14 DAY TRIAL // The Finns call it their national drink; for Italians, making it is an art, and in most western countries, there's no breakfast without coffee. It is the second preferred beverage in the world after tea and about one third of the humans drink it: coffee.
Coffee is got through the roasting of the seeds of the coffee tree, an ever-green tall bush with glossy green dark leaves living in warm climates. Its flowers are white, beautiful, spreading a jasmine scent. In a few days, the flowers are replaced by clusters of green fruits, resembling cherries, which as they grow turn into brown-golden, then red or yellow when fully ripe. The fruit contains two seeds (beans), rich in caffeine (0.7-2 %). A coffee bush produces 0.3-1 kg (0.7-2.2 pounds) of beans annually.
There are about 70 species of Coffea, from dwarf bushes to 12 m (40 ft) tall trees, all living in Africa, but just two species ensure 98 % of the world's coffee production: Arabian coffee (Coffea arabica) and coffee "robusta" (Coffea canephora). The best coffee beans are those of arabica, especially those grown at higher altitudes. The arabica bushes can grow up to 6 m (20 ft), but they are normally cut to stay at about 4 m (13 ft). They originate from the Kaffa region of Ethiopia (hence the name coffee). The robusta, used especially for achieving the soluble coffee, has more caffeine, but it is less tasty.
The coffee seedlings are achieved in nurseries, which ensures them the right light and shadow. At 6 months old, the seedling are planted in the field, where the soil has been fertilized. The seedlings are planted in rows following the slope, with enough space for their growth and care. The coffee plantations require constant weeding, and appliance of pesticides, like fungicides against coffee rust and insecticides against coffee weevil. The plant will start to flower in two years and will produce fruits for 30 years.
Coffee bushes can be grown at the shadow of other trees. The umbrella trees can be the ideal habitat for song birds. When in 1970 coffee started to be cultivated without protective trees, for an increased production, over 150 species of birds from North America wintering there were menaced, like warblers, thrushes and blackbirds.
Ripe fruits can be picked up by hand, one by one. These fruits can be processed through the wet method (like in Costa Rica and Columbia). They are introduced in a machine that separates most of the pulp from the beans. The beans are deposited in large recipients for 1-3 days, a time during which the enzymes normally appearing ferment the remaining pulp. The beans are washed to eliminate the remaining pulp and put to dry by exposing them to sun on special concrete terraces or tables, and others through their passing in hot air dryers.
In Brazil (world's first coffee producer), coffee is processed through the method derrica. Coffee is harvested manually by picking all the fruits from the branches, no matter their maturity stage. In this method, the fruits can also be collected through a mechanized or semi-mechanized method, using a pneumatic tool having a long arm with "fingers" on a tip that vibrate, shaking the branches and making fall down only the ripe fruits.
The fruits collected through derrica must be gathered and sifted, for removing leaves, twigs and dirt. The cleaned fruits are put in baskets of 60 liters and washed in a special waterspout or a machine. During this operation, the ripe fruits are selected from the dry or deteriorated ones.
The washed beans are left 15-20 days on a large concrete terrace for drying in the sun, being turned upside down at each 20 minutes, for a uniform drying. Mechanized dryers can accelerate the process. Excessive drying is not good either, as too dry beans can be fragile, crashing quickly, and this way quality lowers. At an optimum humidity of 11-12 % the beans are shelled mechanically for removing their husk. These beans are put in fabric sacks of 60 kg (133 pound).
Probes are taken from each sack and based on that probe the sacks are labeled and classified. Probes determine the price of the coffee coming from each producer and they usually determine the number of defects for each 300 grams. Defects are considered blackened, green or crashed beans, and impurities (like chaffs, twigs and stones). The beans are also checked for taste. An experimented taster will taste all the probes, giving marks, from soft (pleasant, fine, almost sweat) to harsh (acid, iodine taste).
Beans are further processed: impurities are removed and passed through a mechanical sift that separates the beans based on their size and after that, on a vibrating table, the coffee is separated depending on its weight.
An electronic separator removes blackened or green beans that would affect the coffee's aroma. The remaining beans are packed based on size, and quality.
The mixing is made with unprocessed beans and combines more coffee types with complementary tastes for achieving a balanced product, with special scent, aroma, consistency and look.
The roasting is also important for establishing the coffee's quality. Now, complex transformations take place inside the bean, resulting the typical aroma of the coffee. Roasting can be light, moderate or strong, depending on the aimed aroma or the way of processing the beverage. Still, excessive roasting can make the beans glossy, due to the loss of aromatic oils, resulting a bitter and less flavored coffee.
Grinding also counts. The size of the granules is determined by the way of preparing the coffee. Medium sized granules are used for coffee prepared using textile or paper filters, while finer granules are used for making Turkish coffee, as this is not filtered.
Plastic packaged ground coffee has a shelf life of 60 days, while vacuum packaged coffee has a shelf life of one year. An opened package must be kept in closed recipients, preferably in the refrigerator.
No matter if you make a Turkish coffee, one on automatic filter or an Italian mocca, 6-8 spoonlets are recommended for each quarter of liter of water. Don't ever reuse the granules!