Baths

Coffee production: cultivation, harvesting, processing and packaging. Coffee tree, growing coffee at home

In order for coffee lovers to fully enjoy the aroma of coffee beans, the coffee beans must first be harvested, then processed, and the resulting beans must be roasted.

When harvesting fruits of more expensive varieties, coffee trees are shaken, which is why only ripened fruits fall to the ground. Cheaper coffee varieties Harvested by picking both ripe and unripe fruits.

This is followed by a processing step, as a result of which the grains are separated from the fruit shell. There are two main ways to process harvested coffee beans: dry and wet. The choice of method depends on the availability of water, crop maturation conditions, weather and crop maturation time, as well as the availability of peeling and drying equipment.

In progress dry processing the collected coffee fruits are scattered in an even layer on a concrete surface or on special sites. Drying in the sun takes up to five weeks and depends on several factors: the thickness of the coffee fruit layer, the average daily temperature and the number of sunny days. During drying, the fruits are agitated with a rake or manually. After drying, the coffee fruits are put into bags and kept for a few more weeks so that the fruits additionally lose some of the moisture. After that, they are peeled, separating the fruit shell from the green coffee bean. In some African countries, coffee is peeled by hand, in others there are special peeling machines for this.

Wet processing more complex and is used mainly on large plantations. It allows you to get coffee beans of the best quality. Freshly picked coffee fruits are subjected to pre-cleaning, during which branches, leaves or foreign objects that have fallen along with the coffee bean are separated. Then the coffee fruits are quickly washed, after which they are cleaned of pulp in a special apparatus - a pulper, which separates the shell of the coffee fruit from the grains. After pulping, the fermentation stage begins, which allows you to get rid of the slightest remnants of pulp, fibers, films and shells of the skin. This process should last no more than 36 hours, otherwise the taste of the final product will drop sharply.

After fermentation, the grains are rinsed in cold water, folded over sieves, and then laid out on a stone floor or on racks made of metal mesh to dry. Dried coffee beans under the scorching sun in the open air. In order for the grains to dry evenly, they are periodically turned over. This final stage lasts approximately 2 weeks.

The residual moisture content of the coffee beans should be 11-12%. It is important not to overdry the beans, as excessive drying will adversely affect the quality of the coffee. For example, Arabica dried to 10% loses its characteristic bluish-green color, becomes brittle and acquires an unusual taste. In under-dried seeds, fungi and bacteria begin to develop.

In most coffee-producing countries (with the exception of some areas of Brazil and Ethiopia), wet processing is mainly Arabica. Robusta is dry-processed almost everywhere.

In order for the grains to acquire a more beautiful appearance, they are polished in specially designed drums. Sometimes coffee is placed in the drum along with sawdust, as a result of which the grains are smoothed out, but the smallest particles of sawdust remain on them, which look like a white coating. This plaque is considered a sign of a high grade coffee.

In some countries, there is a special position - a coffee bean quality inspector. These specialists control all incoming batches of coffee beans for their uniformity.

After drying, coffee beans are ready for sale and further processing.

Processed and dried coffee is packed in jute bags. Usually dried raw materials are stored for about a month. But just like expensive wine, good coffee requires aging. When raw unroasted coffee is stored for a year or more, its quality improves - the grassy taste characteristic of a drink obtained from freshly harvested coffee is lost. For example, Arabian coffee from Yemen acquires its high quality only after a three-year shelf life, and Brazilian - only after 8-10 years of storage.

Along with the traditional, there is an American technology for processing raw coffee, for which special chemicals are used. As a result of this treatment, the need to withstand coffee for several years is eliminated.

Roasting coffee beans

A very important, if not the most important stage in the production of coffee is the process bean roasting, thanks to which the whole bouquet of aroma and taste of grain is revealed. Roasting expensive coffees is still done by hand, as this process is more of an art than a technology, where much depends on the experience and skill of the roaster.

If the grains are poorly roasted, the taste of the drink will be spoiled. Properly roasted beans should have a bright sheen and look the same. If they are dull, then this indicates that the grains are either overdried, or the roasting technology has been violated.

