EntranceHow long does it take for raw coffee to mature? How coffee beans are harvested
I'm "snickering", gentlemen. When I was offered to fly to Brazil to watch how coffee is harvested, the first thing I thought was: “Well, what the hell do I need all this for?”, I agreed to the second thought. After all, watching others work is a very enjoyable experience. From Moscow to Paris, from Paris to Sao Paulo, from Sao Paulo to the town of Vitoria, where people walk along the runway from the gangway to the airport. I am in Brazil for the second time - from the first I remember only the meeting with Ronaldo, the constant rain in Rio and the most important acquaintance for me. 
Vitoria is sad and depressed. Especially in the rain. But how I missed so many South American gestures: the eyelid being pulled down, meaning danger and caution, and the thumb up, which in Brazilians means almost everything. 
In the morning the weather returned to normal, and we moved towards the plantations. Three hours to the God-forgotten semi-Polish settlement of Agva Branca, lost among the "sleeping elephants" - that's what I call these stone hills. Here appeared a character named Carlos, a man with the appearance of Richard Gere and Dan Petrescu, a descendant of Polish settlers, a planter and landowner. Carlos went to show us his land. Together with Carlos, his whole family went, a personal photographer (for some reason!), an English teacher from a local school and a couple of her students who wanted to see foreigners. The show lasted three hours - Carlos has so much land. 140 hectares and 130 thousand coffee trees on them. Each tree needs up to 10 liters of water per day. In each row of coffee plantations, someone was moving frantically, harvesting. One could stop and ask: "And whose land is this?" "Marquis de Carlos!" - would have answered in the bushes. 
Carlos explained something for a long time about irrigation technology and careful selection of grains, but for you, my beautiful readers, I will not go into details, but will tell you "on the fingers and in a nutshell." 
So, for example, they look ripe coffee beans, just taken off the branch. If you remove the husk from them, then they will even taste sweet. Each tree produces 5 kg of coffee - and only 20 mugs of coffee. 
I would have climbed a mountain a long time ago and painted the eyes, ears of the "elephants", ... Or at least I would have written some kind of curse or a declaration of love. I remember seeing a similar Stone in Colombia: between the settlement of El Peñol and Guatape. Huge letters GI are displayed on its side. It turns out that Guatape and El Penol argued for a long time to whom this work of nature belongs, until finally the Guatapins climbed onto the Stone and began to display the name of their settlement on it. The El Peñols saw this through a spyglass and sharpened their knives in the direction of the Stone, drove the Guatapes from it - but one and a half initial letters from the word Guatape remained on its surface. 
This is a coffee bush nursery. Very small trees are grown here. Ridges with cylinders of soil and seedlings tightly fitted to each other are crowned by the upturned bum of a Brazilian peasant woman. She did not enter the frame, sorry. In the evening we dined at the ex-mayor of Agva Branca. All his guests called me Neymar because of the hairstyle in honor of the now super-popular football player. The translator confused me and called me Niemeyer after the famous Brazilian architect. I drank cachaça - and I didn't care if I was Neymar or Niemeyer. In the morning we arrived at the grain dryer. They are brought to plantations and loaded into huge cylinders, which are spun from the inside by specially trained Brazilian squirrels. How proteins do not burn inside there is still unknown to science. Then the grains are packed in bags and sweaty muchachos load them on transport to the warehouse. 
The warehouse is like an exhibition of another crazy contemporary artist practicing to replicate the same object throughout the entire space of the hall. 
As a result of roasting, coffee acquires its famous dark hue... 
The final chord was the ascent to the Cross. Any locality in Brazil that has a mountain is crowned with a Cross or a Statue of Christ on it. Such is the Law. Behind the gate with the inscription "Mountain brings us closer to God" opened a view of the whole of Brazil - from border to border. And the Brazilian landscape is wonderful - it's a pity I'm not Levitan to portray it with dignity ... 
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 method
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 crop 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. Apply this method can only relatively flat surface where the trees are planted in a straight line with 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.
The main botanical species of coffee trees are robusta and arabica. Arabica is characterized by an extreme taste variety, while Robusta has a high caffeine content. Arabica accounts for 85-90% of world coffee production, the remaining 10-15% - for robusta. The choice of varieties depends on the climatic conditions of the country involved in the cultivation of coffee. Coffee trees that are afraid of the cold can only grow in the tropics. The area of coffee growth from the north is limited by the Tropic of Cancer, and from the south by the Tropic of Capricorn.
