Steps From Seed To Cup

Steps
from
Seed to
Cup
Planting
A coffee bean is actually a seed. When

dried, roasted and ground, it’s used to
brew coffee. If the seed isn’t processed, it
can be planted and grow into a coffee
tree.
Coffee seeds are generally planted in
large beds in shaded nurseries. The
seedlings will be watered frequently and
shaded from bright sunlight until they are
hearty enough to be permanently
planted. Planting often takes place during
the wet season, so that the soil remains
moist while the roots become firmly
established.
Harvesting the Cherries
Depending on the variety, it will take approximately 3 to 4 years

for the newly planted coffee trees to bear fruit. The fruit, called
the coffee cherry, turns a bright, deep red when it is ripe and
ready to be harvested.
There is typically one major harvest a year. In countries like
Colombia, where there are two flowerings annually, there is a
main and secondary crop.
In most countries, the crop is picked by hand in a labor-intensive
and difficult process, though in places like Brazil where the
landscape is relatively flat and the coffee fields immense,
the process has been mechanized. Whether by hand or by
machine, all coffee is harvested in one of two ways:
Strip Picked: All of the cherries are stripped off of the branch at
one time, either by machine or by hand.
Selectively Picked: Only the ripe cherries are harvested, and they
are picked individually by hand. Pickers rotate among the trees
every eight to 10 days, choosing only the cherries which are at
the peak of ripeness. Because this kind of harvest is labor
intensive and more costly, it is used primarily to harvest the finer
Arabica beans.
A good picker averages approximately 100 to 200 pounds of
coffee cherries a day, which will produce 20 to 40 pounds of
coffee beans. Each worker's daily haul is carefully weighed, and
each picker is paid on the merit of his or her work. The day's
harvest is then transported to the processing plant.
Processing the Cherries
Once the coffee has been picked, processing must begin as quickly as
possible to prevent fruit spoilage. Depending on location and local
resources, coffee is processed in one of two ways:
The Dry Method is the age-old method of processing coffee, and still used in
many countries where water resources are limited. The freshly picked
cherries are simply spread out on huge surfaces to dry in the sun. In order to
prevent the cherries from spoiling, they are raked and turned throughout
the day, then covered at night or during rain to prevent them from getting
wet. Depending on the weather, this process might continue for several
weeks for each batch of coffee until the moisture content of the cherries
drops to 11%.
The Wet Method removes the pulp from the coffee cherry after harvesting
so the bean is dried with only the parchment skin left on. First, the freshly
harvested cherries are passed through a pulping machine to separate the
skin and pulp from the bean.
Then the beans are separated by weight as they pass through water
channels. The lighter beans float to the top, while the heavier ripe beans
sink to the bottom. They are passed through a series of rotating drums
which separate them by size.
After separation, the beans are transported to large, water-filled
fermentation tanks. Depending on a combination of factors -- such as the
condition of the beans, the climate and the altitude -- they will remain in
these tanks for anywhere from 12 to 48 hours to remove the slick layer of
mucilage (called the parenchyma) that is still attached to the parchment.
While resting in the tanks, naturally occurring enzymes will cause this layer
to dissolve.
When fermentation is complete, the beans feel rough to the touch. The
beans are rinsed by going through additional water channels, and are ready
for drying.
Drying the Beans
If the beans have been

processed by the wet method,
the pulped and fermented
beans must now be dried to
approximately 11% moisture
to properly prepare them for
storage.
These beans, still inside the
parchment envelope
(the endocarp), can be sun-
dried by spreading them on
drying tables or floors, where
they are turned regularly, or
they can be machine-dried in
large tumblers. The dried
beans are known as parchment
coffee, and are warehoused in
jute or sisal bags until they are
readied for export.
Milling the Beans
Before being exported, parchment coffee is processed in the

