Discovery of Coffee World

Discovery of Coffee World

Why coffee is an Italian matter? Coffee cultivation and trade began on the Arabian Peninsula. By the 15th century, coffee was being grown in the Yemeni district of Arabia and by the 16th century it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey.The history of coffee has been documented as early as the tenth century AD, where its use was largely restricted to the native beans of Ethiopia. Here highlanders first farmed the coffee plant, however it was the Arabs who saw the trading potential and sold the beans to northern Africa where mass-cultivation occurred. Early 14th Century explorers upon seeing the coffee drinking in the near east labelled it as a drug, reporting the many medicinal benefits from consumption in the morning. From there, the beans entered the European and Indian markets in the 17th Century, where the popularity of the coffee became widespread, as the the wine of Arabia Coffee was first introduced to Europe from Egypt through the Italian city of Venice, where a flourishing trade between the local businessmen and Arabs enabled a large variety of commodities and goods to be imported. Merchants sold this coffee to the wealthy in Venice, charging them greatly for the privilege of drinking this exciting new beverage.

Due of its eastern roots, coffee in Italy was at the outset considered a sinful and deemed as an Islamic threat to Christianity. However its popularity grew regardless, and Pope Clement VIII upon wisely sampling the heathen drink was instantly enamored by the unique taste and aroma. Consequently, it was decided that far from religious conspiracy, it would be a great sin to banish such a delightful drink and thus it was deemed Christian beverage - giving rise to the first Italian coffee house.

Named for the beverage that it served, the first caffee, or caf, in Venice opened around 1683 and soon became synonymous with comfortable atmosphere, conversation, and good food, this adding romance and sophistication to the coffee experience.

Historically most Italian coffee is brewed strong, and fast in the form of espresso, which is perhaps why this country developed various milk based coffees such as the cappuccino and latte. The incentive to develop this type of coffee was not due to its superior taste, but a shrewd 18th Century Italian businessman who sought to reduce the time his workers spent on their morning coffee break. Thus a lever driven machine was developed to force water through tightly packed ground coffee, incidentally creating a stronger more aromatic brew. Although the strong association between Italy and coffee can be deemed somewhat of a misnomer as only humble amounts are grown in this country, early Italian culture welcomed the drink as if it were their own and did much to advance its status of the beverage worldwide.

The influence Italians have made on coffee throughout world has continued from the 17th Century through the tradition of high quality espresso coffee; this inspiring the proliferation of retail coffee giants and specialty coffee roasters encountered today. Here we see the constant recreation of the stylish, attractive, and relaxing environment of the Italian cafes and classic Italian renditions of coffee served. Nowadays we can enjoy the same atmosphere and superior taste even at home, where domestic coffee machines, serve genuine Italian espresso just as if it served in a caf.

Bezzeras espresso machine at the 1906 Milan Fair

Espresso MachineThe espresso, not eXpresso, machine was first invented in 1822 by a French man named Louis Bernard Rabaut.His espresso machine used steam to force hot water through ground coffee, creating the first espresso coffee machine.The first Italian coffee machine dates back to 1901 when an engineer, Luigi Bezzera registered his patent in Milan.This machine had a column shaped body made from copper and brass and had a very imposing presence.Bezzeras design became the standard for decades and is still being made by companies today for business looking for a more traditional style machine.

Botany and plantations: Arabica, Robusta, different varietals and process. Coffee grown worldwide can trace its heritage back centuries to the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau. There, legend says the goat herder Kaldi first discovered the potential of these beloved beans. The story goes that that Kaldi discovered coffee after he noticed that after eating the berries from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic that they did not want to sleep at night. Kaldi reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery, who made a drink with the berries and found that it kept him alert through the long hours of evening prayer. The abbot shared his discovery with the other monks at the monastery, and knowledge of the energizing berries began to spread.As word moved east and coffee reached the Arabian peninsula, it began a journey which would bring these beans across the globe.

A coffee seed, commonly called coffee bean is a seed of the coffee plant, and is the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit. Even though the coffee beans are seeds, they are referred to as "beans" because of their resemblance to true beans. The fruits coffee cherries or coffee berries most commonly contain two stones with their flat sides together. A small percentage of cherries contain a single seed, instead of the usual two. This is called a "peaberry". The peaberry occurs only between 10 and 15% of the time, and it is a fairly common (yet scientifically unproven) belief that they have more flavor than normal coffee beans. Like Brazil nuts (a seed) and white rice, coffee beans consist mostly of endosperm

The two most economically important varieties of coffee plant are the Arabica and the Robusta; 7580% of the coffee produced worldwide is Arabica and 20% is Robusta. Arabica beans consist of 0.81.4% caffeine and Robusta beans consist of 1.74% caffeine.[3] As coffee is one of the world's most widely consumed beverages, coffee beans are a major cash crop and an important export product, counting for over 50% of some developing nations' foreign exchange earnings

There are two main species of coffee beans in the world, Coffee Arabica, and Coffee Robusta. More than three-quarters of the beans that are sold in the world today are Coffea Arabica, the majority of the remainding bulk are Coffea Robusta also known as Coffea Canephora.

