Coffee Tree species Segmentation Coffee planting Environment requires in-depth understanding of Coffee

One of the characteristics of the coffee tree is that its fruit can bear fruit several times a year. Another characteristic is that flowers and fruits (also known as cherries) coexist at different stages of maturity. The entire coffee industry is styled by the vagaries of nature. If the fruit is overripe, the beans inside will rot. If not ripe enough, the beans will not ripen themselves. So bean pickers often return to the same tree several times in search of ripe fruit-and they can only pick two pounds of green beans on several trips, which is the average annual yield of a tree. Keep this in mind the next time you buy coffee.

Coffee farmers who produce low-grade coffee beans prefer to harvest the beans in a labor-saving way, but this reduces the coffee's flavor and grade because of its impure quality. In some parts of Africa, coffee beans are picked by shaking the coffee tree, shaking the fruit off the ground and picking it up before it hurts and rots. In most parts of Brazil, where second-grade coffee is produced, the method of harvesting coffee is to pluck all the leaves, flowers, overheated and green fruit from the branches at once. It takes two years for the coffee trees so damaged to recover to normal.

The delicate white flowers of coffee trees are rare and spectacular, and their aromas are reminiscent of orange and jasmine. Sometimes only a tree blooms alone; like a young bride, sometimes the whole coffee garden is in full bloom, looking like a white sea of flowers, beautiful and intoxicating, but the flowering is fleeting. Within two or three days, the petals dispersed with the wind, leaving only the fragrance swirling in the air.

Before long, tiny piles of fruit appear, first green, then yellow, then red and pink, ready for harvest when they're almost black. In Jamaica, bats are the first to know whether the fruit is ripe or not. They sip the coffee syrup at night to tell farmers that the fruit is ripe and ready to harvest. The oval fruit is tightly clustered around the branches, and the slender, smooth dark green tooth-shaped leaves are born on both sides of the branches. The leaves on the sunny side are harder and the back is softer and paler, forming a fan at the edge. Branches also grow from opposite sides of the trunk.

Botanical classification of coffee trees| Coffee bean requirements for the growing environment| Coffee tree cultivation requirements for the natural environment

Evergreen trees are usually bred in nurseries, grow into saplings, and move to coffee plantations a year later, following exactly the methods used by the rich Arabs to grow coffee trees. For the first four or five years of its life, coffee trees take root downwards, grow upwards into trunks, and develop branches into umbrella-like shapes to bear rich fruit later on.

There are three main commercial varieties of coffee trees, each of which has a different classification. Arabica coffee is the most important and highest quality coffee bean, originating from Ethiopia and is currently the most widely grown coffee. Liberica is from Liberia. Robusta is from Congo. The latter's name indicates that it is sturdy, resistant to harsh weather and disease, and can grow freely in the wild in woodland without much manual care when preparing soil, weeding and pruning. Although the taste is more bitter than Arabica, the quality is also much inferior to Arabica. Most Africans drink nobusta coffee. Because of the high yield, it is used to make instant coffee. Arabica coffee is best grown in mountains between 2000 and 6,500 feet above sea level-the higher the altitude, the better the quality; Liberita and Nobasta are best grown below 2000 feet.

Coffee trees can only grow in tropical and subtropical regions, coffee trees in the "coffee belt" range of different climate, soil, altitude, rainfall can grow in the middle. The coffee tree thrives in Africa's hot, humid valleys and forest rainforests; it produces high-quality coffee beans in cold, foggy, windy Central America; and it flowers and bears fruit in the Caribbean, where the climate varies from drought to torrential rain. These factors are the secret to the variety and variety of coffee beans.

The ideal growing environment is a temperature between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, an appropriate altitude and annual rainfall (between 40 and 120 inches per year). The timing of rainfall is important. Intermittent heavy rain and intense sunshine are preferred during ripening, and a dry spell is required for harvest. Any type of soil is suitable, but the best soil is a mixture of decomposed volcanic soil, humus soil, and permeable soil.

A few hours of sunshine a day is enough. Hillsides are ideal because of their short exposure time and good drainage. Coffee trees like wet roots, high leaves planted in the coffee garden, on the one hand wind, on the other hand shade.

