How Coffee is made - The Coffee Plant

To start things off I would like to talk to you about the process of coffee making. 

Coffee comes from the beans of the coffee plant. Coffea arabica, is the most common plant used in coffee production.  The coffee plant is a tropical plant that grows more like a bush than a tree reaching 10-12 feet in height.  The coffee plant is not a winter hardy plant so it cannot be grown in temperate climate zones.  Coffee requires a lot of water, fertilizer and prefers alkaline (basic) soils.  The coffee beans are the seeds of the plant.  Many insects and animals eat these seeds.  The plant has created its on natural defense to these attacks, caffeine. 

Coffea arabica is considered to have the best flavor to produce brewed coffee.  Other types can be too bitter or too bold.  Cheaper brands of coffee may have a mixture of Coffea arabica and a substandard species.  You can usually tell the difference. 

There are a lot of politics surround coffee production and practices.  You can check that out on your own.  I have my own opinions, but I’m more interested in the processing of coffee after the beans have been harvested.

Coffee has to be ripened if picked green.  This is done in one of two ways, dry process, simpler and less intensive, wet process method, which incorporate fermentation yielding a milder coffee.  Fermentation results in a lot of coffee waste water.  Once the beans are ripened they have to be dried.  This is done either on a drying table or in the sun.  The best method is to use drying tables, but unfortunately this method is used less.  More modern methods have been introduced that produce inferior grade coffee.  More companies are returning to the traditional methods.

The next step is to roast the beans.  Roasting can change the taste of the beverage by changing the physical and chemical make-up of the coffee bean.  As the bean is roasted the weight decreases due to moisture lost.  When the temperature inside the bean reaches 200 degrees Celsius the roasting process begins.  Carmelization occurs as intense heat breaks down starches in the bean.  This changes the starch into simple sugars that brown changing the color of the bean from green to brown.  Aromatic oils are created when the acids weaken inside the beans.  These oils change the flavor.  One of the oils that give coffee its aroma and flavor is caffeol. 

The color of the bean determines the boldness of the bean.  If the bean is a darker brown it will have a more robust flavor.  Once the beans have dried they will be sorted into these different grades.  Darker roasts are bolder because they have less fiber content a more sugar.  Lighter roasts have a complex and stronger flavor. 

Decaffeinated coffee is somewhat of a misnomer.  Because coffee naturally creates caffeine it is difficult to remove all of it.  Decaffeination occurs when the beans are green.  They are soaked in hot water or steamed.  Then using a solvent to dissolve caffeine-containing oils the caffeine is removed.  The caffeine that is removed is often sold to the pharmaceutical industry.

To store the beans an airtight container must be used and placed in a cool, dark, and dry place.  This will help maintain the flavors of the coffee.  Ironically, the bags we often purchase coffee in are not the best method for storing coffee. 

If you think you would like to have a coffee plant in your house, go ahead and get one!  Don’t expect to get any coffee beans from it unless you live in the tropics.  The flowers are beautiful though!  If you live in a climate that is warmer most of the year they make a great ornamental plant.

Tune in next time to learn about the best ways to prepare coffee.