The Magic of Coffee

there's a magic in coffee, how Coffee is Made?! i'm surely say "Indeed coffee is magic". The process to make your favorite morning beverage is both complex and tedious. Coffee is consumed worldwide second only to tea. Some places call it a national drink, while others call it an art form. Join me in the journey from tree to cup.The name itself, coffee, originates from the Kaffa region of Ethiopia but there are about 70 species of Coffea. Almost all of the coffee produced in the world comes from only two species. Arabian coffee, called "coffea arabica" and coffee robusta, called "coffea canephora". The best coffees are grown at higher altitudes, in warmer climates on arabica bushes that can reach 20 feet tall but are trimmed to approximately 13 feet tall. They bear a beautiful white flower with a jasmine-like scent.

At 6 months old, the seedlings are planted in fertilized fields. They are constantly tended to with constant weeding and applying fungicides to ward off coffee rust and insecticides to ward off coffee weevil. They will begin flowering at approximately 2 -3 years and produce fruit for as many as 30 years. The trees produce the best fruit if grown in the shadow of taller trees. These taller trees also provide a safe haven for many North American birds wintering in warmer climates.

After the bush flowers, the fruit grows. This fruit is a cherry. The fruit can be manually picked, as it has for centuries, or harvested using machines to shake the fruit from the trees. The coffee beans are inside the cherry and the fruit has to be taken off to avoid spoiling the beans by fermenting.

The centuries-old method of harvesting the beans is dry processing and the beans are laid out in the sun to dry for two weeks. They have to be turned often and spread out to ensure that drying is even.

The more modern method is wet processing and begins as soon as the beans are harvested. The beans go through cycles of washing and then fermentation which allow the softened pulp to rinse off easier and does not damage the beans as much as dry processing. In this method, the beans also have to be laid out to dry or put through a mechanized dryer.

After the processing is complete, the beans are sorted, discarding the beans that are damaged or spoiled. This also ensures that there are no twigs or leaves mixed in with the beans.

The most important step is the final one of roasting. During roasting, the waxy coating, the chaff, falls off and is thrown away when the bean splits. In order to get to the perfect roast, time and temperature is critical. The intent in the roasting process is obtaining a certain roast, either mild, medium or dark roast. To have their flavor and fullness released, the longer the beans are roasted. The bolder tastes are achieved by roasting longer. This explains why the milder blends have lighter beans.