For those new to coffee, understanding its essence, botanical characteristics, cultivation conditions, and harvesting process is the first step in building systematic knowledge. This article will focus on the basic concepts of coffee, covering the morphology of the coffee tree, variety classification, suitable growing environments, and the harvest periods and green bean processing methods of major producing regions worldwide, sorting through the key points one by one. The article also includes information on related products recommended by Front Street Coffee, as well as the specific practices of Macado specialty beans in quality control. Whether you are a coffee enthusiast or a barista just starting out, this content will help you more clearly understand the full story behind a cup of coffee.

1. What Is Coffee

Coffee (scientific name: Coffea arabica) belongs to the Rubiaceae family in plant taxonomy and is an evergreen shrub or small tree, also known as the coffee tree or Arabian coffee. It is also the national flower of Yemen. Before the sixth century AD, the Yemen region was long referred to by outsiders as Arabia, so coffee trees transported from there to other places were given the name Arabian coffee. As for the name "coffee," it comes from the Arabic word "Qahwah," which originally meant a plant-based beverage. Coffee gradually spread around the world thereafter, and people used its place of origin, "Kaffa," to refer to it, until it was officially named "coffee" in the eighteenth century.

The side branches of the coffee tree extend horizontally, and the leaves are opposite, occasionally appearing in whorls of three. The leaves are simple and opposite, and the flowers usually grow in clusters of 2 to 10 in the leaf axils. The fruit is a drupe and oval in shape. A coffee fruit consists of the outer skin, pulp, parchment, silver skin, and the seed wrapped at the center by these layers—that is, the coffee bean. The seed is located in the center of the fruit, and the parts other than the seed are basically of no use. Coffee is a horticultural perennial cash crop with characteristics such as rapid growth, high yield, outstanding economic value, and broad market prospects. Coffee varieties can be divided into small-seeded, medium-seeded, and large-seeded types. Among them, small-seeded coffee has lower caffeine content but a rich aroma, while medium-seeded and large-seeded types have higher caffeine content and relatively inferior aroma. Coffee currently sold on the market is usually a blend of small-seeded and medium-seeded varieties in different proportions. A common practice is 70% medium-seeded to provide caffeine and 30% small-seeded to contribute aroma. Each coffee variety usually also includes several to more than a dozen variants. The coffee tree is relatively shade-tolerant and cold-tolerant, but it fears strong light and drought and is also susceptible to disease. Coffee contains nine nutrients, including caffeine, protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and sucrose. As a beverage, it is mellow and pleasant, with a sweet aftertaste following slight bitterness, and it can also refresh the mind and relieve fatigue. In medicine, caffeine can be used to make anesthetics, stimulants, diuretics, and cardiotonics, and it also helps digestion and promotes metabolism. Coffee pulp is rich in sugar and can be used to make sugar and brew alcohol. Coffee flowers contain essential oils and can be used to extract high-grade fragrances.

2. The Coffee Tree

Wild coffee trees can grow to 5 to 10 meters tall. When cultivated, the canopy is usually pruned to below 2 meters to make manual picking easier. The coffee tree grows leaves, flowers, and bears fruit at the same time. The leaves are oval.

The coffee tree usually flowers for the first time at around three years of age. The flowers are white, five-petaled, tubular, and give off a faint jasmine fragrance, with dense inflorescences arranged in strings. The petals wither within two to three days, and the fruit matures about six to eight months after flowering. The fruit is a drupe, about 1.5 centimeters in diameter. It is initially green, then gradually turns yellow, and becomes red when ripe, looking very similar to a cherry, which is why it is called a coffee cherry. At this point it can be harvested.

A "cherry" usually contains two seeds, called "flat beans"; a small number contain only one seed, called "peaberries." These coffee seeds are the "green beans." The coffee fruit contains two seeds, namely coffee beans, and these two beans stand upright facing each other along their flat sides. Each coffee bean has a thin outer membrane called the silver skin, and its outer layer is also covered by a yellow skin called the parchment. The entire coffee bean is wrapped in a sticky, pulpy substance, forming soft and sweet coffee pulp, with the outer skin on the very outside.