Coffee Robusta:These beans are of a lower grade than Arabica, and are typically grown at lower elevations. They are easier to grow and maintain, and they are also more disease resistant and produce a higher yield. Robusta beans have more of an astringent flavor and contain a higher amount of caffeine.Coffee Arabica:These are the higher quality beans and are referred to as gourmet coffee. They have half the amount of caffeine as Robusta and have more pleasing flavors and aromatic properties. Most Arabica bean varieties are name after their country or region in which they are found, or originated from.Other bean species include: benghalensis, Bengal coffee; Coffea congensis, Congo coffee; Coffea liberica, Liberian coffee; Coffea stenophylla, Sierra Leonian coffee; Coffea excelsia, another Liberian coffee; Coffea bonnieri; Coffea gallienii; and Coffea mogeneti, however these beans are non-existent in the export market.

differences Between Robusta & Arabica Coffee

1. Taste:Probably the most obvious difference between Arabica and Robusta coffees are the taste. Arabica and Robusta coffees are grown very differently which results in radically different taste profiles (more on this later). Robusta is typically described as a "earthy" or "rubbery" taste. Arabica on the other hand has a wide range of flavor profiles 2. Growing Conditions:A big difference between Arabica and Robusta Coffees are the conditions in which they are grown. Arabica coffee is grown anywhere upwards of 600+m on mountain tops and tropical environments. Whereas Robusta coffee is grown anywhere from sea level to around 600m. Robustacoffees also produce a harder fruit and thus are not as susceptible to pesky insects. Arabica on the other hand is more fragile and can be damaged by bugs.3. Caffeine Content:What do you think contains more caffeine? Arabica or Robusta? Surprisingly most people would say Arabica but, Robusta coffee actually has a higher caffeine content. Robusta is used quite frequently in instant coffee and as a blend additive to help give a specific coffee mix an extra "jolt." In fact, Robusta has about 2.7% caffeine content while Arabicaholds 1.5%4. Physical Bean Traits:Robusta beans are typically more circular in shape and darker in color. Whereas Arabica beans are typically lighter brown and more oval shaped than circular.5. Sugar Content:Arabica coffee contains nearly twice as much sugar as Robusta. Which would explain the bitter taste in Robusta and why we tend to like Arabica coffee better typically.6. Cultivation:Roughly 75% of the world's coffee production is Arabic and 25% Robusta. Brazil is the largest producer of Arabica in the world and Vietnam is the largest producer of Robusta.

The Lifecycle of the Coffee Bean

Before the Coffee bean is ground down, peculated and poured into our coffee cup it goes through a series of processes spanning over a period of months.HarvestingThe Coffee tree starts its life as a seed and after 4 to 8 weeks it develops into a seedling. At this stage the seedling needs be handled with care making sure the soil remains moist and does not attract too much sunlight. After about 9 to 18 months the coffee tree will grow to about 12 inches tall. It is a further 3 years before the tree bears fruit, (known as cherries), and a further 6 years before it is fully mature and producing fruit fully. At this stage the trees are ready for harvesting. This is done manually by the locals and usually all hands are on deck.

PickingA good coffee picker can pick the equivalent of 50 to 60 pounds of coffee beans in a day. The average life in a day. span for a coffee tree is about 20 to 25 years, yielding around 2000 beans per year.

SortingOnce the cherries have been picked they are ready for sorting. This can be done in different ways depending on the outcome of the required coffee taste. The first way is for Aged coffee only, and involves keeping the green bean in a well-ventilated warehouse for 1-7 years. This gives the beans a less acidic taste and a syrupy richness.

ProcessingDry Processing involves drying the cherries in the sun, then removing the pulp, parchment and dried skin. This can take up to two weeks and the beans must be continuously raked to prevent mildew.Wet Processing this method involves putting the cherries in water; any ones that float are removed as defective. The cherries are then pressed by a machine which only allows the seed and some pulp to pass through the holes. The remaining pulp is removed leaving the beans which are then left to dry leaving about 10 - 12 percent moisture content.

HullingMachines are used to remove the parchment layer from the wet processed coffee beans. The dry process involves removing the entire dried husk of the dried cherriesPolishingA polishing machine is used to remove any silver skin that is left on after the hulling process

Cleaning, Sorting and GradingBefore the beans are exported they are sorted again by sizes and weight, and then they are checked again for color flaws or other imperfections. Any beans with the slightest imperfection will be removed.Exporting the CoffeeThe beans are now referred to as Green beans and are ready for exporting. Their is approximately seven million tons of green coffee produced worldwide each year.

