If you like coffee, you know that coffee comes from beans… Yet coffee beans are not actually beans. So what are they and what happens to 'coffee beans' until they end up in your cup as coffee?
Coffee is made from the seeds of the coffee plant. We call them beans, but according to botanical laws, that's not right. The fruits of the coffee plant are drupes; a fruit with a thin layer of flesh and a thick hard kernel at the core. Because the seeds or kernels resemble beans, they are called coffee beans.
About eight months pass before the berries are ripe enough to pick. During that time they color from green to red. In principle, all berries are picked (including the green ones). After picking, these berries are placed in a basin of water, so that the ripe berries sink and the unripe ones float and can be scooped out. After that, most of the pulp is removed from the ripe berries. The remaining pulp is left to ferment for one to two days, after which the seeds are mechanically brushed clean.
The seeds (coffee beans) that are left are dried in the sun. The beans should be stirred every few hours. This must be done accurately, as the beans should not become too dry. When the beans are dried, they are brushed again to get the last layers off. Then they are sorted by different criteria and mixed. By mixing different beans, one tries to get a constant taste for a certain purchase price.
After drying and mixing, the coffee roasting follows. The beans are roasted in a special oven with a little oil until they get the right aroma. Roasting produces about seven hundred different chemicals. Some of the roasted beans are ground and vacuum packed and delivered to shops. Another part is sold as beans. Nowadays, some are also sold as cups, such as the Nespresso capsules from Koffiecupster.nl or the Dolce Gusto cups from Koffiecupster.nl. Delicious coffee in an easy cup.
– This article is a partner contribution of Koffiecupster –