following manner:
Hulling machinery removes the parchment layer (endocarp) from
wet processed coffee. Hulling dry processed coffee refers to
removing the entire dried husk — the exocarp,
mesocarp and endocarp — of the dried cherries.
Polishing is an optional process where any silver skin that remains
on the beans after hulling is removed by machine. While polished
beans are considered superior to unpolished ones, in reality, there is
little difference between the two.
Grading and Sorting is done by size and weight, and beans are also
reviewed for color flaws or other imperfections.
Beans are sized by being passed through a series of screens. They are
also sorted pneumatically by using an air jet to separate heavy from
light beans.
Typically, the bean size is represented on a scale of 10 to 20. The
number represents the size of a round hole's diameter in terms of
1/64's of an inch. A number 10 bean would be the approximate size of
a hole in a diameter of 10/64 of an inch, and a number 15 bean, 15/64
of an inch.
Finally, defective beans are removed either by hand or by machinery.
Beans that are unsatisfactory due to deficiencies (unacceptable size
or color, over-fermented beans, insect-damaged, unhulled) are
removed. In many countries, this process is done both by machine
and by hand, ensuring that only the finest quality coffee beans are
exported.
Exporting the Beans
The milled beans, now

referred to as green coffee,
are loaded onto ships in
either jute or sisal bags
loaded in shipping
containers, or bulk-shipped
inside plastic-lined
containers.
World coffee production for
2015/16 is forecast to be
152.7 million 60-kg bags, per
data from the
Tasting the Coffee
Coffee is repeatedly tested for quality and taste. This process is

referred to as cupping and usually takes place in a room specifically
designed to facilitate the process.
First, the taster — usually called the cupper — evaluates the beans for
their overall visual quality. The beans are then roasted in a small
laboratory roaster, immediately ground and infused in boiling water
with carefully-controlled temperature. The cupper noses the brew to
experience its aroma, an essential step in judging the coffee's
quality.
After letting the coffee rest for several minutes, the cupper breaks
the crust by pushing aside the grounds at the top of the cup. Again,
the coffee is nosed before the tasting begins.
To taste the coffee, the cupper slurps a spoonful with a quick
inhalation. The objective is to spray the coffee evenly over the
cupper's taste buds, and then weigh it on the tongue before spitting
it out.
Samples from a variety of batches and different beans are tasted
daily. Coffees are not only analyzed to determine their
characteristics and flaws, but also for the purpose of blending
different beans or creating the proper roast. An expert cupper can
taste hundreds of samples of coffee a day and still taste the subtle
differences between them.
Roasting the Coffee
Roasting transforms green coffee

into the aromatic brown beans that
we purchase in our favorite stores or
cafés. Most roasting machines
maintain a temperature of about 550
degrees Fahrenheit. The beans are
kept moving throughout the entire
process to keep them from burning.
When they reach an internal
temperature of about 400 degrees
Fahrenheit, they begin to turn brown
and the caffeol, a fragrant oil locked
inside the beans, begins to emerge.
This process called pyrolysis is at the
heart of roasting — it produces the
flavor and aroma of the coffee we
drink.
After roasting, the beans are
immediately cooled either by air or
water. Roasting is generally
performed in the importing countries
because freshly roasted beans must
reach the consumer as quickly as
possible.
Grinding Coffee
The objective of a proper grind is to

get the most flavor in a cup of coffee.
How coarse or fine the coffee is
ground depends on the brewing
method.
The length of time the grounds will
be in contact with water determines
the ideal grade of grind Generally,
the finer the grind, the more quickly
the coffee should be prepared. That’s
why coffee ground for an espresso
machine is much finer than coffee
brewed in a drip system.
Brewing Coffee

Steps From Seed To Cup

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Steps From Seed To Cup

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Steps

A coffee bean is actually a seed. When

Depending on the variety, it will take approximately 3 to 4 years

If the beans have been

Before being exported, parchment coffee is processed in the

The milled beans, now

Coffee is repeatedly tested for quality and taste. This process is

Roasting transforms green coffee

The objective of a proper grind is to

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