Coffee is the second largest commodity in the world, only oil has a bigger turnover. It is enjoyed the world over and is the planet's most popular drink bar water itself. Coffee houses dominate the high street and coffee is a part of everyday life. Before it reaches our cup however the it has to be grown, cultivated and harvested.
Coffee will only grow properly in the tropics. That is between the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere. Crops grown outside these regions will not flourish and none is sold on the open market.
Though there are many different species of coffee plant, only the Arabica and Robusta varieties are cultivated for beverage use. The plant is a perennial evergreen that belongs to the Rubiaceae family. As the plants can grow up to 9 meters tall if not kept in check, they are often referred to as coffee trees. It is interesting to note that many people think coffee beans are picked from plants, when in fact coffee 'cherries' are harvested from coffee trees! In fact the green beans are found inside the cherries. The bean is naturally green and only goes a golden brown colour on roasting.
Coffee trees are initially raised in nurseries until they are about 12 months old. after which they are transplanted into the main plantation. The young plants will need to be carefully looked after for 5 years before they will begin to produce their first 'fruit' or coffee cherries. The fruit are called cherries because of their deep cherry colour when ripe. A successful coffee tree will produce a crop for as long as 25 years before it will need to be replaced.
The fruit blossom is a delicate white star shaped flower with a pleasant fragrance similar to jasmine. It takes roughly 9 months from flower to the ripe cherry ready for harvesting. There is a problem however. A typical coffee tree will exhibit all stages of development of the fruit at the same time on the same tree or even on the same branch. It is common to find new flowers, fully ripe fruit and young unripe fruit on the same branch. This makes automatic harvesting by stripping the plant almost impossible and hence most coffee picking is still done by hand even today!
About 75-80% of the coffee produced is of the Arabica variety, with the remaining 20-25% being Robusta. Arabica is more expensive in general, produces the best tasting beverage and is the choice for connoisseurs. Robusta is cheaper, has an inferior taste and contains more caffeine. Robusta is often used as a bulk filler to a coffee blend.
Coffee plants like warm weather but do not like extended periods of sunshine. Consequently the best coffees are often found near mountainsides where the taller forest trees offer a partial shade. Coffee plantations are often purposely built in such regions so as to obtain the best quality crop.
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