The harvesting of coffee beans is a huge industry. Coffee is second only to oil as a worldwide commodity.
The variety of coffee beans is staggering, but they have classified into 2 main types the arabica and the robusta. The arabica gets it name from its original home, the Arabian Peninsula. The robusta is different because it has a high caffeine content.
The fruit is not of any interest to coffee growers. It simply serves as a protective home to the valuable seed, or bean, that it holds inside. This beans is the start for the over 400 millions cups of coffee made worldwide on a daily basis.
The beans come in two main varieties, green and red, with the latter - with its higher aromatic oil and lower acid content - used to produce the finer coffees. Hence one of the most important stages in the life cycle of bean to shelf is the picking.
Must of the fruit is hand picked. This is a slow process. But it requires skill to be able to correctly distinguish between the beans picked and separate the red from the green.
After the fruit it is soaked and scoured to remove the beans from its center. After being removed the beans are cleaned to remove any excess fruit. The beans are then laid out on the ground to dry in the sun until almost all moisture from the bean is evaporated away.
Once dried the beans are separated. Some of this work is still done by hand, though machines are now more prevalent to do this part of the job. Once sorted, some beans are allowed to age from between 3 to 8 years, to be used later to make special types of coffees. Others are set aside to be roasted within the same year picked.
The oil that is contained within the beans gives them their unique flavor and aroma. This oil is released during the roasting process where the beans reach up to 400F and burst to release the inner flavor.
Naturally a wide variety of in-house techniques have developed for roasting. Beans from Java and Kenya, for example, are often lightly roasted producing a distinctive flavor. After roasting, the beans produce carbon dioxide for several days so the beans are 'de-gassed' either by airing or packaging in semi-permeable shipping bags.
The variety of coffee beans is staggering, but they have classified into 2 main types the arabica and the robusta. The arabica gets it name from its original home, the Arabian Peninsula. The robusta is different because it has a high caffeine content.
The fruit is not of any interest to coffee growers. It simply serves as a protective home to the valuable seed, or bean, that it holds inside. This beans is the start for the over 400 millions cups of coffee made worldwide on a daily basis.
The beans come in two main varieties, green and red, with the latter - with its higher aromatic oil and lower acid content - used to produce the finer coffees. Hence one of the most important stages in the life cycle of bean to shelf is the picking.
Must of the fruit is hand picked. This is a slow process. But it requires skill to be able to correctly distinguish between the beans picked and separate the red from the green.
After the fruit it is soaked and scoured to remove the beans from its center. After being removed the beans are cleaned to remove any excess fruit. The beans are then laid out on the ground to dry in the sun until almost all moisture from the bean is evaporated away.
Once dried the beans are separated. Some of this work is still done by hand, though machines are now more prevalent to do this part of the job. Once sorted, some beans are allowed to age from between 3 to 8 years, to be used later to make special types of coffees. Others are set aside to be roasted within the same year picked.
The oil that is contained within the beans gives them their unique flavor and aroma. This oil is released during the roasting process where the beans reach up to 400F and burst to release the inner flavor.
Naturally a wide variety of in-house techniques have developed for roasting. Beans from Java and Kenya, for example, are often lightly roasted producing a distinctive flavor. After roasting, the beans produce carbon dioxide for several days so the beans are 'de-gassed' either by airing or packaging in semi-permeable shipping bags.
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