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THE
ODDYSSEY OF COFFEE
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Did you know that coffee is drank
everywhere at all hours, and originates from Africa? Probably from the province of Kaffa, today
known as Ethiopia, several thousand feet above sea level, but nobody knows for sure exactly when
and how it was first discovered.
Coffee trees were cultivated in monasteries 1.000 years ago,
commercial cultivation followed but not until the 15 century. The Arabs
adopted it and kept its secret very carefully until it was taken out of
Arabia and cultivated in the Dutch colonies in India and Java. The Dutch then
introduced it into Europe. Coffee
houses became favourite meeting places for both social and business purposes
in other European countries including Austria, France, Germany, Holland and
England. From Europe it was taken to USA. North Americans are now the world´s
largest consumers.The Dutch also spread the coffee plant in Central and South
America starting in Surinam to be followed by plantations in French Guayana
and Brazil. Coffee made its way
around the world and established as one of the most valuable commodities.
Millions of people earn their living from it and millions enjoy drinking it. What do you know about coffee and where it comes from? |
* Do you know there are two
main species of coffee cultivated today?
They are Coffea arabica(arabica coffee) – 70% of world
production – and Coffea canephora
(Robusta coffee). Two other species are: Coffea liberica (Liberica coffee)
and Coffea dewevrei (Excelsa coffee) |
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COFFEE PLANT Coffee arabica is an
evergreen tree. It is a tropical plant. Its leaves are broad, shiny, and
shaped like an arrowhead; and are almost the same size. They can be either
yellowish, dark greeen, bronze or tinged with purple. Its flowers are small,
white blossoms that cluster at the base of the leaves. Coffee belongs to the botanical family
Rubiaceae (family Genus), species coffee, varieties arabica, canephora and
liberica. There are probably at least 25 major species, all indigenous to
tropical Africa and certain islands in the Indian Ocean, notably Madagascar The coffee plant is a
major source of oxygen in much of the world. Each hectare of coffee produces
86 lbs of oxygen per day. |
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GROWING COFFEE The coffee plant can grow
to heights of 10 meters, if not pruned.
The root can extend 20-25 kms in total length. Countries that grow
coffee, keep it at three meters for easy picking. Each tree can grow one to
twelve pounds of coffee per year, depending on soil, climate and other factors.
The plants can grow from seed or from cuttings Coffee arabica grows best
when there are no frosts or hot extremes; in fertile, well watered but well
drained soil; with only two hours a day of direct sunlight. The best coffees are grown either on small
sized estates or on peasant plots |
Do you know that coffee trees
take up to 5 years to mature? |
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Some
differences between Arabica and Robusta |
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Arabica |
Robusta |
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Flowering
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After rain |
Irregular |
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From
flower to ripe cherry
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9 months |
10-11 months |
Do you remember that coffea arabica originated on the plateaus
of central Ethiopia? |
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Yield
(kg/beans/ha)
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1500-3000 |
2300-4000 |
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Growth
optimum
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1000-2000 m |
0-700 m |
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Caffeine
content of beans
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0.8-1.4% |
1.7-4.0% |
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Root
system
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Deep |
Shallow |
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HARVESTING AND PREPARATIONCoffee is harvested during
the dry season. The fruit of coffee trees are small oval berries about the color
and size of a small cherry. Inside
the sking and pulp are nestled two coffee beans. Berries do not ripen
uniformly. The same branch may display ripe red berries, unripe green berries
and overripe black berries. About 12-20 kg of export
ready coffee is produced from every 100 kg of coffee cherries harvested. |
You have probably heard
that coffee cherries are harvested by
hand |
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Coffee beans must be
removed from the fruit and dried before they can be roasted. The unroasted coffee
beans are known as green coffee. Once coffee is picked, it
can be prepared in 2 ways: by dry method (also
called the natural method) is the oldest, simplest and requires little
machinery. The coffee produced
is called natural coffee. Most coffees
from Indonesia, Ethiopia, Brazil and Yemen are dry-procesed; or by the wet method, which requires specific machinery, important quantities of water and a more
complex process of sorting, cleaning, pulping, fermentation and washing. The wet method is generally used for all
the Arabica coffees and is rarely used for Robustas.. |
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Grading: there are four main
criteria for grading coffee: where
and at what altitude it was grown, how it was prepared and picked, and how
good it tastes, or its cup quality.
