. Any beans with the slightest imperfection will be removed.

Beans are sized by being passed through a series of screens. They are also sorted pneumatically by using an air jet to separate heavy from light beans.

Typically, the bean size is represented on a scale of 10 to 20. The number represents the size of a round hole's diameter in terms of 1/64's of an inch. A number 10 bean would be the approximate size of a hole in a diameter of 10/64 of an inch, and a number 15 bean, 15/64 of an inch. 

Finally, defective beans are removed either by hand or by machinery. Beans that are unsatisfactory due to deficiencies (unacceptable size or color, over-fermented beans, insect-damaged, unhulled) are removed. In many countries, this process is done both by machine and by hand, ensuring that only the finest quality coffee beans are exported.

Exporting the Coffee

The beans are now referred to as Green beans and are ready for exporting. Their is approximately seven million tons of green coffee produced worldwide each year.

Tasting the Coffee
At every stage of coffee production the coffee is repeatedly tested for quality and taste. This process is referred to as cupping and takes place in a room specifically designed for this process. An experienced cupper is can taste hundreds of samples of coffee a day and still taste the subtle differences between them.

Coffee is repeatedly tested for quality and taste.  This process is referred to as cupping and usually takes place in a room specifically designed to facilitate the process. 

• First, the taster — usually called the cupper — evaluates the beans for their overall visual quality. The beans are then roasted in a small laboratory roaster, immediately ground and infused in boiling water with carefully-controlled temperature. The cupper noses the brew to experience its aroma, an essential step in judging the coffee's quality. 

• After letting the coffee rest for several minutes, the cupper breaks the crust by pushing aside the grounds at the top of the cup. Again, the coffee is nosed before the tasting begins.

• To taste the coffee, the cupper slurps a spoonful with a quick inhalation. The objective is to spray the coffee evenly over the cupper's taste buds, and then weigh it on the tongue before spitting it out. 

Samples from a variety of batches and different beans are tasted daily. Coffees are not only analyzed to determine their characteristics and flaws, but also for the purpose of blending different beans or creating the proper roast. An expert cupper can taste hundreds of samples of coffee a day and still taste the subtle differences between them.  

Roasting the Coffee

This is normally done in the importing country because freshly roasted beans must reach the consumer as quickly as possible.  The process of roasting the coffee beans involves roasting them at 550 degrees Fahrenheit.  The beans are kept moving throughout the entire process to stop them from burning.  When they reach a temperature of about 400 degrees they begin to turn brown and the caffeol or oil that is locked inside the bean starts to emerge. This process is is what produces the flavour and aroma of the coffee.  Once the beans are removed from the roaster they are immediately cooled with by air or water.  

Roasting transforms green coffee into the aromatic brown beans that we purchase in our favorite stores or cafés. Most roasting machines maintain a temperature of about 550 degrees Fahrenheit. The beans are kept moving throughout the entire process to keep them from burning.

When they reach an internal temperature of about 400 degrees Fahrenheit, they begin to turn brown and the caffeol, a fragrant oil locked inside the beans, begins to emerge. This process called pyrolysis is at the heart of roasting — it produces the flavor and aroma of the coffee we drink.  

After roasting, the beans are immediately cooled either by air or water. Roasting is generally performed in the importing countries because freshly roasted beans must reach the consumer as quickly as possible. 

Grinding Coffee

The objective of a proper grind is to get the most flavor in a cup of coffee. How coarse or fine the coffee is ground depends on the brewing method.

The length of time the grounds will be in contact with water determines the ideal grade of grind Generally, the finer the grind, the more quickly the coffee should be prepared. That’s why coffee ground for an espresso machine is much finer than coffee brewed in a drip system. 

Espresso machines use 132 pounds per square inch of pressure to extract coffee.

Now its time to enjoy your Perfect Brew!!

How to Grow Coffee

Ideally to grow coffee bean plants, you should start with a freshly picked coffee cherry, but most of us don’t live in a coffee producing country, so this is a bit problematic. If, however, you do happen to reside in a coffee producing country, pick ripe coffee cherries by hand, pulp them, wash, and ferment in a container until the pulp flops off. After this, rewash, discarding any beans that float. Then dry the beans on a mesh screen in open, dry air but not direct sun. The beans should be slightly soft and moist inside and dry on the outside; bite into it to find out. Since most of us don’t live in a coffee-producing region, green coffee can be bought from a green coffee supplier. Make sure it is from a fresh, recent crop. Although the bean can be germinated for almost four months, surer results are had if fresh. You will probably want to plant many seeds to get one plant; they’re kind of finicky. Fresh seeds germinate in 2 ½ months while older seeds take about 6 months.

How to Sprout Coffee Seeds

Once you have your seeds, soak them in water for 24 hours, drain, and then sow in damp sand or wet vermiculite, or put the seed between moist coffee sacks. After you germinate coffee tree seeds, remove them from the medium. Place the seed flat side down in a hole made into loam soil with a high humus content to which rotted manure, bone meal or dried blood can be added. You can also try a lightweight, porous soil. Don’t press the soil down. Place ½ inch of mulched grass atop to conserve moisture but remove it when the seed has germinated. Water seeds daily but not too much, just moist. Once your seeds have germinated, the plant can either be left or transplanted in a porous, low pH soil with a high nitrogen content. Orchid fertilizer may be used sparingly on the coffee plant to maintain the low pH and add minerals. Place the plant indoors under artificial lighting. Water once a week and allow to drain and again during the week with fertilizer. Keep the soil moist and well drained. Patience is now a definite virtue. It takes two to three years for the tree to flower and possible cherries to be produced. To encourage flowering, reduce watering at the start of winter for the successive two to three months. Once spring begins, water the plant well to shock it into bloom. Oh, and then you still aren’t done. Once the cherries mature, you can harvest, pulp, ferment, dry roast and then ah, finally enjoy a nice cup of drip. It takes some painstaking effort to mimic tropical high altitude conditions where coffee bean trees thrive, but well worth the effort even if you don’t get the finest quality java out of your tree. There’s always the corner coffee shop.

How to Cook Coffee

Coffee usually brewed, black drip, drip with cream, latte, cappuccino, macchiato, Turkish, and just plain espresso. Coffee also be used as extract and essences for dessert.

Sources

@ http://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/History-of-Coffee

@ http://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/10-Steps-from-Seed-to-Cup

@ http://www.coffeechoiceguide.co.uk/coffee-beans.htm

@ Webster's New World Dictionary of Culinary Arts by Steven Labensky, Gaye G.Ingram, Sarah R Labensky

@ https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/coffee/sprouting-coffee-seeds.htm