Coffee Concepts

When coffee was first introduced to Western Europe, about 1615, some people said it was intoxicating. Others thought it was poisonous. But gradually coffee was accepted. Coffee house became centers of social, literary, and political life. Today the “coffee break” is a regular morning ritual in homes and in offices in many parts of the world.

The Different Kinds Of Coffee Trees

The coffee tree belongs to the family of Rubiaceae. There are several species of coffee, which are Coffea arabica, Coffea liberica, and Coffea camphora, or robusta, are the more important. Coffea arabica is indigenous to Kaffa and later India, Indonesia, the West Indies, and Central and South America. Coffea arabica, of which twelve species are known, has resemblance to a shrub and under normal conditions grow to a height of twenty feet. In plantations, it is kept lower to about ten to twelve feet to permit easier picking. It has a small, fragrant flower that blooms once or twice a year, so that ripe fruit, flowers and buds may appear on one tree at the same time. The berries grow in clusters along the slums of the tree. When they have attained a deep red color, they are ripe for picking. Each berries contains two seeds surrounded by pulp. Usually they are oval, round on one side and flat on the other.

Coffea liberica, of which there are nine varieties, is indigenous to West Africa. These trees grow higher and the larger than Coffea arabica, reaching up to thirty feet, and was formerly considered as more resistant to diseases. Caffea robusta was discovered to be indigenous to the Belgium Congo and has largely replaced Coffea arabica in countries where to latter suffered from affection by Hemoleia vactatrix. Seven varieties are known. A number of other species and varieties of the coffee tree are known but are of little or no commercial importance. One indigenous to Madagascar, producing seeds treat contain very little or no caffeine, might be developed to the supply the demand for caffeine-free coffee.

Cultivation

The cultivation of the coffee is with certain exceptions, restricted to the areas with a medium average annual temperature of 70 F., not lower than 55 F., and not much above 80 F. It requires a rich, moist, loose soil (best composed of decomposed mold, organic matter, and disintegrated volcanic rock), a well-distributed rainfall with a minimum of forty to seventy inches, and several hours of sunshine daily. Coffee is grown at altitudes up to six thousand feet. Coffea arabica produce its best crop at altitudes of about two thousand feet. Coffea robusta and Coffea liberica are best cultivating hot regions, from sea level to one thousand five hundred feet. The best types of commercial coffee are grown in high levels from Mexico to Colombia and Java. The period between planting and the first crop varies from three to seven years.

Preparation

On ripening, the coffee berries must be picked immediately. About the thirds of the world’s coffee crop is still prepared by the old method of drying. The coffee berries are thinly spread on a drying pavement and exposed to the sun for about three weeks. They must be turn over constantly to secure even drying, and at night they must be removed to a storing shed or cover up. At the end of the drying process they are ready for cleaning.

The alternate method of preparation is washing or wetting. Washed coffee brings better prices than dried coffee. The coffee is passed through a pulping machine immediately after picking and then goes to a fermentation tank, where it is kept for twelve to thirty hours. After fermentation it is dried, either in the sun for four to eight das or in a machine within twenty-four to thirty hours.

After cleaning, coffee is classified, by machine, or by hand, into six different sizes, then graded and packed in bags generally holding one hundred fifty pounds. The green coffee is graded by taking samples, which are roasted brewed, and tasted to determine their quality. Cup flavors are: soft (the most desirable): hard (less desirable): and rioy (the least desirable). Brazilian coffees of other countries are graded to predetermined standards: the coffees of other countries are generally described by the names the district in which they are grown.

Brewing A Cup Of Coffee

To someone who has never tasted coffee before, its rich aroma may be more appealing than the first bitter sip. But to people who have acquired a taste for coffee, it is delicious.

Most experts say that the best cup of coffee is brewed by the drip, or filter, method. Hot water is poured into the ground coffee held in a paper filter. The brewed coffee drips down a container. Most home and commercial drip coffee makers are automaticвЂ"that is, the water boiled automatically inside the electric appliance and filters through pre-measured coffee into the container.

Coffee may also be brewed in a percolatorвЂ"a pot in which boiling water repeatedly rises through a tube and drips down again through a basket containing ground coffee. Espresso coffee is darker and stronger than regular coffee; it is traditionally made in a special espresso machine by forcing steam through dark-roasted and finely grounded beans. CafÐ"© aulait is made of equal quantities of freshly brewed coffee and hot milk.

Instant coffee is actually coffee made twice. The manufacturer brews a strong coffee and then dries it into powder in a vacuum. Brewing the coffee, then evaporating the water out of it, makes freeze-dried instant coffee. The resulting extract is frozen and then placed in a pressurized chamber where moisture in the form of ice is drawn off, leaving dried coffee crystals. Both types of coffee can be drunk once hot water is added.

Manufactures have also developed a special kind of coffee called decaffeinated. The coffee bean contains from one to two percent caffeine, a stimulant that keeps some people awake or makes them nervous. Caffeine is removed by soaking the unroasted beans in a chemical solvent or by steaming them.

Chemistry

The chemical composition of coffee varies widely according to species, weather, soil conditions, degree of ripeness, and preparation. Any chemical analysis is therefore only applicable to the particular quantity under examination. The following is an analysis of a medium quality of Coffea arabica:

Green Roasted

(Percentages)

Crude