We know commercial coffee and specialty coffee. Commercial coffee is roasted and packed in large plants; specialty coffee is usually roasted in small stores or factories, using traditional methods and technology.Coffee
lover and specialist Kenneth Davids says that “the best commercial blended
coffees are quite good. The worst are atrocious. The best specialty coffees,
brewed freshly and correctly, are more than good; they are superb.” Roasting coffeeRoasting is a vital
process, the key to excellent coffee, simple in theory but the key to
excellent coffee, a skill not easy to
master. The beans must be
heated, kept moving so they don´t burn or roast unevenly, and cooled, or
quenched, when the right moment has come to stop the roasting. |
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So many ways to make coffeeThere is no single best way to make coffee, each of us prefers one method to the rest. It can be ü
Arab or Turish coffee, ü
The filter method ü
The plunger ü
The jug ü
Expresso and Cappuccino ü
The Moka Napoletana ü
The percolator ü
Soluble or instant coffee ü
Flavoured coffees (there are about 100 varieties available, but the
most important flavouring added to coffee over the world is milk) |
Specialty coffee stores carry
as many as 30 varieties of coffee. They have European and non-European
names, market names, grade names, estate names,
flavouring names, names of blends,
house blends, organic
coffees, brand names, caffeine-free coffees, etc Do you know the meaning of
cupping? Cupping is tasting coffee. The
taster is also known as the liquorer. |
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Pronunciation: Coffea
arabica Connoisseur Ashy Caramel Earthy Floral Fruity Nutty Rancid Spicy Woody Astringency Sourness Bitterness Acidity MORE (add a link
to another page with more words) and another page with
ICO´s Consumer vocabulary |
FactsCoffee is traded under
1000s of different names in the coffee market. Blends are mixtures of two
or more straight coffees. Organic coffees are
coffees grown without the use of harmful chemicals. Decaffeinated, or
caffeine-free, coffees have had the caffeine soaked out of them. Caffeine does not
accumulate in the body, so its effects are short lived and transitory. A cup of decaffeinated
coffee contains about 1-5 mg caffeine. |
Activities: Find what
these words mean: Fermentation Grading Cupping Caramelized Brewing Specialty coffee Altitude Latitude MORE (here we should add a link to another page
with more activities) And also to Comics
(Anthony) Puzzles
(Scott´s link) |
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REMEMBER: green coffee stays good for
years, BUT roasted coffee looses its
flavor after 1 week; ground coffee after 1 hour
of grinding; and, brewed coffee in minutes. 99% of a cup of coffee is water. If the water
doesn’t taste or smell good, don’t make coffee with it!! Anyone interested in becoming a coffee connoisseur
must learn to taste for aroma, inhale, compare…. |
DON´TS: Don’t boil coffee; it cooks off all the delicate flavoring essence and leaves the bitter chemicals Don´t percolate or reheat: it has
the same effect as boiling Don´t hold coffee for very long on
the heat Don´t mix old coffee with new |
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TIPS for those who care about
coffee Buying tips : when buying coffee always ask when it was roasted. Generally coffee is at its best if used a day or two after roasting. Grinding tips: Never grind more coffee than you will use
for immediate brewing
Storage tips: Never store your coffee in the refrigerator,
but in a clean, dry, airtight container, in a cool, dark place |
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FAQ (frequently asked questions) What is the difference between caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee? Can coffee affect my sleep? How harmful can it be for the heart? MORE.. |
MORE TO ENJOY : There are instructive videos of all stages of coffee
planting and processing available at http://www.coffeeresearch.org/sitemap.htm And also assorted pictures at http://www.coffeeresearch.org/tour1.htm Don´t miss them! Enjoy them, tasting coffee and
sharing knowledge! |
Coffee and
health ü
Caffeine is a mild stimulant ü
It can improve athletic performance ü
It improves alertness ü
It might affect some people´s sleeping habits, others
drink coffee before they go to bed |
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References Coffee Research Institute : http://www.coffeeresearch.org Coffee Science Source : http://www.coffeescience.org Coffee Universe: http://www.coffeeuniverse.com The Coffee Science
Information Centre : http://www.cosic.org International Coffee
Organization : http://www.ico.org and our very special thanks
to them for authorizing us to use both text and pictures About Coffee by Kenneth
Davids: http://www.lucidcafe.com |