About coffee

As our customers you have right to learn maximum about the coffee you are drinking. The following text we prepared for you will provide you with detail information on everything you should know before you indulge in the first sip of our coffee.
Since all the terms we use when describing our coffee products are explained here it can serve as your guide to the world of mamacoffee.

Where does coffee come from?

Following in the footsteps of coffee growers we have visited many countries. What all of them have in common is their location in the tropical or subtropical regions. That is because average temperatures a coffee tree needs to grow to its full are around fifteen to thirty degrees centigrade.
What is more, the plant requires acid soils and humid climate. Direct sunshine, on the other hand, is not favourable to the growth of the plant. As a result, the plant is cultivated in higher altitudes, often in a shade of forests or virgin forests. Coffee fruits, called coffee berries, then ripe slowly, which makes the taste richer and adds to the quality of the coffee. The berry you can see in the picture below contains two seeds. The seeds are further processed to raw material for roasting.

Arabica and robusta

That is what happened in front of one of the mamacoffee coffee houses. Two elderly gentlemen entered the shop just to leave in about fifteen seconds with one of them commenting: ‘Let’s go down there, they have better coffee, here you can get just some Arabic one.’

After you finish reading our blog be sure you will know more than the elderly gentleman who got confused by the name Arabica.
Arabica and Robusta are names that could not escape your attention while you were shopping for coffee. It tells you coffee tree’s species the coffee grew on.

Arabica is a name for fruits of Caffea Arabica coffee tree species. There are several sub-species to Caffea Arabica, fifteen of them are cultivated for coffee industry use. Expressions such as Caturra, Typical, Bourbon etc. you might come across when reading our coffee descriptions stand for Arabica varieties we use to prepare green coffee blend we roast for you. For the description of Caffea Arabica subspecies see the paragraph Caffea Arabica Varieties below.

Altitudes of 1200 to 2000 m are most favourable to Arabica growth, which makes it more demanding in terms of technological requirements of harvesting, and growing techniques. Its hectare yield of 1.5 to 3 tons of coffee per year is lower than that of Robusta. It tends to develop moulds and is more susceptible to plant diseases. All of this results in considerably higher prizes of Arabica as compared to Robusta. However, thanks to its infinite varieties of taste it is by far much more popular than Robusta. It makes up about 75% of world coffee production.

Robusta (variety of Caffea canephora), on the other hand, is not that demanding in terms of growing. It grows in average temperatures of 24 to 30 degrees centigrade in lower altitudes of 700 m, it is more resistant to pests and less susceptible to plant diseases, its hectare yield of up to 4 tons a year is comparably larger. Even if it possesses greater body, its taste lacks Arabica’s richness and tends to be flat, even bitter. Important difference between the two we should not forget to mention is caffeine content. Arabica contains 0, 8% to 1, 4% caffeine, Robusta 1, 7% to 4% of caffeine. For caffeine strong coffee with rich taste variety of Arabica, Robusta is added to Arabica blends. The map below shows coffee growing areas, green colour marks areas with dominant Arabica production, red colour areas with dominant Robusta production, yellow colour areas with evenly distributed Arabica, Robusta production.

source www.wikipedia.org

Caffea canephora (robusta) coffee tree, notice the gradual maturing of coffee berries. One tree bears flowers, unripened fruits and ripe cherry berries at the same time (Tobago island).

Caffea Arabica coffee tree varieties

This section gives detail information on Arabica coffee types. As any other industrial plant it has gone through cultivation process with a goal to develop more hardy plant with higher and better crop yields. Some Arabica varieties are thus a result of man cultivation others are result of adaptation to the local conditions after relocation.
Raw coffee we use for roasting in Mamacoffee coffee houses is often mixture concocted of several Arabica varieties. It is up to an individual producer to choose from the range of Arabica varieties with their distinctive features to make his own blend of green coffee.
There are two basic varieties of Arabica. The first one called Typica originated in Ethiopia. From Ethiopia it spread at the beginning of Modern times to Europe and further to the colonized countries such as Brazil where it has still been grown. This variety does not yield big crops but it is distinguished by delicious taste, which makes it bases of most of the green coffee blends.

Coffee Arabica coffee tree, Typica variety (Colombia)

The second basic Arabica variety is called Bourbon. First mentions of this coffee variety can be dated back to the beginning of 18th century and placed on the island in Indian Ocean of the same name, todays Reunion. The average yield is up to 30% higher than in Typica types. It grows in altitudes of 1100 m. Its fruits ripen fast but tend to fall down from the trees under windy and rainy conditions. Similarly to Typica, Bourbon has great taste characteristics.

Other coffee varieties derive from the two above mentioned Typica and Bourbon varieties. Let us mention a few distinguished ones, or ones that might appear in the descriptions provided to coffees we offer.

Caturra cultivated from Bourbon variety in 1930 is usually part of our Peruvian and Costa Rican blends. It has high crop production, does not need high altitudes to grow (however, at higher altitudes where it is usually grown, quality of its fruits increases), but requires extensive care. After roasting, Caturra red variation may be used in its pure form without blending with other varieties. The Yellow Caturra variant’s taste is so distinctive that it cannot be used pure and is added to other varieties blends.

Yellow Caturra (Bolivia)

Red Caturra (Bolivia)

Moundo Novo is a natural hybrid between Typica coffee and Bourbon coffee. The plant was first found in Brazil in 1940. The plant is strong and resistant. Mundo Novo has a high production, but slightly longer maturing time than other kinds of coffee. It does well in altitudes of over 1100 m. It has distinguished flavour profile and is used as a basis for other varieties blends.

Ethiopians coffees, such as Sidamo, or Yirgacheffe, you can also find in our offer, are considered to be special Arabica coffee varieties of single origin grown and adjusted exclusively to Ethiopian conditions.
Jamaica Blue Mountain, the world’s most valued coffee is also natural Typica mutation with origins in Blue Mountains of Jamaica. Jamaica Blue Mountain is grown in other parts of world, however, nowhere were such a high standards of flavour profile achieved as in its place of origin on Jamaica.

Typica coffee berries of Yirgacheffe variety (Ethiopia)

There is much more to say about the coffee types and its characteristics. However, to mention all the coffee types and describe its characteristics is beyond the scope of this article. What we hope to achieve is to give you a better idea on what is behind the flavour you can indulge in when you sit down to your cup of coffee.

Coffee processing

Coffee cherry

Coffee cherries are the fruits of a coffee plant. The cherries contain two seeds with their flat sides together (see the picture below). There are regions where coffee plants containing only one seed are grown. Coffee is then called ