All About The Coffee Plant
Coffee has earned its place as the second most popular commodity on the planet, second only to oil. However coffee comes from humble beginnings before we can savor the taste of our favorite brew.
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. Coffee 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 coffee plant is a perennial evergreen that belongs to the Rubiaceae family. Coffee plants may grow up to 30 feet tall if not pruned, so many refer to them as trees not plants. It is interesting to note that many people think coffee beans are picked from coffee plants, when in fact coffee 'cherries' are harvested from coffee trees! In fact the green coffee beans are found inside the cherries. A freshly picked coffee bean is light green in color and only goes it's famous dark brown when roasted.
Young coffee plants are grown in nurseries for the first year or so. after which they are transplanted into the main coffee 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. From blossom to picking may take up to 9 months. 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 usual to find both ripe cherries and flowers 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 coffee and is the choice for coffee connoisseurs. Robusta coffee is considered to be of lower quality that Arabica, though it does contain more caffeine. Robusta is often used as a bulk filler to a coffee blend.
Although coffee trees like the tropical weather they do not enjoy long hours of unbroken 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.
About the Author
Find out more about ethically and sustainably produced coffees at our web site http://www.cafebar.co.uk
Tell others about
this page:
Comments? Questions? Email Here