The acceptable temperature range for growing Arabica beans is from 15 to 25 degrees Celsius, Robusta - from 23 to 30 degrees. The ideal growing heights (meaning the height above sea level) range from 700-2200 meters for Arabica, 250-900 meters for Robusta. The exception is the Ugandan Robusta, which grows well at an altitude of 1200 meters.
Wild coffee trees can reach a height of 10-16 meters. Their maximum height on plantations is no more than 4.5 meters (pruning makes it easier to collect fruits). Since out of the 65 years that make up the maximum lifespan of coffee trees, they bear fruit for 20 years, industrial plantings are subject to periodic renewal. The first fruits appear on trees that have reached the age of three. The snow-white flowers of coffee trees are unusually beautiful.
During the flowering period, they shower branches like snow flakes. A few days later, dried flowers give way to coffee berries. Since the flowering of coffee trees is a continuous process, berries of varying degrees of ripeness constantly coexist on their branches: unripe - green, mature - red or yellow, overripe - dark red, dark yellow or black. The color of ripe fruits (red or yellow) is determined by the coffee variety.
How coffee is made. From picking to roasting
1. Timing and methods of harvesting
Harvest time in different parts of the globe occurs at different times. In Brazil, it is limited to the time frame from April to September, on the plantations of Costa Rica - from September to January, Ethiopian coffee is harvested in October-December, and Malawian - from December to February. The coffee year starts on October 1st and ends on September 30th.Coffee pickers are much more likely to resort to "stripping" - a method that does not leave a single berry on the branches. Fruits of varying degrees of maturity are sent to the processing station ("wet mill"), where they are sorted. Mechanized coffee harvesting (using specialized combines) is not always possible due to the fact that coffee plantations are often located on too steep mountain slopes: agricultural vehicles simply cannot pass there. Coffee harvesting is most mechanized on Brazilian plantations. With "stripping" and mechanized harvesting, the collection of both immature and overripe fruits is inevitable.
Video: How is coffee made?
The harvested crop should still be consolidated. This is very milestone. Do not be naive to believe that coffee producers receive raw materials directly from the plantations or buy them on the coffee exchange. Such cases are so rare that they can be counted on the fingers. The export of coffee from the country of origin occurs in a different way. For example, in a country that grows coffee, there is a farmer whose plantation produces up to ten tons of coffee beans during the year. Where can he put the harvested crop? He simply cannot process coffee on his own, since there is a sharply negative assessment of “home-grown” processing in the coffee business. African coffee that has undergone a "washed" processing, carried out by the efforts of the farmer himself, is referred to as "washed". Coffee beans processed at a specialized processing station acquire the “fully washed” label and a higher price category.
2. Processing coffee beans
Before being exported, the coffee usually goes to a processing station. Today there are two types of such stations:- "wet mill" (wet processing point);
- "dry mill" (dry processing point), although there is still a lot of confusion in terminology.
Abstracting from linguistic subtleties, it is important to understand the following: dry (natural) processing of coffee fruits, not peeled, comes down to their elementary drying in the sun. Wet processing requires the presence of water to sort and process the coffee beans. Let's look at each of these methods in more detail.
In the coffee growing regions, two methods of fruit processing are used: natural (or dry - "dry") and wet (or wet - "washed"). During dry processing, coffee beans are dried either directly on the soil or on special clay and concrete platforms. Dry-processed fruits acquire a rich and strong taste, high intensity and pronounced sweetness. However, at the same time, they may have a specific aftertaste that not everyone likes. Grains dried on the ground often have a very unpleasant defect - a characteristic earthy taste.
Despite the richness and brightness of the taste of dry processed coffee beans, washed coffee beans are valued higher in all corners of the globe. There is a simple explanation for this. The choice of dry processing is sometimes not dictated by the desire for a rich taste. This method is often chosen by farmers who are deprived of the opportunity to transfer their coffee to the wet processing point in time. In this case, the desire for product quality is often not up to par. For real quality product, in no way inferior to washed coffee, can only be done if all technological rules natural processing. Ideal Conditions for dry processing of coffee beans exist in regions where the harvest coincides with a long dry period, eliminating the possibility of precipitation. Such climatic conditions exist in Brazil, Indonesia, Yemen, Ethiopia. The main technological nuance of natural drying is the prolonged contact of coffee beans with the extremely sweet tissues of the skin that envelops them.