There are different degrees of roasting, each of which is able to give a different flavor to the same type of coffee.

Light frying only applies to high quality, delicate Arabica beans grown in the highlands. This method of roasting is also called semi-urban or New England. In the US, light roasted coffee is called cinnamon because of the similarity in color of the roasted beans to the bark of this spicy plant. Coffee brewed from lightly roasted beans has a sour, slightly watery taste.
Scandinavian roasting- a kind of light roasting, as a result of which the grains, roasted at 220-230 ºC, acquire a light brown color. This method differs in that coffee aromas and oils do not come out, but are concentrated inside the bean. Scandinavian roasted coffee is used to make a drink in drip-type coffee makers and a French press.
medium roast- American way. It differs in that coffee beans are roasted intensively and for a long time, but at the same time they never allow the release of oily substances on their surface. As a result of roasting, the beans acquire a dark color, and the finished coffee drink has a luxurious aroma with a bitter aftertaste.
viennese roast- darker than Scandinavian, it is most popular in Central Europe. It is also called light French, business or urban. With this method of heat treatment, dark brown spots and oils appear on the surface of the grains, and, accordingly, the drink from them is quite fragrant. This type of roasting is especially suitable for drip coffee makers and French presses.
french fry- a strong degree. The grains acquire a dark brown color and begin to shine from abundantly released oils. From such grains, a drink with bitterness and a smack of fire smoke is obtained. In some cases, espresso is made from this roasted coffee. Basically, it is used in French press coffee makers and coffee pots.
Continental way- more commonly known as double or heavy roast. The grains take on the color of dark chocolate. In the United States, coffee that has undergone this treatment is called French roasted, New Orleans roasted, or European roasted.
Italian roast- the darkest, produced at a high temperature, which allows you to maximize the taste of coffee beans. As a result, the grains become very oily, almost black in color. Italian roasted coffee is only used for espresso or moka coffee machines. By the way, in Italy itself, coffee is roasted to a lighter shade than, for example, in the USA.

By mixing roasted coffee beans of different varieties and different degrees of roasting, manufacturers achieve unique flavor combinations, and the composition of the resulting blends is kept in the strictest confidence.

Only a small part of the coffee is roasted by hand, the bulk is automated. In the industrial production of coffee, there are three main types of roasting: thermal (contact and convective), dielectric and radiation.

With the thermal contact method, the heated metal of the walls of a special drum containing two and a half hundred kilograms of green beans transfers heat to the coffee bean. But this method did not find wide application, especially after convective devices appeared in the coffee processing enterprises of Brazil and the USA in 1935. In them, a jet of air heated to 200 C stains coffee beans in a chestnut color, and different varieties of coffee are brought to varying degrees of darkening. In the drums, the beans are not completely roasted, but only give them a soft brown color, allowing the coffee beans to "reach" due to their own heat. This ensures uniform roasting, and the grains do not contain impurities and acquire a smooth, shiny surface.

Dielectric frying uses microwave energy. Since microwaves are able to evenly penetrate deep into the coffee beans, regardless of their size, the beans roasted in this way are characterized by a uniform taste. The peculiarities of microwave energy make it possible to make the roasting process continuous and faster, and the coffee obtained in this way contains the maximum amount of extractive substances.

The radiation roasting method was invented in the USA. As a rule, roasting with the help of ionizing radiation energy is used for combined production methods - first, coffee beans are translucent with gamma rays, and then roasted using standard heat treatment technologies - but in a shorter period of time.

During the heat treatment, coffee beans increase in size up to one and a half times, but at the same time lose about 20 percent in weight due to the evaporation of water, the combustion of foreign particles and the decomposition of certain substances. But at the same time, a new element is born during roasting - caffeol, which allows us to enjoy the wonderful aroma of roasted coffee.

Sometimes, to give the grains a special shine, they are covered with a very thin layer of glycerin or a sugar solution.

If in the final version coffee is delivered to the market in beans, then its processing is completed: coffee beans are packed in specialized sealed packaging and sent to their destination.