As for coffee tree disasters, frost and leaf diseases are the most common killers.

Many people are familiar with coffee powder, but coffee powder is formed after coffee beans are ground. The coffee beans that ordinary customers get are roasted (roasted) coffee beans, while coffee beans that have not been roasted are green coffee beans. If you dig deeper, coffee beans come from coffee berries on coffee trees, which are the seeds of coffee trees. So to understand coffee beans, you first have to understand coffee trees. Coffee trees can grow to 4-5 meters tall, and even 9-10 meters tall.

coffee tree

Coffee trees But where coffee is grown artificially, the top branches are cut off when the coffee tree is three meters high, so that the coffee tree does not grow too tall; it is easy to pick at harvest time. According to botanical classification, coffee trees belong to,

Domain: eukaryotic domain,

Kingdom: Plant Kingdom,

Door: Angiosperm door,

Class: Dicotyledonous plants (Magnoliaceae),

Order: Gentiales,

Family: Rubiaceae,

Genus: coffee genus,

Botanical classification of coffee trees| Coffee bean requirements for the growing environment| Coffee tree cultivation requirements for the natural environment

Sichuan barista club.

In order to better understand coffee, coffee trees are divided into the following different types in the genus Coffea:

Arabica grows coffee trees,

a grows coffee trees,

Liberia grows coffee trees,

Excelsior grows coffee trees,

Devereaux grows coffee trees,

Casana grows coffee trees,

Arnoldiana grows coffee trees,

ta grows coffee trees,

Vitiana grows coffee trees,

Ben Gallance grows coffee trees

Travincos grows coffee trees

Resmo planted coffee trees,

Salva Trix grows coffee trees

sis grows coffee trees,

Kappa Kata grows coffee trees,

Stenofila grows coffee trees,

Eugenio Ides grows coffee trees,

Zanquibalia grows coffee trees,

The first two kinds of coffee trees are used to make coffee drinks.

Arabica coffee, formerly known as "Arabica coffee", originated in Ethiopia;

It is the coffee tree species most cultivated and used to make coffee drinks, accounting for more than 70% of the world's cultivation.

Canifola coffee, formerly known as "medium coffee", originated in Congo;

slightly less than 30 percent of world production.

The third category is,

Liberica coffee, formerly known as "large seed coffee," originated in Liberia;

Although this type of coffee is sold at a low price, it is rarely purchased and used to make coffee drinks because of its poor taste. It is rarely grown in Malaysia and other places, and is rarely seen in the market and almost impossible to buy.

No other species of coffee tree has been used to make coffee drinks, but most exist in Ethiopia's rainforests and are protected by the Ethiopian government. Perhaps one day we will get better coffee beans from these coffee trees that have not yet been used to make coffee drinks! Since other coffee trees are not used to make coffee drinks, we don't have to talk too much about them. We are most concerned about the two types of coffee that are mainly used to make coffee drinks.

Arabica coffee beans, produced from Arabica coffee trees

Robast coffee beans from the Canifra coffee tree.

