the coffee plant

There are around sixty species of coffee which grow naturally in the wild, but only two of these are cultivated to produce the coffee that we drink today.

Plants can reach ten to twelve metres in height, but many are cultivated to grow to shorter heights, enabling cherries to be picked by hand.

The mature plant has deep green leaves and white flowers in clusters, which are sweet-scented like jasmine. The flowers give way to dark red berries which look like cherries both in size and colour.

These cherries are coated with a fleshy pulp, inside which are two seeds – the coffee beans. They have a tough, golden yellow parchment which must be peeled away before roasting and grinding.

growing conditions

Coffee plants need special growing conditions, careful culture and need to be protected at every stage of their growth if they are to thrive and give a good crop.

The seedlings begin their life in sheltered tree nurseries. After about six month’s growth, young plants are moved to the coffee plantations.

They are often transplanted during the rainy season and inter-planted with other shrubs and trees, shielding them from excessive sunlight and wind, giving them a good start in their new homes.

Coffee plants are happiest in tropical climates, with frequent rains and temperatures of 15˚C to 25˚C.

The soil needs to be deep, well-structured, permeable, well-irrigated, with well-drained subsoil.

The best locations are hilly, those cut into mountainsides, and are volcanic in nature with crumbling rocks or from just-tilled woods.

processing

Since the beans are very delicate they must be processed within a few days of harvesting. beans are removed from the cherries in two ways:

dry processing; used mostly in Brazil and West Africa, the cherries are spread outside on flat areas for 15 to 20 days and are continuously raked and turned to expose them evenly to the sun’s rays. This dries the outer pulp which can then be easily removed in a mill

wet processing; used mostly in Central America, Mexico, Colombia and Kenya, this is a more complex process. Cherries are washed and allowed to ferment for a short period to remove the outer layer of pulp, leaving the beans covered in a thin layer of parchment. They are then laid out in the sun or placed in drying machines to dry, ready for a mill to remove the outer parchment