The life cycle of coffee

Let’s start with a very important clarification: coffee is a fruit. More precisely – it’s a cherry! The coffee bean is actually a seed, which is separated from the skin of the cherry by just a few tiny layers. To become the golden brown, delicious-but oh so-addictive stuff we sip at least once a day, it has to be processed, dried, roasted and ground. Each one of these steps is a whole world on itself, so to make it slightly simpler and easier on you, let’s go back to the field, where everything starts.

THE TWO MAIN COFFEE PLANTS

There are 2 main commercial coffee plant species: Arabica which accounts for 65% of the world production, and Robusta with the remaining 35%. Arabica is considered the more refined species, grown at 800masl and above. Due to the high altitude, these #Cheerful tropical cherries have a slow maturation which helps them develop a lovely combination of acidity and sweetness… lively and lovable!

Robusta, on the other hand, is the more #Vigorous type of fella; thanks to the high percentage of caffeine in the plant, Robusta is some sort of an energy bomb that slaps you with high notes of bitterness. Robusta grows at a much lower elevation, so it lacks the acidity Arabica has. Though with the precise roasting, some people might also find Robusta a #Fascinating coffee – full body with a touch of sugary walnuts, thanks to the caramelization of the beans during roasting.

THE COFFEE PROCESSING

Generally speaking, after the cherries are collected by the pickers on the farm, they are sent to the washing station – which in simple words is the center of the farm, where the workers will further process the fruits. “Processing” the coffee means several things:

1. Sorting the coffee cherries, getting rid of the unripe, overripe or damaged ones.
2. “De-pulping” the cherries, meaning – mechanically peeling the skin of the cherry, also known as ‘Cascara’ (skin in Spanish).
3. To be(an) or not to be(an) – to wash or not to wash? Each coffee producer decides according to his/her preference whether to wash the beans or not. Washing the beans will potentially give birth to #Adventurous coffees – allowing them to burst with exciting acidity accompanied by citrus juice – both in mouthfeel and flavor. Not washing the beans will result in “Natural process”, so leaning more to that #Cheerful cherry we talked about before: sweet, lovely, always fun to be around. These attributes derive from the high sugar content in the mucilage and the pulp within the fruit. Remember those “tiny layers” I mentioned earlier? So in the “natural process”, they are not taken away.
4. The beans will be usually left to ferment, from a few hours until even a week. The fermentation, meaning the breaking down of the sugars in interaction with naturally appearing microorganisms, generates more flavors in the beans. After this period, whether washed (peeled) or not (natural, whole fruits) – the beans will be sent to dry out in the sun or inside a greenhouse.

These are the four main steps taking place on the farm. After around 2-3 weeks, when the beans have reached their perfect humidity level, they will be de-husked – which means their “parchment” layer will be taken away. Afterward, we get to a very crucial part of the coffee chain: the roasting.

THE ROASTING PROCESS

Without roasting the beans, the delightful beloved drink we know would have never existed.

By roasting the green pale beans, the hundreds of compounds hidden within every bean are expressed. If we compare the potential taste range of coffee to wine, coffee has 3 times more taste compounds: a mind-blowing of 900! It means that roasted coffee beans could range from grapefruit or jasmine notes to chocolate, vanilla or hazelnut. And many more. Although there are many variables, the final cup profile is highly dependent on the roast profile.

A light roast, which in many cases nicknamed “Scandinavian roast”, has a much shorter roasting time. It is considered to reveal the more floral and fruity notes of the bean, like the ones you’d expect from an #Adventurous or even a #Chill cup of coffee. Diversely, a dark roast lasts a few minutes more, expressing the more sugary or nutty notes of the bean, and is more common for Robusta coffee. Light, medium or dark roasts are all a matter of preference, whether to roast masters or consumers. In Italy, France or Spain, coffee lovers are more used to drink dark-roasted coffee. In Northern European countries or in Australia, lighter roasts are rather more popular.

THE LAST TOUCH

The last station of coffee’s life, or preparation, is at the hands of the barista. In my opinion, the beautiful thing about the barista’s role is that he/she can determine the final quality of the cup. Coffee beans could be treated wonderfully, but with the wrong final preparation, it might be a flat, boring dark liquid.

A good cup of coffee requires a skilled barista, who experiments, creates recipes, works with suitable extraction methods and pays attention to details. The barista is the final alchemist of all those great steps that came before him.