Coffee: The Journey From The Seed To Your Cup
Coffee is so common in our lives that it’s easy to take it for granted. In reality, every raw coffee bean travels a great distance, meets many people, and goes through several procedures before ending up in your cup. The raw coffee bean’s journey is complicated, diversified, and intensely personal. You like your daily coffee, recognize the distinctions between roasts and origins, and have developed a refined palate – but have you ever thought about what goes into making each cup?
Unroasted coffee bean suppliers like us now have access to higher-grade coffees. As a result, we are beginning to identify the type of coffee we like, prompting us to inquire, “Where does this coffee originate from?” What kind of raw coffee beans is it? Are these Arabica beans or Robusta beans? As Malaysia’s most prominent coffee bean supplier, we want to promote awareness about the origins and fascinating journey.
Growing Coffee: From Seed To Plant
As with wine, coffee production starts with growing a coffee plant. These coffee plants, particularly those that yield the most outstanding coffee, can only flourish in specific conditions, usually around the equator. The coffee belt spans 25° North and 30° South latitudes, where raw coffee beans are grown. The most critical conditions for growing raw coffee beans are lots of sunlight, no frost, plenty of moisture, and well-draining soil.
Other characteristics of high-end coffee production include mineral-rich soils, high elevation, and consistent day-to-night temperatures. Arabica beans and Robusta beans are the two primary varieties of coffee. Arabica beans grow at high altitudes in mineral-rich soil and are a more sensitive plant that requires more attention and cooler temperatures. On the other hand, Robusta beans are a harder and heartier plant that prefers hotter conditions and does not require as much altitude. Both varieties of coffee beans have a place in the coffee world.
The Harvest
It might take up to 4 years for a fresh coffee plant to yield its fruit, known as cherries. There are two coffee seeds inside these cherries (unroasted coffee beans). There are two main harvesting methods. Selective picking is the most common procedure in high-quality coffees and is done entirely by hand.
Experienced growers choose only the completely developed cherry, leaving the others to mature further. Stripping can be done manually, with mechanical strippers or large-scale harvesting machines. In contrast to selective picking, this practice does not prioritize cherry maturation; instead, it prioritizes speed and low cost above quality, resulting in cherries at various stages of maturity that they must separate to avoid mixing.
Processing Coffee: From Plant To Unroasted Coffee Beans
Coffee processing is extracting and drying raw coffee beans from coffee cherries. This produces unroasted coffee beans that may be stored until roasting.
There are three types of processing. In the natural method, whole cherries are dried naturally on enormous patios or raised beds for 2 to 4 weeks, depending on humidity and rainfall. Once the cherries have dried, machines tear them off, leaving the raw coffee beans. Naturally processed coffees are often sweeter because the beans absorb sugars throughout the process. However, this is also the most challenging approach to regulate since the cherries can rot in the sun if not adequately cared for.
Second, the washed method entails removing the fruit as cleanly as possible from the bean while using water as a cleaning agent. The protagonist in this approach is the bean; by separating the fruit from the bean, this method is an excellent way to experience the essential qualities of a single-origin coffee. However, this process wastes a lot of water, which might cause environmental issues.
The third way is the honey method, which is effectively a hybrid of the other two since it utilizes water to remove most fruit but leaves the mucilage or honey, which is then dried in the sunshine. The cherry is only partially removed before fermenting and drying in this innovative procedure. The resultant coffee is sweet and flavorful.
Roasting Coffee: From Unroasted Coffee Beans To Brown Coffee Beans
This process is 50% art and 50% science since roastmasters must experiment while also knowing how each coffee will react to different temperatures. Roasting unroasted coffee beans gives them the deep brown colour you are used to seeing at your favourite cafe.
Roasting makes the coffee more soluble, allowing you to extract all of its delicious taste while brewing and adding its flavours. The flavour of a roast is determined by the time and temperature at which it is roasted. Lightly roasted beans retain their original flavour, with vibrant fruit and flowery notes. Medium roast coffees absorb caramelization characteristics from the roast. Dark roast coffees get much of their character from the roasting process, with toasted flavour notes and an entire body.
Brewing And Extraction: From Coffee Beans To A Coffee Drink
There are several ways to make coffee. Furthermore, new ones are constantly appearing. But they all do the same thing. The soluble taste components from coffee beans are extracted into hot water during the brewing process. We ground the coffee to make extraction easier. The finer the ground coffee beans, the quicker they can be extracted. That is why finely ground coffee is required to make a rapid shot of espresso. A medium grind is appropriate for a pour-over, while a coarse grind is appropriate for a slow process such as a French press or cold brew.
Conclusion
Being the leading coffee bean supplier in Malaysia, Scofi provides the highest quality raw coffee beans for sale, including Arabica beans and Robusta beans. Our unroasted coffee beans are varied and delicious, ensuring that you have a huge range of raw coffee beans to choose from.