Title: Coffee (Coffea Arabica or C. Robusta)
Categories: Beverages
Yield: 1 Info file

ALSO KNOWN AS------------------------------- Slang; Java, Joe

The coffee bean is the world's most valuable agricultural commodity. In the late 1980s coffee imports into the United States alone cost over $4 billion annually. Of the many varieties of the genus Coffea (family Rubiaceae) known to exist, only two species have significant commercial importance: C. arabica and C. robusta, which together constitute 99 percent of the total world output.

CULTIVATION: The coffee plant is an evergreen shrub or small tree, cultivated in hot, moist climates. The most flavorful beans are produced at elevations between 900 and 1,800 m (3,000 and 6,000 ft) above sea level, especially on volcanic soil.

A coffee tree, propagated from seed, bears its first fruit in 5 to 8 years and annually yields more than 2 kg (about 5 lb) of fruit; the red, seed-bearing coffee "cherries"; from which about 0.5 kg (1 lb) of green coffee seeds, or beans, is obtained. The cherries must be harvested by hand, for only those which are fully ripened are picked.

Robusta cherries remain on the tree after they ripen. Ripe arabica cherries fall to the ground and spoil. Arabica trees must therefore be carefully watched and picked over several times; which increases the cost of producing the richer-flavored arabica beans.

After harvesting, the cherries may be dried and the pulp around the beans removed. Or, in wet climates or for particular types of coffee, the harvested cherries may be washed and then pulped to separate the beans. The dry and wet methods of preparation produce distinctive flavors in the beans and, along with the differences between varieties, account for the subtle flavor distinctions between beans from the various growing areas. The beans are gray green. When they have been thoroughly dried, they are sorted, bagged, graded according to type and quality, and shipped to processors, usually in the importing countries.

PROCESSING: The flavor of coffee is determined not only by the variety, but also by the length of time the green beans are roasted. In continuous roasting, hot air (200 deg-260 deg C/400 deg-500 deg F) is forced through small quantities of beans for a 5-minute period; in batch roasting, much larger quantities of beans are roasted for a longer time. Dark-roasted coffees (French or espresso roasts) are stronger and mellower than lightly-roasted beans. After roasting, the beans are usually ground and vacuum-packed in cans. Since the flavor of coffee deteriorates rapidly after it is ground, or after a sealed can is opened, many coffee drinkers buy whole roasted beans and grind them at home.

Instant coffee, which today constitutes about one-fifth of all coffee sold, is prepared by forcing an atomized spray of very strong coffee extract through a jet of hot air; this evaporates the water in the extract and leaves dried coffee particles, which are packaged as instant, or soluble, coffee. Another method of producing instant coffee is freeze-drying. To make decaffeinated coffee, the green bean is processed in a bath of methylene chloride, which removes the caffeine, and steam, to remove the methylene chloride; or, in a newer and less environmentally stressful method, the caffeine is removed using steam only.

CONSUMPTION: Coffee is native to Ethiopia and has been cultivated and brewed in Arab countries for centuries. The drink was introduced into Europe in the mid-17th century. Plantations established in Indonesia, the West Indies, and Brazil soon made coffee cultivation an important element in colonial economies. Today, Latin America and Africa produce most of the world's coffee. The United States is the largest importer.

ECONOMICS: Since the coffee crop is particularly vulnerable to price fluctuations; which are most often caused by coffee surpluses; the coffee-producing countries formed the International Coffee Organization in 1962 in an attempt to regulate production and thus stabilize prices. The organization has been moderately successful in encouraging crop diversification in some countries whose economies were based solely on coffee exports, but has had little effect in restraining surpluses.

[Grolier Encyclopedia] Bibliography: Anderson, Kenneth, The Pocket Guide to Coffees and Teas (1982); Clarke, R. J., and Macrae, R., eds., Coffee: Technology (1987) and Coffee: Agronomy (1988); De Graaff, J., The Economics of Coffee (1986)

From: Dorothy Flatman Date: 08-27-98 (15:00) The Once And Future Legend (1) Cooking

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