From its origins over two thousand years ago, coffee bean processing has grown to a worldwide market whose output as a commodity has a dollar value second only to petroleum.
Though there are dozens of bean varieties, the plants fall into two main classes: the arabica, first cultivated on the Arabian Peninsula, and the robusta which contains about twice the caffeine.
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.
There are two major classes of beans determined by their appearance red and green. The red beans have less acidity and a shaper aroma. They are used for the specialty coffees. One of the most important steps in producing good coffee is picking the fruit.
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 picking, the fruit is removed by soaking, scouring and mechanical rubbing. Then the beans are washed to remove any remaining flesh. This 'fermentation' stage produces beans which are then dried in the sun over large concrete or rock slabs, until they have about 12% water content.
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.
Once roasted the bags must be allowed to stand so that the carbon dioxide that they produce can dissipate. Roasting is done to different degrees to produce different flavors of coffees. Kenya and Java have a technique of lightly roasting their beans and this gives their coffee bean a unique flavor. - 16004
Though there are dozens of bean varieties, the plants fall into two main classes: the arabica, first cultivated on the Arabian Peninsula, and the robusta which contains about twice the caffeine.
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.
There are two major classes of beans determined by their appearance red and green. The red beans have less acidity and a shaper aroma. They are used for the specialty coffees. One of the most important steps in producing good coffee is picking the fruit.
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 picking, the fruit is removed by soaking, scouring and mechanical rubbing. Then the beans are washed to remove any remaining flesh. This 'fermentation' stage produces beans which are then dried in the sun over large concrete or rock slabs, until they have about 12% water content.
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.
Once roasted the bags must be allowed to stand so that the carbon dioxide that they produce can dissipate. Roasting is done to different degrees to produce different flavors of coffees. Kenya and Java have a technique of lightly roasting their beans and this gives their coffee bean a unique flavor. - 16004
About the Author:
Are you looking for tips for making expresso or other coffee-centric topics? You need look no further than the Coffee Poet blog, where we share your love of a great java. Visit http://www.coffeepoet.com for more great tips and advice.