These two coffee trees are suitable for planting in different regions, and the coffee beans produced have different taste characteristics, need to use different processing methods, and are used to make different coffee drinks. Without understanding the characteristics of these different types of coffee, you don't know how to properly use and process these coffee beans to make a good coffee drink. The reason why we emphasize these two different types of coffee first is because there are many very different things about these two kinds of coffee, so it is one of the basic concepts we understand about coffee. Distinguishing between these two different types of coffee is fundamental and key to understanding coffee. (B) Different environmental conditions suitable for the growth of Arabica coffee trees are annual temperature changes between 15 and 25; annual rainfall between 1500 and 2000 mm, and to match the flowering period of coffee trees. In addition, the growth of coffee trees for soil requirements are also very high, if the soil is not fertile enough, containing nutrients, including a variety of trace elements are not enough, it may affect the growth of coffee trees and the formation of coffee beans taste components. Therefore, the soil environment composed of volcanic ash provides very favorable soil conditions for the growth of coffee trees. Arabica coffee trees need sunlight to grow, but direct sunlight is not good for Arabica coffee trees. Arabica coffee trees grow better when sunlight is refracted through the rest of the canopy. Therefore, in areas where coffee is grown artificially, the method of interplanting is generally adopted. That is, for each row of coffee trees, a row of taller, larger canopy trees, such as banana trees, should be planted in the middle to shade the coffee trees. However, in Yunnan, where there are few sunny days and most rainy days, if you do not use the method of interplanting, it will not only not be unfavorable to the growth of coffee trees, but also greatly increase the yield of coffee per mu. The environmental conditions suitable for growing Arabica coffee trees limit the most suitable areas for growing Arabica coffee trees to tropical or subtropical alpine areas, generally at an altitude of not less than 800~1000 meters. Because the temperature in the plains is too high all year round, it is not suitable for the growth of Arabica coffee trees. However, the maximum height is generally not more than 2000 meters, because areas with too high altitude may produce frost, and coffee trees may be frozen to death in case of frost. So even Arabica coffee can't be grown at too high an altitude. Sometimes so-called shading coffee is found in markets. These coffees are generally beans grown and harvested on the "shady side" of the mountain. Because there is little or no sunlight on the shady side, coffee beans harvested from coffee trees grown here will have better taste characteristics. Because Arabica coffee trees do not like sunlight, coffee beans grown and harvested in such areas will have a better taste. However, this is only a small part, and there is no particularly strong reaction. The difference is that carnivora coffee trees grow in higher temperatures, ranging from 24 to 29 degrees throughout the year, and prefer direct sunlight. Therefore, carnivora coffee trees are suitable for cultivation in tropical or subtropical low-altitude areas. Its biggest characteristic is resistant to pests and diseases, and it is not affected by pests. Therefore, the area where the carnivora coffee tree is grown is the tropical or subtropical low altitude area. Arabica coffee beans differ greatly in taste from Robast coffee beans (from the Canifra coffee tree). It even affects how different coffee beans are processed in different ways and used to make different coffee drinks. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between these two coffee beans.

Arabica coffee beans:

A light, soft taste, often with different flavor characteristics depending on the variety and origin; for example, different fruit flavors, different nut flavors, chocolate flavors, etc.

Roast coffee beans:

Strong taste, rich, sometimes with earthy smell, spicy taste, such as bad taste. Some people even smell burnt rubber while roasting roaster coffee.

Arabica coffee has always been considered to be of higher quality than roaster coffee due to its wide variety in taste and its higher price on the international market. Roast coffee sells for less on the international market because of its poor taste. Of course, this is not absolute. If carefully selected, roaster coffee can also be selected for many excellent coffee flavors, and the price is not lower than regular arabica coffee. This has been so impressive for so long that until now many people have been unable to accept the use of roaster coffee for coffee drinks. Whether it's drip coffee or espresso. The above taste understanding is the feeling when making drip coffee, but the taste when making Italian coffee is probably not the same as this. We'll talk more about Robast coffee beans later. After understanding the different types of coffee, let's take a look, especially the Arabica coffee that people pay most attention to can be divided into many different varieties. When a farm chooses what kind of coffee to grow, the first consideration is yield and pest resistance. Then consider the quality of the coffee. But now the coffee market is growing faster and the market needs better coffee, so find ways to grow high-quality coffee and sell it at a good price. In particular, coffee companies and individuals (e.g. Italian coffee companies in Puerto Rico, Australians in Indonesia) go to coffee growing countries to participate in coffee cultivation and processing themselves, and they try to improve the quality of coffee by selecting better varieties and better processing equipment and techniques. Bourbon coffee and ironbica coffee are generally considered to be the two basic varieties of arabica coffee. The variety developed from this is very large. Common on the market now include the following,

Tibika.

This is the most basic variety of Arabica coffee, from which many varieties are derived. This coffee tree is 3.5-4 meters tall and has a very low yield, but the coffee made tastes very good.

Bourbon.

Bourbon coffee yields 20-30% more than iron-bica coffee, but less than several other coffees. The leaves of this coffee tree are broad and curved. The fruit of this coffee tree is relatively small and hard. The fruit falls easily in strong wind or rain. The most suitable growing area is 1200-2200 meters above sea level. The coffee tastes excellent and is similar to iron bica coffee.

Mondo Novo

This is a graft of coffee tibeka and bourbon, first discovered in brazil. This variety is robust, resistant to pests and diseases; it has high yield, but matures slightly later than other varieties. Suitable for growing areas are 1,170 - 1,800 meters above sea level and rainfall is 1,200 - 1,800 mm.

Malagoripi (commonly known as "elephant bean")

This is a variant of bourbon coffee, first discovered in Brazil. This tree grows sturdily and is taller than bourbon coffee and iron bica coffee trees. But the yield is low and the beans are very large. It is suitable for growing in areas with an altitude of 660-830 meters. Very popular in some markets.

Amarillo.

This variety of coffee cherries are yellow in color and are not widely cultivated.

Kadura

This is a variant of bourbon coffee found in Brazil. This kind of coffee is of high yield and good quality, but requires careful maintenance and nutrition. Similar to bourbon coffee, this breed of coffee has broad leaves and curved edges. It is suitable for planting in a variety of environments, but it works best in areas with an altitude of 500-1830 meters and an annual rainfall of 2500-3500 mm. If the altitude is higher, the quality will be better, but the output will be reduced.

Hey, Katim.

Botanical classification of coffee trees | requirements for growing environment of coffee beans | requirements for natural environment for coffee tree cultivation

It was grafted with Timor coffee and Kaddura coffee in Portugal in 1959, and the yield is very high, equal to or even higher than all commercial varieties.

Hey, Kaduai.

This is a combination of Mondonovo coffee and Kaddura coffee with a high yield. The fruit of this kind of coffee tree is not easy to fall, so it is suitable for planting in windy and rainy areas. Need more maintenance and nutrition.

Hey, Kent.

This variety of coffee is widely cultivated because of its high yield and resistance to coffee leaf rust.

These are mainly different varieties of coffee grown in Arabica, and some are a series of coffee trees grown in Arabica and Canifra. There are many others, not to list one by one. The concept of "variety" introduced above seems to be very unfamiliar. Why are these names seldom heard of? That is because coffee beans belong to crops and are highly dependent on the soil, climate, maintenance and other conditions of the region. The difference in taste between different varieties is not obvious enough, and it is always affected by the area under cultivation. That is to say, if the same variety of coffee is grown in different regions, the taste of coffee is different. Therefore, a simple distinction between varieties is of no practical significance to understand the taste of coffee. So when talking about a certain kind of coffee, first of all, distinguish between Arabica coffee and Robaster coffee; second, when distinguishing between varieties, be sure to indicate the planting area, otherwise it is impossible to determine its taste. In fact, the concept of further classification commonly used is the concept of "variety + origin", that is, to determine the "origin" while determining the "variety". In fact, what we see is the concept of "commercial variety", such as "Santos" coffee in Brazil, "Yegashafi" in Ethiopia, "Bugisu" coffee in Uganda, and so on. These coffees are certain varieties, and the producing area is also relatively certain, so they usually have specific taste characteristics. But some coffee varieties are uncertain, such as Colombian coffee. According to Colombian government regulations, as long as coffee beans are grown and harvested in Colombia, they are called "Colombian coffee". However, I am afraid that the coffee trees planted in Colombia are not a single variety; in addition, the size of the Colombian country is not very small, and the gap between the north and the south and the east and west cannot be completely ignored. therefore, it is difficult to determine the specific taste characteristics of the country's coffee simply by using "Colombian coffee" to classify the country's coffee. So now there are a lot of raw coffee dealers starting to sell "manor coffee", that is, coffee beans from a particular estate in Colombia. The variety of such coffee beans is usually single, and the planting area is very small, so the taste characteristics are more definite. This may be a good starting point for further classification of coffee in the future. Although the growth cycles of different species and varieties of coffee trees are different, they are generally between 7 and 8 months. In other words, the growth cycle of coffee trees is not as seasonal as in the north, but the growth and harvest is not fixed time. This is mainly because the climate gap in the south is small throughout the year, or there is no obvious seasonality. For example, if you harvest once in January of a year, you will harvest again after 8 months. This means that two seasons can be harvested this year. But next year, there will be only one season left. Third, the picking of coffee fruit is divided into

Manual picking leads to an increase in the cost of coffee due to the high cost of labor. But manual picking can select coffee fruits that are ripe and suitable. It is generally suitable for coffee that can be sold at a higher price, and will not be unable to earn money because the cost is too high.