Grinding coffee beans

Everyone knows that coffee is brewed from ground coffee beans, and therefore they must first be ground. They do this in two ways: industrial and at home, and it is believed that the latter is used by true coffee lovers.

Regardless of the method, coffee is coarse grinding, medium and fine, sometimes a very fine grinding is also distinguished (like top quality flour). If coffee is ground industrially, then it is additionally sifted through sieves with cells of different sizes so that the grains in the finished product are the same. This is done because grains of different sizes will give the drink their taste, aromatic and other useful substances in different ways. The finer the grinding, the greater the solubility of these substances, the richer, and therefore the tastier and more aromatic the drink.

Solubility of aromatic substances in fine grind coffee- 1-4 minutes, medium - 4-6 minutes, and coarse 6-8 minutes. At first glance, it would seem that finely ground coffee is the best, but this is not always the case. For example, it is completely unsuitable for brewing coffee in machines where hot water is forced through the coffee powder. The finer the powder, the more difficult it is for water to flow through it. Therefore, the grind must be chosen exactly according to the way the coffee will be brewed.

Coarse grinding is universal, suitable for cooking in any coffee pot. The medium one also works with most methods, while the small one is for filter coffee makers. Ultra-fine processing powder is used only for brewing Turkish coffee according to the original recipe using Turks (cezve).

Ground coffee, prepared industrially, goes on sale in hermetically sealed bags, from which the air is pumped out or replaced with an inert gas. In such packages, coffee does not spoil for six months or even longer. Bags with vents are considered the best packaging. But an open package loses its wonderful properties, therefore, after opening it, it is desirable to tie or seal it as tightly as possible. There is such a way to store ground coffee: cut a small semicircle in the bag, bend it, quickly pour out the right amount of coffee, then close the hole. Place the package in a tightly closed metal box, which is placed in a dry, cool place.

Connoisseurs say that the most delicious drink with a rich unique bouquet is obtained only from freshly ground selected grains, ground with a manual coffee grinder. It is more difficult and longer to grind grains on it, but the coffee does not heat up much, and, accordingly, loses its aroma less.

It is easier and faster to grind coffee beans with an electric coffee grinder. Depending on how long the coffee is ground, different grinds are obtained. But there is a limit, when it is no longer possible to grind finer, and with further exposure, the coffee only heats up. If this happens, it is recommended to remove the lid of the coffee grinder and let the coffee cool down. The aroma of ground coffee dissipates quickly, so it's best to grind as much coffee as needed for one go.

On a good coffee grinder, you can make coffee of different grinding: from coarse to extra fine.

Instant coffee

Instant coffee appeared relatively recently and quickly became popular all over the world due to its ease of preparation. The taste and aroma of instant coffee is somewhat weaker compared to natural coffee, and the caffeine content, on the contrary, is much higher - sometimes four times. Instant coffee is both natural and with various additives - chicory, rye, oats and other cereals.

Instant coffee, as a rule, is made from the Robusta variety, as it retains the taste and aroma of the natural product better during processing. Sometimes there is a mixture of varieties. Such coffee is more aromatic and has better taste properties. In the production of some elite varieties, beans of the highest grade Arabica are used, but such coffee is much more expensive.

Powdered coffee has the simplest manufacturing technology: the grains are crushed to a particle size of 1.5-2 mm, then they are treated for 3-4 hours with hot water under a pressure of 15 atmospheres. The extract obtained is cooled, filtered and then dried with hot air. The resulting powdery mass is cooled.

Granulated coffee obtained by special treatment of the powder with steam, which causes it to stick together into granules.

The most expensive is the freeze-dry production method. The frozen and crushed coffee broth is fed into a vacuum tunnel, where the ice evaporates, bypassing the liquid state. The dehydrated mass breaks - as a result, uneven crystals are obtained. Coffee made using this technology is called freeze-dried coffee. Of all types of instant coffee, it has a more delicate taste and aroma.

