Published by Jennifer

Green coffee beans & roasted coffee beans

The most important thing to know is coffee beans are not actually beans, but the seed of a cherry from a coffee tree. These trees grow in subtropical climates from sea level to around 6000 feet. The majority of coffee beans grown in the world are grown between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, which is mainly along the equator. Here in the “middle of the world”, the climate is warm and humid – necessary conditions for growing the sensitive coffee plant.

Although there are more than 60 varieties of coffee that grow in the world, only two are commercially cultivated. These are Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica coffee is a higher quality coffee. Large commercial coffee manufacturers tend to use Arabica beans for to mix with the hardier Robusta for commercial coffee blends. Alone, it is widely sought after for gourmet blends. It is naturally lower in caffeine than Robusta and grows at elevations of 3000 to 6000 feet and above, where frost is rare. The beans contain about half of the caffeine of Robusta and have more desirable flavors and aromatic properties. The Arabica tree is not as hardy as the Robusta, and a single Arabica tree typically yields only 1 – 1 ½ pounds of green coffee beans per season. Arabica coffee is the superior grade of coffee that most people usually refer to as gourmet coffee. Much of the coffee grown world-wide is of the Arabica species, but only a fraction meets the standard set by the Specialty Coffee Association of America.

Robusta coffee is a lower grade of coffee that is usually grown at lower elevations. It has more of an astringent flavor and contains a higher amount of caffeine. Robusta coffee plants are more resistant to disease and drought than the Arabica and are grown from sea level up to 2000 feet. Robusta trees yield twice as many beans per tree per season, but produce a coffee that is of lower quality than the flavorful Arabica. Most Robusta beans are blended with Arabica coffees and used by large commercial coffee companies for canned and instant coffees. This bean tends to be bitterer than the Arabica bean, making it less useful for gourmet blends.

The Robusta trees are easier to grow and maintain. They are also more disease resistant and produce a higher yield. That is why this bean is much more popular as a commercial commodity. This type of coffee is typically used to achieve a lower price.

Harvesting Coffee Beans

Coffee is a very labor intensive commodity. The cherries ripen at different times so they must be picked by hand. Since there are about 4000 coffee beans in a pound, 2000 cherries must be hand picked (there are two beans per cherry). The average coffee tree will produce only about 2 pounds of roasted coffee per year.

Next, the fruit needs to be removed from the seeds. This is accomplished by one of either of two ways, the dry process or the wet process.

The dry process is to let the cherries dry out in the sun or in dryers and then use machines to strip the dried fruit off of the coffee beans. The wet process uses a soaking method to make the fruit come off and produces coffee which is referred to as washed coffee. These green coffee beans are then sent to be dried. After drying, they are sorted by size and graded (usually by hand). Then they are bagged and sent to the roasters. The beans will remain green until roasted.

It is important to note that green coffee will stay fresh for a very long time. When freshness is talked about in coffee, it means from date that the green beans have been roasted.

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