Coffee is a beverage,
served hot or with ice, prepared from the roasted seeds
of the coffee plant. These seeds are almost always called
coffee beans. Coffee is the second most
commonly traded commodity in the world (measured by monetary
volume), trailing only petroleum, and the most consumed
beverage. In total, 6.7 million tonnes of coffee were
produced annually in 1998-2000, forecast to rise to 7
million tonnes annually by 2010. Coffee is a chief source
of caffeine, a stimulant.
Contents
Etymology and history
Coffee has its history back as far as
the 9th century CE. It was said to originate from Ethiopia
and spread to the rest of the world via Egypt and Europe.
Over the ages, coffee has met both resistance and acceptance
by many. It has played a crucial role in medicine, academia,
and economy.
Coffee bean types
There are two main species of the coffee
plant, Coffea arabica being the older
one. Thought to be indigenous to Ethiopia, arabica
was first cultivated on the Arabian Peninsula. While more
susceptible to disease, it is considered by most to taste
better than the second species, Coffea canephora (robusta).
Robusta, which contains about 40-50% more caffeine,
can be cultivated in environments where arabica
will not thrive. This has led to its use as an inexpensive
substitute for arabica in many commercial coffee
blends. Compared to arabica, robusta
tends to be bitter and has little flavor, with a telltale
"burnt rubber" or "wet cardboard"
aroma and flavor. Good quality robustas are used
as ingredients in some espresso blends to provide a better
"crema" (foamy head), and to lower the ingredient
cost. In Italy many espresso blends are based on dark-roasted
robusta.
Arabica coffees were traditionally
named by the port they were exported from, the two oldest
being Mocha, from Yemen, and Java, from Indonesia. The
modern coffee trade is much more specific about origin,
labeling coffees by country, region, and sometimes even
the producing estate. Coffee aficionados may even distinguish
auctioned coffees by lot number.
The largest coffee exporting nation
remains Brazil, but in recent years the green coffee market
has been flooded by large quantities of robusta
beans from Vietnam. Many experts believe this giant influx
of cheap green coffee after the collapse of the International
Coffee Agreement of 1975-1989 with Cold War pressures
led to the prolonged pricing crisis from 2001 to 2004.
In 1997 the "c" price of coffee in New
York broke US$3.00/lb, but by late 2001 it had fallen
to US$0.43/lb. Robusta coffees (traded in London at much
lower prices than New York's Arabica) are preferred by
large industrial clients (multinational roasters, instant
coffee producers, etc.) because of their lower cost.
Coffee beans from two different places,
or coffee varietals, usually have distinctive characteristics
such as flavor (flavor criteria includes terms such as
"citrus-like" or "earthy"), caffeine
content, body or mouthfeel, and acidity (black coffee
has a pH of around 5). These are dependent on the local
environment where the coffee plants are grown, their method
of process, and the genetic subspecies or varietal.
"Caracoli," also known as
peaberry, is a coffee bean which develops singly inside
the coffee cherry, which normally contains two. The Caracoli
beans occur in all regions of the world, on all types
of coffee bush (~4% of all beans). Since flavour is concentrated
when only a single bean is grown inside the cherry, Caracoli
beans (especially Arabica) are highly prized.
Economics of coffee
Coffee is one of the world's most important
primary commodities, due to it being one of the world's
most popular beverages. Coffee also has several types
of classifications used to determine environmental and
labor standards.
Processing and roasting
Much processing and human labour is
required before coffee berries and its seed can be processed
into roasted coffee with which most Western consumers
are familiar. Coffee berries must be picked, defruited,
dried, sorted, and--in some processes--also aged.
Coffee is usually sold roasted, and
the roasting process has a great degree of influence on
the taste of the final product. All coffee is roasted
before being consumed. Coffee can be sold roasted by the
supplier; alternatively it can be home roasted.
Preparation
The processing of coffee typically refers
to the agricultural and industrial processes needed to
deliver whole roasted coffee beans to the consumer. Grinding
the roasted coffee beans is done at a roastery, in a grocery
store, or at home. It is most commonly ground at the roastery
and sold to the consumer ground and packaged, though "whole-bean"
coffee that is ground at home is becoming more popular
despite the extra effort required. A grind is referred
to by its brewing method. "Turkish" grind, the
finest, is meant for mixing straight with water, while
the coarsest grinds, like coffee percolator or french
press, is at the other extreme. Midway between the extremes
are the most common: "drip" and "paper
filter" grinds, which are used in the most common
home coffee brewing machines. The "drip" machines
operate with near-boiling water being passed in a slow
stream through the ground coffee in a paper filter. The
espresso method uses higher technology to force super
hot water or even steam through the coffee grounds, resulting
in a stronger flavor and chemical changes with more coffee
bean matter in the drink. Once brewed, it may be presented
in a variety of ways: on its own, with sugar, with milk
or cream, hot or cold, and so on. Roasted arabica beans
are also eaten plain and covered with chocolate. See the
article on coffee preparation for a comprehensive list.
Other uses
Spent coffee grounds are a good fertilizer
in gardens because of their high nitrogen content. While
they tend to be only slightly acidic, they also tend to
improve the acidity of garden soil through the same chemical
processes which cause sawdust to do the same thing. Coffee
grounds raise soil acidity more immediately if they are
added fresh, instead of after brewing. Likewise, coffee
diluted with four times its volume of water can be used
to amend soil acidity, especially useful for tomatos,
chili peppers, blueberries, and other plants which like
high soil acidity.
The grounds are also used as bait in
"Vegas roach traps".
Some use coffee to create art. Latte
art involves designs in the foam of espresso-based drinks.
Arfé is the use of coffee as a coloring for painting
or other visual effects.
Coffee
Buying
It
takes years of experience to perfect the art of selecting,
cupping, roasting and blending premium coffees. In
addition to roasting the regular varietals and blends
offered to the public, Fox River Coffee receives many
samples of green coffee from other regions around the
world. Once received, the coffee is visually inspected,
roasted, cupped and graded. If the sample meets
Fox River’s standard, more roasting and cupping
is done to find the right roast. Fox River Coffee
then integrates the coffee into a special monthly offering.
Coffee
Roasting
Small
batch roasting is what makes Fox River’s Coffee
stand out in the world of specialty coffee. Our roasters
use their senses to carefully develop each batch to the
peak of each coffee known at the sweet spot - the ultimate
balance of flavor, body, aroma and brightness. Small Batch
roasting method and roasting to order ensures every coffee
is truly fresh and at peak flavor