Recently, the demand for green coffee among private buyers has increased greatly. There are several reasons for this. On the one hand, the culture of consumption and literacy of Russians is gradually growing and more and more people prefer to roast raw grains at home to preserve the freshness and taste of their favorite drink. On the other hand, interest in green coffee is warmed up by more and more spreading legends about the miraculous effect of green coffee in the fight against excess weight. In this short article, we decided to answer the main questions that customers who are interested in green coffee ask us.

What is green coffee?

Green coffee is the raw bean from the berries that grow on the coffee tree. Visually, green beans differ from roasted grain, of course, in color, large size, higher density and almost complete absence of smell.

How is green coffee obtained?

Berries ripened on the coffee tree are harvested by hand or with the help of simple mechanical tools. Then the entire harvest is subjected to processing "wet" or "dry" method. During the "wet" process, a complex system of filtration, fermentation, washing and drying is used. The "dry" method of processing is that the berries are naturally dried in the sun and then mechanically cleaned of the husk and shell. The end result is only coffee beans.

How long can green coffee be stored?

Can you roast coffee at home?

Of course yes. Now on sale it is not difficult to find special, fully automatic coffee roasters designed for home use. The principle of their operation is simple - we pour green coffee into a special container, press the desired button, and wait for the completion of the roasting process. Do not forget to let the coffee "brew" a little and get rid of gases. That's all. The downside of this preparation is only a waste of time for the whole process, but believe me, it's worth it! Because you get the freshest coffee in the roast that suits you best.

Does green coffee really help with weight loss?

The totality of facts about the properties of coffee, revealed by numerous scientific studies, indicates that this assumption has a very real justification. Green coffee bean is one of the champions in terms of the content of chlorogenic acid, which promotes the breakdown of fats in the human body. In addition, the combination of antioxidants and caffeine in the coffee bean accelerates the processes of human metabolism. All this ultimately leads to weight loss. A lot of articles have been written on this topic, so if you need exact numbers and examples, then they are not difficult to find on the net. You should not expect supernatural results from coffee, but the fact that green coffee helps to lose extra pounds is a fact.

How to prepare green coffee?

The process is not much different from making regular black coffee. First you need to grind the coffee beans (they can be very strong, so be careful not to break the grinder). Next, choose a brewing method that is convenient for you (green coffee is easily brewed in a Turk, in a French press, in a geyser coffee maker). During brewing, try not to bring the drink to a strong boil. For the Turks, the process will be as follows: pour coffee, pour water, as soon as the first signs of boiling appear, remove from the burner.

How to choose the right green coffee?

The rules are simple. Look at the quality of the grain - it should be clean, without black dots (from which the process of decay begins), without holes and without eaten edges, indicating damage by insects. The coffee should be light gray or light wheaten in color. The smell should not be obvious, sharp and should resemble the smell of dry grass. The grains must be absolutely dry, without moisture and oil deposits. It is important to remember that outwardly even raw grains can be completely different - depending on varieties, places of origin, processing methods, etc. None of these factors detract from the useful properties of coffee, the main thing that plays a role is how long ago it was harvested and under what conditions it was stored. Try to buy green grain from companies specializing in it, which usually get it from trusted sources.

Are there any side effects from drinking green coffee?

There are no known side effects from drinking green bean coffee. Green coffee does not contain any harmful substances. The main thing is to choose high-quality and fresh grain, which has not yet squandered its beneficial properties.

Can you drink black coffee instead of green coffee to lose weight?

Roasting coffee greatly affects its chemical composition, in particular, the level of chlorogenic acid suffers greatly. As a result, the final product is very different from the green raw material and, accordingly, has different properties. Roasted coffee does not have a strong effect on weight loss.

Are you interested in unroasted coffee?
.

Sincerely yours,
Vietnam Sun.

Coffee Processing Methods

Most of Brazil's coffee passes dry cleaning. The crop is harvested during the dry season from April to September. All the fruits are removed from the tree at the same time. After the initial washing, the fruits are laid out in a thin layer to dry in the sun for two to three weeks. Several times a day, the fruits are mixed with a rake, and at night they are sheltered from dampness. In addition to drying, grain fermentation takes place at the same time. Dried fruits are loaded into a special machine to remove all outer shells.

