Coffee

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared using roasted coffee beans. You may think we just have to pour milk and coffee powder. That is not true because the berries have to be picked and washed then the coffee beans are removed, dried and roasted. Yes, they are from some pretty red bunch of berries.

The coffee shrub grows upto 4.6 to 6 m high. It has elliptic green leaves and white, fragrant flowers that bloom for only a few days. During the six or seven months after flowering, the fruit develops, changing from light green to red and to deep crimson web ready to be picked. The coffee berries grow in clusters and usually contains two seeds or beans, surrounded by a sweet pulp.The coffee tree produces its first full crop when it is about 5 years old. Thereafter, it produces consistently for 15 or 20 years.

Arabica and Robusta are the most widely used varieties of coffee. Arabica is the most widely grown and preferred bean, growing on higher land, usually between about one and two thousand meters. Robusta is a more hardy variety, grown at lower altitudes and requires less rainfall. It is important for blending and is widely used for instant coffee. The third recognised commercial variety is Liberica, also hardy and low-altitude growing.

PICKING:

First, the ripe red coffee berries are picked, leaving behind the unripe ones. The unripe berries gives a sour fruity flavour to the coffee.

Next, the berries are taken to the factory and sorted out just incase there are any unripe berries.

Then, they are weighed so that they can figure out how much is harvested.

After that, the seeds are removed from the berries by a process called pulping. The seeds are also known as coffee beans.

I shall tell you the process of pulping.

PULPING:

First, the coffee beans are washed and sent to the pulping machine along with the water.

Next, the skin and pulp are removed from the ripe coffee berries.

Then, the coffee beans and pulp are sent through different pipes.

After that, the coffee beans are soaked and fermented in large tanks to loosen their covering which is washed away with water when cleaned.

The skin will be used as manure for the coffee crops.

This washing process causes a light fermentation of the sugars in the coffee beans, leading to enhance the taste of the roasted coffee due to the acidity formed. Even a single over fermented coffee bean can contaminate any coffee ground with it and making it foul and extremely bitter.

Next day, the soaked coffee beans are moved to the next pit for manual stamping and removing the pulp.

Then, the coffee beans are further processed by machines to remove the pulp left.

Lastly, the coffee beans are dried in the sun. If it is raining, it will be dried indoors with dryers.

Then these coffee beans are sent to the coffee curing units.

CURING:

Here the raw coffee beans that are brought from the estates are put in a huller to remove the remaining covering.

After that, they are polished and are called green beans.

Then, the defective beans are removed.

Finally, they are graded by size, aroma and taste. It is not over here.

The green bean needs to be roasted to make the coffee brown and flavourful.

Decaffeinated coffee is produced out of green coffee beans before they are roasted.

ROASTING:

Roasting is a process of converting green coffee beans to brown beans in order to brew aromatic and flavourful coffee. It gives the green coffee beans its unique flavour and aroma.

Before being roasted, the green beans have the look of jade and smell of freshly- cut grass. To develop and extract the depth of flavours and a distinct aroma, there is a range of different coffee-roasting techniques, styles, and approaches applied.

First, when the beans are heated, they change from green to a slightly yellow colour. The beans would now emit a grassy aroma. Soon the water inside the beans starts to evaporate as steam.

Next, the real roasting begins. Depending on the temperature and airflow, the beans will produce an audible crack after 6 to 8 minutes. The cracking is similar to the sound of popcorn popping. This is called a ‘Light Roast’ where the coffee is mild in flavour with bright acidity.

Then, as the coffee bean’s sugar further caramelises, the beans swell in size for a roast that is both popular and aromatic. The beans are medium-brown in colour with a balanced flavour and acidity.

After this, the bean’s flavours further intensify. Medium-dark roasts are rich and dark in colour.

Finally, the beans will reach the verge of a second cracking. Any roast beyond the second crack gives the dark-brown to almost black in colour.

Enjoy the brew....

Each coffee is an individual and requires knowledge of that specific bean. Two coffee varieties grown in different countries and environments might look similar but taste drastically different even when roasted at the same level.

Thus every step of the way is important in the coffee life cycle. From the earth, to harvest, processing, roasting and finally brewing. There is a chain of quality and if any link breaks along the way, it negates the final impact of your enjoyment of our coffee!