The Coffee Path Before It Reaches Your Cups

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

The coffee we enjoy every day goes on for a long time until it reaches our cups. Coffee beans go through a number of steps to get the best out of them. The path of coffee from planting to brewing goes through 10 stages.

1. Planting

Raw coffee beans are used. They are usually planted in large shady nurseries. Seedlings need light and water. The light should not be direct sunlight. Planting takes place during the wet season so that the soil is constantly moist so that they can strengthen the roots.

2. Collect the fruit of the coffee tree

It takes about 3-4 years after planting for the fruits to appear. The fruits, as they ripen, go through the following colors - green, yellow and dark red. When they turn dark red, then they are ripe and ready to be plucked. Usually in 1 fruit there are 2 grains. Collecting the fruit is a very laborious process. It can be done by hand or with machines. A good selector can collect an average of between 100 and 200 kg of coffee tree fruit per day. From them you can get 20-40 kg of coffee beans. At the end of the day, the fruit is transported to a processing plant.

3. Fruit processing

This happens almost immediately to prevent fruit rot. There are 2 ways of processing - dry and wet method. The dry method is widespread, but mostly in countries with limited water resources. In this method, the fruits are spread and wait for them to dry, or more precisely - until the moisture content of the fruit drops to 11%. This process takes several weeks. The second method is entirely mechanical. In it, the nipples are separated from the fleshy part of the fruit. The grains pass through fermentation tanks, where they remain between 12-24 hours to remove the sticky layer from them.

4. Drying the grains

This is done in the sun, with the grains spread on dryers or floors, where they are turned regularly. They can also be dried in machine tables.

5. Milling the nipples

The beans pass through machines where the coffee is processed. Remove the completely dried shell. In some varieties, the grains are also "polished". The grains are then classified and sorted by size, weight and color. Defective grains are removed manually or by machine. In many countries, both options are used, first a machine removes the defective grains, and then inspected by humans.

6. Export of grains

At this stage it is called green coffee. They are transported by ships in special bags (jute bags) or transported in bulk in plastic-lined containers.

7. Coffee tasting

It is performed in a special room designed for just that. First, the coffee beans are evaluated visually. The beans are then baked in a small laboratory oven, ground and placed in boiling water. The coffee is left for a few minutes and then served to the taster. This is done not only to analyze the coffee and possibly to discover its shortcomings, but also in order to mix different beans to discover new flavors.

8. Roasting coffee

Baking takes place in machines at a temperature of 550 degrees Fahrenheit (288 degrees Celsius) or until the internal temperature of the grains reaches 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius). During baking, the beans move all the time. They become fragrant and brown in color. Finally, cool with air or water. Roasting is usually carried out by importing countries, as freshly roasted beans must reach the consumer as quickly as possible.

9. Grinding the grains

It can be finely or coarsely ground. It depends on the machine they will be used for. In general, the finer the coffee is ground, the faster it is brewed.

10. Making coffee

The coffee-water ratio is important. 1-2 tbsp. ground coffee is responsible for 170 ml of water. The cooking temperature is important - a maximum of 95-96 degrees Celsius. Higher temperatures lead to loss of coffee flavor. And don't forget - the shorter the coffee, the less caffeine it contains.

Enjoy your coffee!