Coffee bean production is a worldwide industry, second equal moneywise to petroleum. It is 2000 years old. There are two main types of beans, arabica, first produced on the Arabian Peninsula, and robusta with double the caffeine.
The coffee cherry is not a valued fruit; only its bean is needed. This bean is aged, then roasted, ground and finally brewed to satisfy over 400 million coffee drinkers worldwide.
There are two colors, red and green. The red has more aroma, lower acidic levels and produces better coffees. This element is critical.
The majority of beans are picked by hand, but only as fast as just three-ish baskets a day. They are skilled at separating green and red beans, and their skill influences our final product.
Once picked, the fruit is separated from the cherry. The fruit is soaked, scrubbed and then rubbed mechanically. Then they are washed to remove excess residue. The beans are dried on big concrete or rock type slabs until they contain only 12% of their original water content – fermentation.
They are sorted mainly by machine. Some are rejected. Others are quickly rubbed to remove the skin. The better beans are then aged for 3 to 8 years. The rest will be roasted within the year.
To give the varied flavors, the beans double in size as they are roasted (400