Types of coffee

Cafe Arabica: is the most superior of the coffee beans, mild and
aromatic and grows on mountain slopes. It contributes to 75% of
the coffee sold in the international market.
COFFEE
Cafe Robusta/ Canephara: are hardier berries, full bodied and
found growing on shrubs. The flavour is much inferior to Arabica.

Cafe Librica: Grown in Liberia it is not popular outside the country,

nor is it commercially important.

Manufacture of coffee

Wet curing: is the process of soaking the berries in water and

washing it well until all parchment and coverings are
removed.
CURING This is then dried in the sun or in machines and then
milled.

Dry curing: Similar to wet curing but there is only one introduction of
water after which it’s dried and the rest of the parchment is
removed during milling.

Polishing and grading: Depends on the type, size, quality exports and local
consumption. The best quality beans are called as ‘supremo’

Roasting:

The degree of roasting differs with regard to the use of the coffee. This is done at 200-
220º C for 5 minutes and to avoid over cooking the beans are sprayed with water or
cooled air is passed over them. In the early days this was done over charcoal. During
roasting the green beans change colour to brown due to caramelisation of the sugars.
The oils that ooze out provide the aroma. At the end of the process the weight of the
beans reduce by 16% but the volume increases.

Roasting may differ with what the coffee is going to be used for:

(a) Light city roast: Cinnamon colour, thin flavour and is very popular in the west
(b) City roast / Brown / American: Has a flat flavour and is popular in America
(c) Full city roast: Dark brown colour and a hearty flavour
(d) Brazillian roast: There is a trace of oil on the beans
(e) French Coffee: Burnt amber colour and is very close to Espresso roast
(f) Vienniese roast: The beans are roasted to between full city and French roast
(g) Italian / Espresso roast: Almost burnt or carbonized and yields the darkest and the
heaviest of coffees
Roasting is a very specialized job and specialists called roasters are required to do the
job.
 Incase the roast is for a longer duration; it would lead to burnt coffee and impart
bitter taste.
 On the other hand, coffee roasted for a smaller duration will make it very weak in
flavour.

Grinding:

Different coffees have different grinds. The beans are ground to bring out the aroma
and flavour from the roasted beans. But grinding also makes the coffee lose its aroma
faster than other wise and so it would be best if ground when required. The earliest
method of grinding was to use the mortar and pestle and is believed to be the best way
of bringing out the flavors. The Box coffee mill succeeded the mortar and pestle, which
was similar to a pepper mill. The next in line was the Bladed electric mill in which
various blades could be used for various grinds. The grinding electric mill was the next
invention. The modern machines available today may be programmed to grind only a
specific quantity of beans so that always a fresh grind may be made.

The types of grind are:

(a) Pulverized: Only used for Turkish coffee and is a large grind.
(b) Very fine: Used for filter coffee
(c) Fine Espresso: Specifically for use in the espresso machine and is generally
applied for the Espresso roast.
(d) Medium: This grind is specifically for percolators, vacuum machines, coffee jugs,
etc.
(e) Coarse: This is a finer grind than the other grinds. It yields a muddy coffee and the
grind should not be too fine.