The cost of machine picking is not high, but the machine can not tell whether the coffee fruit is ripe or not, so we can only pick all the coffee fruit together, and then remove the overripe and immature coffee fruit. But from the grower's point of view, the selection will not be very strict. So it is inevitable that some coffee fruits that are overripe or not ripe enough will remain. This may affect the quality and taste of processed coffee beans.

The quality of raw coffee beans depends not only on the planting conditions and the maintenance of coffee trees, but also on the processing of raw coffee beans. Since the coffee fruit has been picked from the tree, the peel and pulp have to be removed to get the coffee beans we need. But the treatment of coffee fruit also plays an important role in the taste of coffee beans. (1) the oldest method of drying is, of course, the sun drying method, which is generally called the "drying method". Because coffee fruits are berries with high water content, they become very brittle after drying. Just gently press the dried peel and pulp to crush and detach the coffee beans. The appearance of the coffee beans processed by this method is not standard, and the colors are both light yellow and yellowish brown. Perhaps it is due to the lack of strict selection, different sizes and colors. So it doesn't look very good.

Botanical classification of coffee trees | requirements for growing environment of coffee beans | requirements for natural environment for coffee tree cultivation

(2) after many years of development, people have developed a more advanced washing method in order to better process high-quality coffee beans. Although the cost of washing is relatively high, the processed coffee beans look good and sell well.

2. the growth and planting of caffeine

Climatic factors are a prerequisite for the growth of coffee. Coffee trees are only suitable for growing in tropical and subtropical areas between 25 degrees north and south latitudes, which are often referred to as "coffee growing belts" or "coffee producing areas". However, not all the land located in this area, can cultivate excellent coffee trees. The area most suitable for coffee planting and growth must have suitable temperature (annual average temperature: 15-25 degrees), moderate rainfall (1500-2000 mm annual rainfall, and can match the flowering cycle of coffee trees), fertile soil (soil containing volcanic ash) and good drainage.

Coffee trees are extremely picky about the environment in which they grow. Coffee trees like cool and are most suitable for growing in the soil covered with volcanic ash. Proper Rain Water is required as well as good drainage. Drought and waterlogging have fatal effects on the growth of coffee trees. Coffee trees have certain requirements for sunshine and irrigation water quality. If you want to get the best coffee beans, you must strictly control the composition of the soil, rainfall and irrigation, sunshine time and ambient temperature when planting coffee trees.

The higher the altitude of the coffee growing area (usually more than 1000 meters above sea level), the higher the value of the coffee beans produced. The higher the altitude, the lower the temperature, and the slower the coffee grows. As the ripening period of the fruit is prolonged, more elements will accumulate during its growth. The coffee beans produced in this environment are small and full, and the coffee is rich in flavor and unique in taste. However, the fruits of coffee trees grown in this environment are scarce. Each coffee tree usually produces less than 2 kilograms of coffee fruit a year. The processed and roasted coffee beans are about 450 grams, which can be made into about 40 cups of coffee drinks.

With the increasing demand for coffee, artificial planting of coffee trees has become an important economic activity in coffee producing areas. The improvement of varieties and planting techniques also make the growth of coffee trees have a relatively wide range of adaptation to the environment.

It usually takes five years for a coffee tree to grow and harvest for the first time. Wild coffee trees usually have a height of about 10 meters, while in artificial planting, coffee trees need to be pruned when they grow to about 3 meters in order to harvest fruit in the future. After the fruit of the coffee tree is ripe, it usually goes through at least 17 steps, such as picking, drying, baking, processing and so on, before the delicious coffee can be delivered to the mouth of consumers.

The taste characteristics of coffee beans are closely related to the types of coffee trees. At present, the coffee beans widely used in beverage production in the world are mainly Arabica and Robsusta.