In Colombia, coffee beans are mainly subjected to wet processing. Harvesting takes place from October to March during the rainy season. For wet processing, only mature fruits are plucked from the tree. Since they do not ripen all at once, they have to return to the collection three to five times. After preliminary washing in special machines, the pulp is partially removed from the fruits, then they are loaded into tanks, where they are fermented for 20-24 hours. After that, in rotary apparatuses, under the pressure of strong jets of water, the pulp is completely washed off. This is followed by a short drying in the sun and processing in a shelling machine to remove thin shells.

Only the best varieties are processed by the wet method, wet processed coffee is highly valued in the world market for its delicate taste. With wet processing, the fermentation process of the grains is better controlled than with dry processing.

When processing coffee beans, a lot of waste is collected. As reported in the magazine "Around the World" (No. 6, 1979), in Ethiopia they tried to mix the shells of the coffee fruit with eucalyptus shavings and press it. It turned out to be excellent plates for the production of furniture - durable, beautiful, with a slight coffee aroma.

The quality of the coffee drink largely depends on how skillfully the operations for the primary processing of grain are performed. The primary processing of coffee is being completed at large factories and wholesale warehouses, where sorting, polishing, mixing of different types of grain is carried out to obtain the desired standard. All these operations require considerable experience, knowledge and skill. It is necessary to sort out hundreds and thousands of bags of coffee beans by grain. It is easy to understand how difficult and exhausting such work is.

After the victory of the revolution in Cuba, where they grow excellent coffee, they began to use modern technology to sort it. Electronic machines came to the aid of sorters. Through a system of lenses, the electronic eye carefully monitors each grain and does not let the spoiled ones through. Such machines replace thousands of workers in the difficult area of coffee production.

But now the sorting is done. Coffee beans are packed in bags. About 70 million bags of coffee weighing 60 kg each enter the world wholesale market every year.

Green coffee beans

Raw coffee beans are colored yellowish or greenish gray. They have an astringent taste. In this form, the beans are still unsuitable for making coffee. They are difficult to grind into powder, they swell poorly in water.

Green coffee beans can be stored for more or less long periods of time. However, if the storage period is too long, the beans will discolour, become whitish, and the coffee will lose its flavor and aroma. Light and moisture are especially detrimental to coffee beans.

It is believed that green coffee beans can be stored for two years. Of course, a lot depends on the conditions. And the properties of some varieties of Brazilian coffee, according to experts, even improve when stored for three to five years.

Raw coffee bean quality

What determines the quality of raw coffee beans? First of all, its botanical appearance and variety. Each of them has characteristic features and one or another value for coffee production: some varieties can be used independently, while others can only be used as mixture fillers.

Then, when assessing the quality of the grain, its commercial grade is taken into account, which is determined by the presence of defective grains and impurities (sand, pebbles, fragments of twigs, etc.) in a given batch of coffee.

Grain defects occur not only during growth on a tree, but also as a result of poor-quality primary processing, during transportation and storage. So, if the latter occurred in conditions of high humidity, then coffee acquires the smell of mold. Defective raw grains are black inside, spotted, sour, moldy, discolored due to long storage. These shortcomings are not eliminated in the process of roasting grains, the drink made from them has an unpleasant taste and smell. Defective grains also include grains with mechanical damage - crushed, cut, etc. In addition, grains are sorted by size and color. Quality control of coffee supplied to the Soviet Union is carried out by the All-Union Chamber of Commerce.

To carry out the first harvest of coffee, you need to wait until the coffee tree reaches maturity, begins to bloom and bear fruit. Depending on climatic conditions and the botanical type of the coffee tree, the mature age occurs in different ways, often 3-4 years after planting in the ground.

There is another technique that is used less and less. The so-called natural collection method is the most ancient and consists in simply waiting for the fruits to dry and fall from the trees onto the pre-spread burlap. This technology is still used in Ethiopia and Yemen, but most often pickers do not wait for full ripening and harvest. The taste of this coffee is very far from ideal.

mechanized way

This method, as well as stripping, is used in countries where the crop ripens in a short period of time. The coffee harvest must also be very fast. Not all farmers can afford the mechanized method. The equipment is not cheap.

