The coffee tree from the cherry to the cup…
The coffee tree belongs to the family of the rubiaceae, and is an evergreen shrub that grows in tropical areas where there is abundant rainfall all year round and an average temperature between 18° and 24°C. The tree or shrub must be protected from frost and takes from 3 to 5 years to produce the first fruits, which resemble cherries.
These in turn take from 6 to 8 months to pass from the initial green colour when unripe to the characteristic dar red. Each tree produces approxi-mately 2000 cherries in a year; inside each are two coffee beans, or more rerely just one, which is known as a peaberry or caracoli.
Despite belonging the same family, there are many different species of these shruybs that produce fruits with different characteristics: there are in fact in nature around 60 different species belonging to the coffea genius.
However, the species that are most widely cultivated and marketed are two: Coffea Arabica and Coffea Canephora(Robusta).
The former is also the most prized variety and represents three-quarters of the world production of coffee.Indigenous to the mountainous regions of Ethiopia, sensitive to heat and moisture, the Arabica grows at altitudes above 900 meters: the higher the altitude, the better the organoleptic qualities of the roasted coffee bean. Robusta, as its name suggests, is more resistant to hot climates and les susceptible to parasites.Wide spread in the tropical lowlands, its grows at even 200/300 meters, in areas that are easier to reach and where the plantations are easier to manage.
The Arabica Coffees are very Fragrant, Sweet and round, slightly acidic and often chocolaty, with a crema that is hazel tending to reddish with a very pleasant bitter note.
The Robusta Coffees are by contrast Sharp, Astringent, with little fragrance of more Bitter with a brown crema tending to grey.
“Rise and grind, it’s coffee time!”
The Arabica bean is elongated with a sinuous groove down the middle; the Robusta bean is round with a straight groove.
While Arabica and Robusta differ only slightly in appearance, they are instead very different in genetic terms: the first has 44 chromosomes, the second only 22.
From a chemical aspect, however, only the caffeine content varies: ranging from 0.9 to 1.7% in the Arabica and Higher in the Robusta, ranging from 1.6 to 2.8%.