Roasting the CoffeeThis is normally done in the importing country because freshly roasted beans must reach the consumer as quickly as possible. The process of roasting the coffee beans involves roasting them at 550 degrees Fahrenheit. The beans are kept moving throughout the entire process to stop them from burning. When they reach a temperature of about 400 degrees they begin to turn brown and the caffeoyl or oil that is locked inside the bean starts to emerge. This process is what produces the flavor and aroma of the coffee. Once the beans are removed from the roaster they are immediately cooled with by air or water.

Tasting the CoffeeAt every stage of coffee production the coffee is repeatedly tested for quality and taste. This process is referred to as cupping and takes place in a room specifically designed for this process. An experienced cupper is can taste hundreds of samples of coffee a day and still taste the subtle differences between them.

Coffee tasting: from the sweet taste of Mexican Arabicas to the body of the Indonesian and the spicy taste of the Ethiopian Sidamo.

Learn the Art to Taste Testing Coffee

It starts with having the supplies you need. You should use filtered water, so that there is nothing from the water that will influence the taste of the coffee. In other words, good water means you will truly be tasting the coffee, not the water. Any fresh bottled drinking water will work well. You will need a tray that can hold about a dozen small glasses.You will need a Coffee Machine . You will also need some tools to scoop and measure the coffee and, of course, the coffee blends you are tasting - use whole beans that you will grind yourself.

After assembling what you need, it is time to prepare the coffee. You want to boil the water and grind the beans. You should use a grinder with different settings so you can get different blends for each trial. You are going to be testing each type for different grinding settings.

Brew the coffee, filter it and prepare a small cup of each sample. To do the actual sampling you start by smelling first. Be sure to note the aroma and any special characteristics. When you taste the coffee you should let it run over your tongue and hold it in your mouth for second or two. Then, as with any tasting, you spit it out. During the tasting you should note some aspects of the coffee. You will be building a profile of the coffee which will explain every detail of its character.

Extraction is everything that the water takes from the coffee.

When you mix coffee and water, a lot of things happen. The most relevant and easy to understand of all these things is that water dissolves a lot of coffees flavors. These dissolved flavors make up (almost) everything you taste when you drink a cup of coffee. The rest is undissolved stuff. This is mostly very small coffee grinds that affect mouthfeel, but cant be included in extraction because theyre just floating around in the water.Roasted coffee beans are ~28% (by weight) water-soluble. This means that you can extract ~28% of the coffee beans mass in water. The rest is pretty much cellulose and plant stuff that forms the structure of the seed.

Coffee Grind Chart

Extra Coarse GrindCold Brewing,

Coarse GrindFrench Press PotCuppingMedium-Coarse GrindCafe Solo BrewerChemex Brewer

Medium GrindDrip Pots (like Bunn, Newco, Fetco)

Medium-Fine GrindPourover Cones Vacuum PotsSiphon Brewers

Fine GrindEspressoStovetop Espresso / Moka Pot

Extra Fine GrindTurkish Coffee (Ibrik)

Under-extracted Coffee

Under-extraction occurs when you havent taken enough flavor out of the coffee grinds. Theres still a lot left behind that could balance out the following undesirables.

Over-extracted CoffeeOver-extraction occurs when you take too much of the soluble flavors out of the coffee. This level of extraction results in unfavorable flavours.Cast your mind now to an espresso of a typical specialty espresso roast that brewed for 40-50 seconds.

Things to consider include:

Choosing BlendsYou should try to get a nice variety of blends to test. Get them from different countries, vary the roasts form light to dark and experiment with the grinds. You will see a huge difference the more variety you have. Even with one bean you can see difference with just different grinds. Acidity - This is the tartness of the blend, basically, how dry the coffee tastes. Aging plays a big role in the acid content and is more noticeable in Mexican Sumatra brew.Aroma - This is the smell. It can have a range of smells form fruity to herb to floral.Bitter - Bitterness can be found by swishing it back and forth on the tongue. You should be able to pick up how much or how little bitterness the blend has.

Things to consider include:

Body - Body describes the thickness of the feel on the tongue. A light roast will likely have less body then a dark roast.Nuttiness - As the name suggests, some coffees give off a roasted nut like flavor. Nuttiness is actually a flavor sensation that is not preferred and characteristic of a poor blend.Sharpness - This is the pronounced flavor of the blend. It is caused by the mixing of salt and acids.Sweetness The Intensity of the Coffees Sugary Qualities

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Discovery of Coffee World

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