How coffee beans are produced and where?
Coffee is one of those sweet pleasures that make life seems easier. If you’ve always wanted to discover the origins of your favourite beverage, you’ve come to the right place! So sit back, relax, and get a cup of hot coffee in your hands while we quench your thirst for knowledge.
Saying that coffee comes from beans is like saying eggs come from chickens. It’s a generic answer that does not fit a coffee lover like yourself. Coffee follows a big journey before arriving in your cup. Here are its 6 stages:
Planting
Coffee beans come from bush-like coffee plants which can get tall as trees. Farmers trim them at around 5ft to keep them manageable. Most coffee plants have dark green, waxy leaves and bunches of cherries. Inside those cherries, we find the coffee beans. Locations such as Vietnam, Ethiopia, Brazil, Colombia and Indonesia offer the perfect conditions for coffee plants to thrive.
There are over 153 species However Arabica and Robusta are the main two species used for consumption. Each has its characteristics; for example, Arabica beans take more time to mature and are superior to flavour and quality, while Robusta beans contain more caffeine and are generally used for instant coffee.
Harvesting
On average, it takes around 10 years before a coffee plant produces beans on a commercial basis. A coffee plant’s average lifespan is around 30 to 40 years. Once the beans are ripe, they turn red. However, it takes an experienced eye to understand when it’s optimal to harvest them, as too early or too soon can have a massive impact on the final taste.
Harvesting coffee
Processing & Drying
After the cherries are harvested, farmers begin the processing either with the dry or washed method. The dry method involves spreading the beans on large surfaces under the sun to dry naturally. The wet method involves separating the skin and pulp from the beans and transporting them to large water-filled tanks for 12 to 48 hours. The goal is to remove the slick layer of mucilage. After the Washed method, beans still need to dry under the sun.
drying coffee
Milling
The next step is milling the beans with hulling machinery that extracts the parchment layer from the water processed beans or removes the entire drying husk from the dried beans. Next is optional polishing. Essentially it removes any silver skin that remains in the coffee beans. Although polished beans are considered superior to unpolished ones, there’s not really a big difference. As a final step, the beans are sorted based on size and weight and are reviewed for any imperfections. They are then exported as green coffee.
Roasting
Roasting turns green coffee into the aromatic brown beans you buy from your favourite suppliers or stores. Beans are heated at 550 degrees Fahrenheit in constant movement until they turn brown, and the caffeol oil inside them starts emerging. This process releases the coffee beans’ flavour and aroma. Roasting takes place in the importing countries because, after that, the beans need to reach the consumers as soon as possible for optimal quality.
Grinding & Brewing
Grinding aims to release the most flavour and taste in a cup of coffee. If your coffee tastes bitter, it was probably ground too fine. If it tastes flat, it might was under-extracted. The final step is brewing which is affected by water temperature, brewing time, and brewing apparatus.
Choose your beans right!
Now you know all about coffee beans’ origins and how they’re produced before reaching your cup as the delicious beverage we all know and love. Keep in mind that good coffee requires excellent quality coffee beans. With hundreds of happy customers in Yorkshire and the UK, at Santa Sofia, we know what it takes to produce excellent coffee beans that are just right for you and your customers.
Discover our variety today and enjoy some quality caffeine!