Video: Film about coffee
In the process of wet processing, coffee fruits are depulped, completely freed from the skin, after which they are sent to huge tanks filled with water. In them, the fruits are aged until the gluten is completely discharged. When immersed in water, some of the defective grains, which have a very low density and are called "floats", immediately float up. All "floats" must be removed immediately, as they will turn into black coals in the fryer. With the help of special devices, unripe fruits are also sorted. At the end of wet processing, all grains are dried: either in the sun (as in natural processing), or in mechanical dryers.
Compared to naturally dried fruits, the taste of wet-processed beans is more balanced and soft. Wet processing, unlike dry processing, enhances the sourness of the coffee beans rather than their sweetness. Given this feature, wet processing is resorted to in regions that grow coffee varieties that have their own unique acidity. Wet processing of coffee is also forced to resort to countries that do not have the opportunity to subject the grains to long-term natural drying, since the harvest in them coincides with the rainy season. Thus, most of the coffee grown in the world is wet processed, and the ability to choose between beans that have undergone different ways processing, only enriches the taste palette of the drink loved by all.
3. Logistics and transportation of coffee
The notorious farmer, whose harvest amounted to ten tons of coffee fruits, has two options: either take them to a wet processing point, or engage in independent natural processing. With any option for processing the crop, the farmer will be forced to sell it to the exporter due to the impossibility of organizing the entire logistics chain to ensure delivery finished product from his plantation to the port and from it to the recipient of the cargo. Most farmers, who have no idea about the structure of the banking system, are not able to pay off the recipient of the products. The exporter, acting as an intermediary, sells the coffee beans to a stock trader who then sells them to either a reputable self-importing coffee roaster or a significant coffee importing firm. The shipment of coffee from the growing region is carried out by the exporter, and the guarantee of the arrival of valuable cargo at the destination is provided by an international company.Video: As it is. Coffee
Direct negotiations with coffee producers on plantations are conducted in very rare cases. This mainly applies to the vast Brazilian plantations with an excellent worldwide reputation, as well as roasters who own their plantations in the place of cultivation. A great rarity is the direct purchase of microlots - very small (about two dozen bags) batches of coffee of the highest quality. In the vast majority of cases, the purchase and transportation of coffee is carried out according to the scheme described above.
The processed grains are dried before export and poured into bags. To acquire the desired taste, manufacturers (most often Brazilian) subject coffee to aging in special silos.
From the places of growth, coffee is exported in bags of jute, the weight of which in Central American countries is 69 kg, in Colombia - 70 kg, in Brazil and the countries of Asian and African regions - 60 kg. Expensive coffees come in bags of arbitrary weight: the Galapagos standard is twenty-five kilos, the Yemeni is twenty kilos, New Caledonian coffee comes in ten-kilo bags, and Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans are exported in barrels holding fifteen kilos. Polypropylene can be used as the bag material. For the transport of coffee, the exporter rents twenty-foot containers (with a capacity of at least twenty tons) from a shipping company and fills them with bags of green beans.
4. Coffee roasting
Coffee that arrived in the country of consumption and got to the roaster is roasted on special machines - roasters. They are:
- gas and electric;
- automatic and manual;
- convector and drum.
There is only one rule for roasting coffee: the darker it is, the less acidity becomes, but the bitterness, strength and richness of taste only increase. The profession of roasting coffee is of extraordinary interest for a true connoisseur of this drink. The main difficulty of roasting is that during this process, the behavior of not only different varieties coffee, but also various roasting machines.
In addition to constantly looking for a roasting method that is suitable for a particular type of coffee, the roaster must take into account the individual behavior of the roaster used. You can't learn the art of coffee roasting from a book alone. It is acquired only empirically, necessarily taking into account the density of grains (depending on the height of cultivation) and their taste parameters. Roasting should be done only in the region of consumption, as close as possible to coffee consumers. In such a huge country as Russia, the roasting of beans intended for Muscovites should be done in Moscow, and for coffee lovers from Khabarovsk, in Khabarovsk itself. The reason is that coffee beans retain their intense taste and amazing aroma only for the first two weeks after roasting. Over the next eight weeks, coffee gradually loses these characteristics, and its quality is rated "four". After two months after roasting, the score taste properties the drink is reduced to "C grade". Coffee that has been roasted for four months can simply be thrown away: its smell becomes rancid, which cannot but affect the taste.
