Planting and harvesting of coffee trees

In addition to describing the protective effect of the drink on "stomach, organs and skin," the author also mentioned that it can make the whole body emit fragrance. Indeed, coffee does have this particular effect of retaining aroma through sweat glands. This deodorant effect must have been popular before people developed the habit of regular bathing, or in places where water resources were scarce.

An Arabic legend tells that around 1250, the banished Sheikh Omar discovered wild coffee berries that thrived. Hungry and tired of not eating fruit, the Sheikh boiled some of the fruit in water and drank the brewed coffee. He liked this change in his diet and gave it to people recovering from serious illnesses.

Sheikh Omar returned home from mocha exile with some fine coffee beans.

There is also a popular story about an Arab (or Egyptian) shepherd who discovered that his goats were more energetic after eating coffee berries. He reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery. The abbot experimented on monks and found that the soup kept them awake during night prayers.

It is recorded that in 1454 an Islamic commentator from Aden visited Ethiopia, where he found his countrymen drinking coffee, and sent for coffee beans on his way home. The drink not only cured him of his illness, but also cleared his head. Coffee soon became popular among Islamic monks.

Coffee drinking and cultivation in Yemen dates back to 1454. That year the government allowed coffee to be drunk and grown because it might find coffee's exciting properties preferable to qat's hypnotic properties. Qat was widely cultivated and used throughout the country.

The word coffee comes from the Latin genus Coffea. This genus is a member of the Rubiaceae family, which has more than 500 species and 6000 varieties, most of which are heat-resistant trees and shrubs.

The genus was described by the Swedish botanist Linnemath in the 18th century, but botanists disagree on its exact classification. There are probably at least 25 major species of coffee and all are native to tropical africa and islands in the indian ocean. But because of the variety of trees and seeds, they are also different. All species of coffea are woody plants, but they may be low shrubs or tall trees 10 meters tall, and their leaves vary in color from pale yellow to purple.

Coffee seeds are produced in about three to four years, and yields decrease after 20 to 25 years, but some coffee trees still bear fruit beyond a hundred years of life. Coffee tree branches grow opposite, horizontal or drooping branches grow, its leaves are born on the short diameter branches. The two main species are Coffee Arabic and Coffee Robusta. Arabica leaves are about 15 cm long. The leaves of Robb's are longer, soft oval or pointed, and bright green in color.

The first flowering period of coffee trees is about 3 - 4 years old in the forest. The flowers are white, dense and clustered on the second branch of coffee trees. The petals are 5 - 6 petals. The fragrance is very strong. The fruit is a stone fruit with a diameter of 1.5 cm. It is initially green and turns red when it matures. With the seeds of cherry trees, these two coffee beans face each other with their flat sides. Each coffee bean is blackened by a thin outer membrane called Silverskin. The outer layer is covered with a yellow skin called Parchment. The whole coffee is wrapped in a viscous pulp, forming a soft, sweet interior with an outer shell.

In 1753, Linnaeus determined the taxonomic position of Arabica coffee, which produces Arabica coffee beans and is regarded as a premium coffee in the world, and is also the only coffee that can be drunk without any ingredients. Arabica coffee is sometimes referred to as Brazilian coffee (from Brazil) or mixed coffee (from elsewhere).

The two best varieties of Arabica coffee are tipi and bourbon. But many other varieties have also grown considerably, including katula (grown in Brazil and Colombia), mundu (from Brazil), tesco (widely cultivated in Central America), San Ramon (a dwarf plant) and the famous Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee.

Arabica is usually a large shrub with green, oval leaves and oval fruit, usually with two flat seeds. If only one seed germinates, it is called a pea bean.

The word "Robast" comes from the most widely grown variety of carnivora coffee. Robbett is a very strong shrub or small tree, more than 10 meters high, but its roots are very shallow. The fruit is round and matures for up to 11 months, and the seeds are oval and smaller than arabica beans. Robert coffee is grown in west-central Africa, throughout Southeast Asia, and in a region of Brazil called Conilon.

