Coffee Facts

Coffee In General Coffee trees grow best in areas about 2,000 feet to 6,000 feet above sea level, with an average temperature of 70 °F and an annual rainfall of about 70 inches. It takes up to 5 or 6 years for a coffee tree to produce its first fruit. Each fruit begins with a beautiful white flower. The flower takes up to 6 months to grow to a fully matured coffee fruit. Inside each coffee fruit are 2 coffee berries each holding a coffee bean. Each tree can produce about 1 pound of coffee per season. On average each fruit picker can only harvest 12 to 15 pounds of coffee per day. There are more than 6,000 species of coffee plants with at least 25 major types. The 2 most commercially important types are Arabica (Coffee Arabica) and Robusta (Coffee Canephora). Arabica Coffee Arabica coffee accounts for over 60% of world coffee production. The typical arabica plant is a large bush, grown at 600 to 2,000 metre above sea level. It is very susceptible to frost and prone to pests and diseases such as rust. Because the arabica plant is delicate, it is harder to grow and its beans are more expensive. It can be drank as pure arabica or used as the base for coffee blends with robusta. Arabica has a delicate taste and is used to add acidity and body to the finished brew. Arabica coffee is produced in Latin America, Central and East Africa, Asia (India & Indonesia) and in parts of Oceania. Robusta Coffee Robusta coffee accounts for close to 40% of the world production. The typical robusta plant is a bush or small tree grown between sea level and 800 metre above sea level. It is harder and more resistant to diseases than the arabica plant. As it is cheaper to grow, the beans are comparatively cheaper. Robusta has a strong flavour and is used to give body and 'kick' to the coffee blend. Robusta coffee is produced in West and Central Africa, South East Asia and in parts of South America. Coffee Roasting The way coffee is roasted determines the final taste. The strength of roast and the duration of roasting as well as the blend are all decided by the blender or Master Roaster and all these with determine the final taste of the coffee. Coffee is batch roasted for maximum flavour and aroma to one of the 3 basic types of coffee roast. Full City Roast is a slightly dark brown roast in which the coffee beans are roasted just until the oil starts to come to the surface of the bean. French Roast is a deep brown roast in which the beans are roasted until oil starts appearing on the surface of the bean. Delicate coffee nuances have been replaced with carmelized flavours, and acidity is reduced in the roasting process. Espresso is dark brown colour roast that can be almost black. This is the darkest and most intense roast in which oil covers the surface of the bean. Coffee Cultivation Coffee was first cultivated commercially during the 15th century, in Ethiopia, where it had grown naturally in forests. The first significant coffee production took place in the Dutch colony of Java (Indonesia) during the 17th century. In 1723, a French naval officer took some seedlings to the Caribbean Island of Martinique. By 1777, there were some 18 million coffee bushes on the island and from there coffee growing spread to Central and South America and Africa. By 1820, Brazil had become the dominant world producer of coffee, a position it still retains today. Vietnam entered the coffee market in the 1990s and has had a huge impact on the supply of beans. It is now the second biggest coffee exporter, followed by Columbia, Indonesia and India. History Of Coffee Drinking It was the Arab traders that spread the practice of coffee drinking throughout the Middle East and into Europe at the time of the Ottomen Empire. The Empire's Ambassador to the court of Louis XIV of France persuaded the King to try some coffee, but his royal guest decided to stick with hot chocolate. In spite of the lack of royal patronage, coffee became popular in Paris, with the first coffee shop opening in 1686. Coffee had already arrived in Britain, with coffee houses opening in Oxford in 1650 and London in 1652. By the 18th century there were more coffee houses in London than there are today. They became meeting places for influential figures in politics, literature and business. These lively, crowded places are known as 'penny universities', because for the price of a cup of coffee it was said that you could learn more from the conversation than in a lecture hall. Coffee houses gained a reputation for subverting social institutions at all levels - in 1674, the women of London set up a Petition Against Coffee, protesting that their husbands spent so much time in coffee houses that they neglected their domestic duties. In France, coffee houses became notorious hotbeds of revolutionary activity. Rulers, including Charles II of Great Britain and Ireland, and Frederick the Great of Prussia, tried to ban coffee houses but were prevented by public outcry.