One of the main components of the quality of coffee beans is the freshness of the roast, but it is in relation to this parameter that an incredible number of omissions occur. In spite of a large number of Russian companies engaged in coffee roasting at the highest professional level, the freshness of roasted coffee lying on the shelves of supermarkets is not always up to par.
To store coffee, it is best to use a bag with a valve (either foil or paper). It is advisable to drink it within two months after purchase. A person who has not undergone any special training can prepare coffee, which cannot be said about preparing it with the help of professional coffee machines. This should be done only by baristas - people who have completed a course of special training. The profession of a barista is akin to an art: in the hands of a true professional, even mediocre coffee can turn into a delicious cup of espresso, and an inexperienced specialist can ruin the best beans.
The secret of a good cup of coffee, therefore, consists of three components: the quality of the beans themselves, the professional level of the roaster and the art of the barista. The participation of a barista significantly complicates the consumer's task of assessing the taste parameters of their favorite drink. Another nuance of high-quality coffee is the date of roasting: the more time passes from its moment, the worse its taste.
Every year, coffee brewing technologies change and improve. But the traditions of harvesting remain more conservative. However, they differ significantly in different countries. Let's try to figure out how coffee beans are harvested.
Why is coffee harvested by hand?
Harvesting coffee is a very time-consuming process that requires careful and patient approach. Even one spoiled berry can destroy the entire crop. In Central America, Ethiopia, Kenya and India, hand-picked coffee is practiced. It is expedient, because the grains on the same tree ripen at different times. When some berries are ready for picking, others remain immature. It is believed that thanks to this particular method, you can get the highest quality raw materials and, accordingly, an impeccable drink.
Sometimes they resort to continuous manual collection when they are running out of time before the start of the rainy season. For example, in some countries special combs are used. Previously, burlap is spread under the trees, where the berries are “combed”. Then the fruits are additionally sorted out, sorting out the unripe ones. The mechanized method of collecting coffee has become widespread in Brazil.
How coffee is harvested in Brazil
Coffee on plantations in Brazil ripens almost simultaneously, so high-performance berry picking is possible. But you still have to sort the fruits, as well as remove knots and leaves accidentally mixed with grains. A special pneumatic tool has found wide application, which shakes the branches, as a result of which the ripe berries themselves fall off the branches.
At the next stage, the processing and drying of the fruits is carried out, which takes place directly on the plantation in one of two ways:
- dry technology.
Coffee berries are exposed natural drying within 20 days. Several times a day they are turned over with a wooden rake, covered overnight to protect from moisture. This method is appropriate in dry areas or during periods of drought. Less commonly used mechanized drying. After dry grains undergo mechanical exfoliation to get rid of the dried pulp of the berries, peel and parchment shell of the seeds.
- wet technology.
This technology allows you to get the highest quality raw materials. In addition, the rainy season is not a hindrance for her. First, coffee berries are placed in water and pulp is removed due to mechanical friction. Coffee beans are in the water for another 2-3 days, undergoing a fermentation process, resulting in an improvement in the taste and aroma of the final product.
Then the remnants of the pulp are removed under a strong stream of water, and the grains are left to dry for two weeks. They are dried in the sun for only a few hours a day, constantly stirring. The rest of the time, the grains are specially covered, protecting them from the sun and night moisture. Dry coffee beans move easily in the seed coat, which immediately crumbles if the bean is rubbed in the palm of your hand. It is thanks to friction that the seed coat is removed.
Grains that have passed pre-processing, are green. Then they are sorted by size: the larger it is, the more expensive the coffee. The coffee harvest ends with packaging. Bags with grains are stored on wooden decks in rooms with a special temperature regime and good ventilation. Further, at the enterprises, coffee is sorted, polished and various blends are made.
Only after roasting the beans are finally ready to prepare fragrant fresh coffee. Now it's not a secret for you how coffee beans are harvested. This time-consuming and difficult process allows millions of people around the world to enjoy the taste of their favorite drink every day.
P.S. We remind you that in our online store there are more than 25 types of original Nespresso coffee capsules. Come in and choose a variety of flavors of your favorite drink.
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- this is a raw grain from berries growing on coffee tree. Visually, green beans differ from roasted grains, 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, 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 cezve, in a French press, in 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 diminish useful properties coffee, the main thing that plays a role is how long ago it was collected and in 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.
You may also be interested in articles.