The seed is wrapped in a hard layer of parchment. The better the quality of the coffee, the thicker this hard parchment tends to be, and it also helps preserve the green coffee beans well. Coffee beans of this kind can be found in the high-altitude regions of Brazil and near the Tropic of Capricorn, and these are also Macado's specially selected specialty beans.

3. Cultivation and Regional Distribution of the Coffee Tree

Climate is the key factor determining the success or failure of coffee cultivation. The coffee tree is only suitable for growing in tropical or subtropical regions, so the zone between 25 degrees north and south latitude is commonly called the Coffee Belt or Coffee Region. However, not all land within this area can cultivate high-quality coffee trees.

At present, more than 70 countries around the world grow coffee, all located in the "coffee growing belt" centered on the equator and between 25 degrees north and south latitude. This belt basically has the five ideal natural conditions required for coffee tree growth:

1) A climate that is warm like spring all year round (18°C to 25°C), along with moderate rainfall (1,500 to 2,250 millimeters), and it must match the coffee tree's flowering cycle.

2) A geographical environment with ample sunlight, good ventilation, and good drainage. However, excessively strong sunlight inhibits coffee tree growth, so producing regions usually plant some shade trees alongside.

3) The coffee tree grows most luxuriantly in soil rich in nitrogen, potassium carbonate, and phosphoric acid.

4) The most ideal altitude is 500 to 2,000 meters.

5) Absolutely no frost.

From this it can be seen that the conditions for cultivating high-quality coffee are quite strict: sunlight, rainfall, soil, altitude, temperature, as well as the harvesting method and production process of the coffee beans, all affect the quality of the coffee itself. On the premise of ensuring a temperature of around 20°C, the higher the altitude, or the closer to the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the stronger the coffee's unique flavor.

4. Growth and Harvest of the Coffee Tree

To grow into a high-yielding and high-quality coffee tree, careful care and selection are required from the seedling stage. Generally, germination begins about 40 days after sowing, and only after being transplanted into a greenhouse can the seedlings grow into saplings. When the saplings reach 40 to 50 centimeters tall, relatively healthy and sturdy saplings are selected and transplanted to the farm. This method is fairly traditional, but only in this way can coffee quality be guaranteed from the source. This is also the first quality safeguard of Macado coffee.

After 3 to 5 years, the saplings grow into coffee trees. After that, every 8 to 9 years, the main trunk of the tree is cut off once to allow it to regrow and control the tree height. After repeating this 2 or 3 times, the coffee tree's harvest period can last as long as 30 years.

Coffee is a tropical plant, but it cannot be exposed to sunlight all day long. In some regions, leguminous trees and banana trees are planted among the coffee trees to block sunlight. These are called shade trees, as in Colombia, Ethiopia, and other places.

In Costa Rica, Brazil, and other places, because the sunshine duration is just right, these shade trees are not needed.

When the coffee fruit ripens, it must be harvested immediately. But when fruits at different stages of ripeness appear on the same tree, harvesting is not an easy task and is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. Generally speaking, from the initial harvest to the complete end of harvesting, the period lasts as long as 4 to 5 months. However, if ripe and unripe fruits are picked at the same time, the quality of the coffee will be reduced.

5. Coffee Harvest Periods in Major Producing Regions:

Region Harvest Period

Brazil From May to late June

Colombia From October to late February of the following year

Central America From October to late February of the following year

Mocha From early October to late January of the following year

African Robusta From early October to late January of the following year

African Arabica From early October to late January of the following year

Indonesia EK-1 From March to late May

To ensure that the coffee cherries do not spoil, they must be sent to the coffee receiving station on the same day they are picked. Low-quality coffee cherries should be discarded during picking and delivery to the receiving station.

Macado's Brazilian farms all have their own coffee receiving stations to complete the process of coffee water selection. The receiving station uses a water tank for initial cleaning and screening, an action also called pre-cleaning and floating. The coffee cherries are first poured into the water tank for simple cleaning to remove some debris. Then floating beans and floating debris are separated out. Ripe coffee beans sink to the bottom of the tank because of their higher density, while less mature and rotten fruits float on the surface because of their lower density, making them easy to scoop out.

Arabica coffee trees can mainly be divided into two major varieties: Coffea Arabica and Coffea Robusta/Coffea Canephora. In addition, there are some secondary varieties, such as Coffea Liberica and Coffea Arabusta, but these are not commonly seen on the market.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.