A Brief History of the Coffee Bean
There is no clear record of the origins of coffee, but the most widely known story is a legend from ancient Abyssinia (now Ethiopia).
One day, Kadi, a shepherd, was tending his sheep as usual, when he noticed several unusually excited lambs in his flock, and after careful observation, he deduced that they might have been caused by eating red fruits in the jungle. So he told the missionaries of a nearby monastery, and he and the missionaries tried to eat the red fruit, and they felt refreshed, relaxed, and energized! Since then, they have also begun to eat this kind of fruit, in order to drive away the sleepiness, and to help them in their work of shepherding or practicing and preaching.
Yes, these red fruits are the fruits of the coffee tree, which are also called "coffee cherries" or "coffee berries" (berry) because of their similarity in color and appearance to cherries.
Coffee drinking was officially documented around 900 A.D., but at that time it was only used as a medicine, with patients drinking boiled coffee seeds to help improve their gastrointestinal health, as well as to wake up the brain and have a diuretic effect. It was not until around 1470 that coffee was recorded as a daily beverage, and the habit of drinking coffee began to prevail in Mecca and the Medes.
Coffee Bean Cultivation and Processing (Coffee Bean Cultivation and Processing )
The coffee tree is a subtropical shrub plant grown in areas with warm climates and steady rainfall with an average annual temperature of about 22°C. Most of these areas are mountainous or highland. Most of these areas are cooler, such as mountains or highlands, and the higher the mountains, the better the coffee can be grown.
The process of planting and harvesting coffee fruits takes about 3 years. For example, after flowering and fruiting, it takes 6-9 months for the Arabica variety to ripen, and 9-11 months for the Robusta variety to ripen. It is best to pick the fruits within 10 to 14 days of ripening
The coffee we drink now is actually made by separating the seeds from the fruit of the coffee tree, drying them, roasting the beans, and then extracting the water-soluble components!
Processing of Coffee Berry
In addition to the influence of the growing region and climate on the quality of coffee beans, the processing of coffee berries also affects the quality of raw beans. The process of transforming coffee berries into raw beans is called "refining", and it is a process that makes the beans more resistant to storage and transportation. The following are the five main ways of refining coffee berries into raw beans:
1.1. Natual (sun)
This is the traditional method of natural drying. Coffee berries are dried directly under the sun, and then the pulp and flesh are removed.
2.2. Pulped Natrual
Semi-dried refinement in which coffee berries are washed in running water, the outer shells of the berries are removed by machine, and the berries are finally left to dry in the sun.
3. washed
This is the traditional washed processing method, mainly used in water-rich production areas. The berries are placed in water to remove unripe beans and dust, and then the pulp is removed by machine. Next, the berries are fermented in a bucket to remove the pectin. After washing with water, the coffee can be placed in the sun or dried in a dryer. This process can extract clean and bright coffee beans with strong acidity and aroma.
4.4. Semi Washed
A method of drying the beans after removing the pulp and pectin on the inner skin with a pulp sifter. The flavor of the raw beans is similar to that of the washed type.
5.5. Honey Process
This is a process that originated in Costa Rica and Panama in Central and South America, and is similar to the semi-drying process. In order to preserve the sweetness of the raw beans, only coffee berries with sufficient sugar content are harvested, peeled off, and dried with the pulp on.
There is also the anaerobic fermentation method and other special treatment methods that have become popular in recent years
View and filter different bean treatments on the Quality Life Coffee website
Coffee Bean Roasting
When raw beans are chewed or boiled, they produce little or no coffee flavor or aroma. Raw coffee beans must be heated to bring out their original flavor and aroma. This process of roasting the raw beans to make coffee beans is called "roasting". The flavor of coffee varies according to the way the beans are roasted. Even the same raw beans can have different flavors and aromas depending on the way the beans are roasted.
The process of roasting raw beans is divided into the following eight stages: light roasting, cinnamon roasting, medium roasting, dark roasting, city roasting, deep city roasting, French roasting and Italian roasting.
Coffee made from lighter roasted beans has a stronger acidic flavor, while coffee made from heavier roasted beans has a stronger bitter flavor. Therefore, we can choose the right coffee beans according to our own preferences and tastes.
Quality Life Coffee Roasted coffee beans are under strict quality control
Types of Coffee Beans
Types of Arabica
The Arabica variety is less resistant to pests, diseases, dry weather, and frost, so the higher the area it is grown in, the better the quality will be. Its production is also the highest in the world, accounting for 65% of the world's coffee bean production, and most of the coffee we buy every day is Arabica. Descendant of the coffee tree on Martinique, which is very low in production because of its high price.Bourbon
It is one of the traditional varieties of Arabica, and a mutant of the Tequila variety. The beans of this variety have a heavy aroma and a soft flavor
Caturra
is a representative of the dwarf species and a mutant of the Bourbon species.The Caturra is a dwarf coffee and a mutant of the Bourbon variety. It is planted at high altitude in the mountains and produces coffee beans with an acidic and slightly astringent flavor.
Mundonovo
The representative variety of Brazil, it is a cross between Bourbon and Sumatra.
Pacamara
The large-grained coffee bean developed in El Salvador. Although it is produced in small quantities, it is a coffee bean that has attracted worldwide attention.
Geisha
A variety of coffee found in the Geisha region of Ethiopia, which is extremely valuable due to its low yield.
Robusta
Originally from the Congo, this variety grows quickly and is resistant to pests and diseases. However, because of its lack of flavor and almost no acidity, it has a strong bitter taste, so it is mostly used as a raw material for instant coffee.
Liberia
Contributes to 1% of the world's coffee production, and most of the beans are supplied to domestic consumption due to low demand.
There are many other varieties of coffee.
