Despite the extremely high popularity of coffee, few people know exactly how it is made and brewed every day. How are the seeds of the coffee plant processed and why is it Arabs are responsible for popularizing coffee?
Coffee fruit – the most important element
For many of us, brewing coffee in the morning is a kind of morning ritual, without which it is difficult to start a new day. Although each of us often has many different types of coffee at home, few people know how the essence of this unique black drink is created. The beginning of coffee is the fruit of the coffee tree, which is also known as the coffee tree or coffee bush. It all starts with the flowering of the coffee tree with beautiful white flowers, which, after pollination, wither and fall, and in their place a coffee cherry appears and grows to its correct size. It is in this fruit that the object of desire of millions of coffee lovers around the world is hidden – the coffee bean. It is worth noting that the maturation process of the coffee tree, depending on the type, takes from 9 to 11 months. The coffee cherry during this time varies in colour from the initial red to a dark red at the end. In the vast majority of cases, one fruit contains two coffee beans. When the fruit is ripe on the plantations, harvesting takes place, usually from December to January. The process of harvesting coffee trees requires a lot of attention, because within one coffee tree the cherry may be at different stages of ripening (from green to dark red). Then, the ripe fruit of the coffee tree is finally processed and there are two methods: dry and wet. The dry method consists in sprinkling coffee beans on a smooth surface and drying them in the sun – the hardened exterior and pulp are removed by hand and the beans remain. The wet method is more expensive because it requires a significant amount of water and special machines. If you are looking for delicious and aromatic coffee, be sure to visit the coffee Bean Shop.
Why is coffee so popular today?
Although the fruit of the coffee tree was used as early as 1000 BC, brewing an infusion of fruit grains became popular in the Arab culture around the 14th century. The custom of drinking an infusion of coffee seeds quickly became popular throughout the Middle East, and the coffee spread deeper into Europe along with merchant ships. An interesting fact is that the first cafe was opened in Istanbul in 1554. Today, there are many different types of coffee, which are distinguished e.g. by their place of origin. Papua New Guinea coffee is becoming more and more popular today. It is distinguished by its unique taste due to the volcanic soil on plantations in Papua New Guinea.