Libreka coffee trees are tall and strong, 18 meters high, with large, tough leaves and large fruits and beans. Libreka coffee is grown in Malaysia and West Africa, and production is small due to its unique taste and low demand.

Arabica coffee currently accounts for about 70 per cent of the world's coffee production, but robert coffee's share is increasing, mainly because robert coffee trees, although of better fruit quality, are less susceptible to pests than arabica trees.

Arabica coffee trees and robert coffee trees are harvested once every 3 to 4 years, and their life expectancy varies according to different production conditions and different degrees of care (usually 20 to 30 years, after which they have to be replanted). Both varieties require plenty of sunlight and moisture. Arabica coffee trees prefer seasonal climates of 15 - 24 ° C; Robb coffee trees prefer warm equatorial climates, where greenhouse temperatures range from 24 - 29 ° C. Both trees freeze to death when temperatures drop below freezing (although arabica trees are hardier), and they require about 152.4 centimeters of rainfall per year.

The traditional way to grow coffee trees is to plant trees of similar species nearby to provide shade for the coffee trees and protect the fruits from bright light. In addition to reducing damage caused by direct sunlight, this causes trees to help retain moisture in the soil. Irrigation and fertilizer use are more modern methods, but they require capital investment, which requires economic yields and revenues, and are therefore used only on commercial plantations.

Coffee can be grown on vast estates, farms of all sizes, or on small plots of land cleared between forests or farms. In Brazil and Guatemala, for example, large estates are devoted to coffee, and in Brazil mechanical harvesting is increasingly used. Large-scale farming has higher yields but higher inputs and costs; small-scale farms have lower yields but lower costs.

After three to four years of growth, coffee trees grow and begin to bear fruit, one by one fruit will be arranged along the branches of the string or cluster.

Most Arabica coffee beans mature at 6 to 8 months, and Robett coffee beans at 9 to 11 months. Therefore, although in some countries where the dry and wet seasons are not obvious, such as Colombia and Kenya, there are two flowering periods per year, that is, two harvests, but strictly speaking, there is only one ripening period per year.

Harvest times vary from region to region. Areas north of the equator (such as Ethiopia and Central America) generally harvest once in September to November. South of the equator (e.g. Brazil and Zimbabwe), the main harvest occurs in April or May, although it can last until August. Equatorial countries, such as Uganda and Colombia, harvest year-round, especially plantations that exploit a variety of altitudes. Therefore, there may be new coffee beans harvested most of the year

As far as picking itself is concerned, there are two ways. One is to pluck in batches, that is, to pick all the beans in one trip through the garden. The other is selective picking, which means walking through the trees several times at intervals of 8 to 10 days and picking only the ripe red berries. Selective picking is more expensive and labour-intensive than bulk picking, and is generally used only for arabica beans, especially those that need to be washed.

The amount of coffee beans picked depends on many factors, most notably the height of the trees and the layout of the farm or plantation. On average, each picker can pick 50~100 kilograms a day. However, only 20% of this weight is real coffee beans, so the average picker can only pick 10 to 20 kilograms of coffee beans. Coffee beans are packed in bags weighing 45 to 60 kilograms, so it takes a worker 3 to 6 days to fill a bag.

It has been calculated that the cost of harvesting a plantation or farm is half the total cost of the whole year. In Brazil, there have been many attempts to reduce these costs with mechanical pickers. The machine shakes branches across coffee trees so that berries that have become loose from ripeness fall into a funnel. Mechanical pickers are suitable only in areas where natural conditions are better and durable. They need to be adjusted, because they can only be used where the trees can be planted in rows. After that, they need to check the coffee beans and pick out the leaves and branches that have fallen into the hopper.

So a lot of coffee is hand-picked. This requires maximum seasonal harvesting, and pickers must also be careful not to pick hot, bad or overripe beans, as they affect the overall quality of the coffee harvested. Coffee beans that were no longer good were classified as "normal,""sour," or "fermented," with the last category being "very bad."