|
Up |
|
Coffea arabica |
Arabian coffee |
Kopi |
Rubiaceae |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Originating in mountain rainforests of Ethiopia, this is the coffee
of commerce and, while one or two are unlikely to supply your coffee
needs, it is a very attractive evergreen shrub for large containers.
It can grow to around 15 ft (4.5 m) high. Small, fragrant white
flowers are clustered along the branches behind the leaves and are
followed by the dark red fruits; each contains 2 beans which, when
extracted, dried and roasted are our familiar coffee beans.
Position: Semi-Shaded
Cultivation: The preferred growing environment is humus-rich soil
with light shade and steady mild temperatures.
Propagation is from seed or semi-ripe cuttings. .
Propagate from seed, which must be fresh but germinates very
rapidly. |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Coffee Processing |
Coffee's story begins with a goat, at least in legends. It's said
that Kaldi, an Ethiopian
 goatherd, noticed his goats acting very
frisky after eating a certain shrub. He took some of the shrub's
berries for himself, caught the buzz and Originally, coffee was a
food, not a drink
Coffee also grew on the Arabian Peninsula, and it was there that it
was first developed into a hot drink, sometime around A.D. 1000
As European traders returned from exotic locales such as Turkey,
they brought news of and a new-found taste for the black beverage.
It was the Dutch who founded the first European coffee estate on the
island of Java, then a Dutch colony , in 1616.
What gives coffee its kick? Caffeine, of course!
Each tree can produce beans that make between 0.5 kg of roasted
coffee every season.
A coffee plant prefers rich soil and mild temperatures, with lots of
rain and shaded sun.
Coffee has two main varieties: arabica and robusta.
Arabica is descended from the original Ethiopian coffee trees. The
coffee made from this variety is mild and aromatic. It's the king of
coffee and accounts for about 70 percent of the world's coffee
production. These coffee trees grow best in higher altitudes,
between 600 till 1800 mtr above sea level. Mild temperatures (60 to
75 degr. F. / 16 to 24 degrees C.) and about 60 in. (152 cm) of rain
per year ensure arabica's growth.
Robusta coffee trees represent about 30 percent of the world's
market. The bean is smaller and rounder than an arabica bean.
Robusta is a heartier plant and can withstand warmer temperatures,
up to 85 F (29 C). It can also thrive at lower altitudes than
arabica. Robusta beans produce a bitter-tasting coffee with about 50
percent more caffeine than arabica.
Once picked, the coffee cherries must be processed immediately. This
is * Dry method - By the simplest and cheapest method, the harvested
cherries are spread out to dry in sunlight. They are periodically
raked and turned for seven to 10 days, until their moisture content
has fallen to 11 percent. The outer shell of the cherries turns
brown and the beans rattle around inside.
* Wet method - The main difference between the wet and dry method is
that in the wet method, the pulp of the coffee cherry is removed
from the beans within 24 hours of harvesting. The beans are put in
fermentation tanks for 12 to 48 hours. The beans are then dried.
Once the beans are dried, all of the layers are removed from the
beans.Coffee is shipped unroasted. This is called green coffee.
Roasting is where coffee's flavor is fulfilled. The green coffee
beans are heated in large, rotating drums using temperatures of
about 550 F (288 C). The tumbling motion of the drums keeps the
beans from burning.
Decaffeinated coffee is made by washing the caffeine out of beans in
one of two ways, both done before roasting. In one method, a
chemical solvent is used to extract the caffeine. The solvent is
completely washed out before the bean is dried. The second method
uses water to steam the beans, and then the outer layers, rich in
caffeine, are scraped way.
There is one naturally decaffeinated coffee: the Madagascar coffee
species mascarocoffea vianneyi produces decaffeinated beans.
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