Depending on the units used, the mechanized method can be divided into several categories:

With vibrating combs

It is considered the cheapest method of mechanization, since the cost of vibrating combs is not high, however, the performance of such a collection leaves much to be desired. Another disadvantage is the need to hire a significant number of people who will operate these ridges.

Watch a video about how coffee is harvested in Brazil. The coffee harvest in the video starts at the 6th minute.

With the use of combines

Coffee harvesters are aggregates with vibrating devices. They carry out coffee harvesting as if passing through a row of coffee trees, and cylindrical brushes located in the front part, the rods of which vibrate, knocking the fruits off the trees. Next, the coffee berries go through the conveyor to the hopper car, which runs parallel to the combine, but in the next row.

Brazil is the world's largest coffee harvester. It accounts for about 32 to 35% of the coffee market. Here, a significant part of the harvest is harvested by combines. The disadvantages of this method include a high degree of damage to trees, a huge amount of unripe and overripe fruits, branches, insects, and flowers getting into the assembly bin. This method can only be applied on a relatively flat surface, where trees are planted in a straight line with a large row spacing. Therefore, most of the coffee in the world is still harvested by hand.

Yes, and judge for yourself, who, let's say, in Ethiopia 50 years ago, thought about the mechanization of harvesting? Here, the maintenance of coffee plantations is often a family affair and skill is passed down from generation to generation. Trees were planted on the slopes of the mountains. Naturally, no one guessed that it was necessary to plant coffee bushes in perfectly even rows, and even on flat terrain, in order to mechanize labor in the future. Therefore, as they were collected by hand, they are still being collected.

It is important to understand that the taste characteristics of coffee are affected by all stages of the production of the product, but undoubtedly harvesting is a very important process.

After harvesting, the stage follows.

Before coffee reaches our table, it must first go through several stages: collection, processing, sorting, roasting and grinding coffee.

The natural way to harvest coffee

The natural way of harvesting coffee resembles the ripening of apples. Coffee beans fall like apples as they ripen. When they all fall off they are collected and processed by dry processing.

Manual way to collect coffee

The first harvest of coffee is carried out manually, several times a season, as the beans ripen. Only ripe berries are harvested and processed wet. This is the most time-consuming way to harvest coffee.

Mechanized way of collecting coffee

With the mechanical method of collecting coffee, everything that grows on a coffee tree gets into the assembly machine: leaves, fruits (ripe and not ripe), flowers. This is the way for cheap coffees. Next, the raw materials are sorted. This is the easiest way to harvest coffee.

Dry coffee processing

With the dry method of processing coffee, the fruits are dried immediately under the sun for several weeks. Dry-processed coffee has less flavor. Processed grains leave a film that allows them to be stored until roasted. But they no longer have that pleasant fruity taste with sourness.

Wet coffee processing

Wet coffee processing is used where running water is available. Berries are in special containers where they begin to ferment. This usually happens between 12 and 36 hours. Grains that are grown high in the mountains can be kept in water for a longer time. As with the dry method, the grains are freed from pulp. Unsuitable grains float to the surface. The taste of the beans can be changed by changing the soaking time. The longer they are in the water, the more aromatic the coffee will taste. When the grains are washed, they are dried on platforms under the sun, organizing their even drying.

coffee sorting

After processing, coffee beans are sorted by size, because. grains inside the berries consist of two parts. After removing the shell, you can see that they are different from each other. The original presentation of coffee is green, that is, not roasted.

coffee roasting

To get good coffee, it must be roasted. There are four ways to roast coffee:

light roast coffee - Scandinavian;
dark roast coffee - Viennese;
French roast coffee;
Italian - the strongest roast.

When coffee beans are roasted, they turn from green to brown and increase in volume.

Grinding coffee

The finest grinding of coffee is called “grinding to dust”. It is used to prepare "". The coffee grind depends on your coffee preference. For example, the coarsest grind is used for French press coffee, while the finer coffee grind is used for espresso machines. To make coffee tasty and aromatic, it is better to grind it immediately before drinking.