The treatment of raw coffee beans Coffee trees bear fruit several times a year

The spread of coffee beans originated in Ethiopia, circa 850 AD. It then spread throughout Arabia, and coffee was not actually documented until 900 A. D. Yemenis at that time in order to prohibit the outflow of coffee, coffee will be carefully guarded. However, some coffee saplings were smuggled to the Netherlands and planted in greenhouses.

Coffee was not grown in America until 1723.

South America now accounts for almost 45% of the world's coffee exports, most of which come from Brazil.

Spread to Europe-1616

Spread to India (Malabar Coast)-late 16th century

Spread to Java, Indonesia-1699

Spread to Caribbean coast-1715 - 1730

Spread to South America-1730

Spread to Dutch East Indies-1720

Roasted coffee beans first appear on the market-1865 (Pittsburgh, USA)

Coffee trees usually grow to 5-10 meters tall, and the older the coffee tree, the fewer branches it will have, but the more leaves and fruit it will have. Coffee trees usually start bearing fruit three to four years after planting. Coffee trees produce fruit for 10 to 20 years, depending on the region and species planted.

Coffee trees are usually planted in rows spaced a few inches apart. Some coffee farmers plant coffee under other tall cash crops, or on the other side of the mountain, because coffee requires specific growing conditions. Arabica coffee trees can only grow at 15-24 ° C, while Robusta coffee trees can grow at 30 ° C. The average annual rainfall is 150-300 mm. A lot of rainfall helps fruit growth at the stage of fruit growth, but a small amount of rainfall is better at the stage of fruit ripening. Because the climate in the northern and southern hemispheres is different, the harvest time of coffee beans is also different. In some places, coffee beans are harvested all year round.

Processing Edit

When coffee berries are ripe, they are usually harvested by hand, in some places only fully ripe berries are picked, and in others all coffee berries are picked on a branch. The former is called "handpicked" and the latter is called "strip-picking." Because the ripening time of coffee berries is not consistent, it is very likely that the harvest will be carried out in several times, and the duration will be very long, so the harvest is also a link with the largest manpower investment.

Harvested coffee berries require further processing, usually in two ways.

One method is washing, popular in Central America and parts of Africa; freshly harvested coffee berries are separated from the coffee beans by manual or mechanical force, and then soaked in water for two to three days, so that the pulp and goo attached to the coffee beans will be removed. This is followed by a washing and drying process, which can be done in natural sunlight or by machine.

One is solarization, which is cheaper in Brazil and most African countries. After removing twigs and other debris, coffee berries are spread out in the sun for 2 to 3 weeks, repeatedly turning to dry the berries until they fall off the green beans.

When the moisture content of the coffee beans drops to about 13%, the beans are bagged and stored for 1 to 3 months