Of several types of coffee, Arabica is the most appreciated – an aromatic drink with a rich thick taste and pleasant sour notes. Arabica is grown in many countries of the world, but Brazilian, Javanese, and Indian coffee are considered the best varieties. Each manufacturer has its own secrets and peculiarities of creating this drink, but in general terms, the process of making coffee is the same.
Coffee is an aromatic drink made from the roasted beans of a plant, or rather, a tree of the genus coffee. This genus is divided into several types, each of which produces seeds with a different composition, taste and other qualities, which means that the types of coffee are also different. The best coffee is considered to be a drink made from Arabica beans – a tree called Arabica coffee, Robusta coffee is also popular.
Because of its high caffeine content, coffee is considered a harmful drink, but if you drink no more than one cup a day, the harm will be negligible. Moreover, a natural drink prepared according to all the rules and containing no artificial additives is beneficial in small amounts: it is a good prevention against diabetes, sclerosis and cirrhosis. Green coffee is thought to burn calories, which can help you lose weight.
Types and varieties of coffee
Most of the world coffee market falls on the main types: arabica and robusta. The Arabica tree is delicate and whimsical, it grows only in the mountains at an altitude of at least 900 meters above sea level, but in a tropical climate. Growing Arabica requires well-moistened fertile soil and proper care, but even with all the rules, this type of coffee is very moody and can have health problems. Nevertheless, Arabica is the most widespread and traded type of coffee, accounting for up to 70 percent of the world’s production of this beverage. The reason is the high quality of the grains of this tree, from which an unusually aromatic and tasty coffee is obtained. It is distinguished by its sweet and sour taste, dense nutty foam, mildness and low caffeine content.
Robusta accounts for a little less than 30 percent of coffee production, this species is less capricious, well resistant to pests, and grows up to 600 meters above sea level, also in tropical areas. In terms of aroma, robusta is less refined, but there is more caffeine in such a drink, therefore robusta coffee invigorates well, in addition, due to its high yield, this type is cheaper.
There are other types of coffee, for example, Liberica, but its beans are of lower quality and are hardly used for making drinks. Most of the coffee packs sold contain a blend of Arabica and Robusta – when combined, they give the drink a delicious aroma and sufficient strength.
But the taste of coffee is determined not only by the type, but also by the variety, as well as other conditions: soil composition, rainfall, number of sunny days, temperature at which the plant was grown. As a result, many varieties have appeared that are produced in dozens of countries around the world: these are Brazilian, Vietnamese, Hawaiian, Venezuelan, Indian coffee. The best are traditionally considered to be drinks from Brazil, which is the world’s leader in terms of coffee production, as well as Kenyan, Javanese and Indian coffee.
But in fact, the best type of coffee is a subjective concept: someone likes the rich chocolate taste with fruity hints of Guatemalan coffee, someone prefers the sourness of Venezuelan varieties
It’s not just the growing conditions and the good look and variety of coffee that make a tasty drink. It is also very important to properly harvest, dry, roast and prepare the grains for sale. Many countries and factories for the production of coffee have their own secrets, but in general the procedure for making beans is well known.
To begin with, a coffee tree is grown on the plantations, which is a large shrub. To make it easier to collect grains, it is cut to one and a half meters. During harvesting, the quality of the beans is not paid attention to – they will select fruits suitable for coffee later. Then the coffee fruit is separated from the pulp so that only one bean remains. Some manufacturers use the “wet” method for this, washing the coffee, others carry out a lighter “dry” procedure, during which the berries are dried in the sun for a month, and then the dried shell is removed on special machines. The “wet” method allows the coffee to be cleaned immediately after harvest, after which it is also dried in the sun.
How instant coffee is made
After removing all unnecessary from the grains, you need to carefully sort them out, inspect and choose the best ones. This is the most critical and important stage for the taste of coffee, which must be performed only manually. Although there are many modern technologies available today, only manual bulkhead can be used to achieve high quality coffee. Attentive and experienced workers remove bad grains – moldy, black, sour and others.
Low-quality beans are identified by taste, appearance, smell, therefore, the taste and quality of coffee depends on the professionalism and experience of the employees
Green coffee beans are transported from plantations to factories where they are roasted. Different companies have different roasting secrets, as temperature and other conditions affect the taste of the drink. A light roast gives a mild and delicate taste, while a strong roast makes the coffee slightly bitter and sour. The darkest grade is called Italian and is used to make espresso.
Next, the beans are packed and sent for sale, or production continues by making ground coffee. But connoisseurs of coffee drinks recommend buying only coffee beans and grinding it yourself – such coffee is of higher quality and aroma, and ground coffee quickly loses its smell and part of its taste. Granular instant coffee is not recognized by true lovers of this drink. Flavors and other substances are not added to quality coffee.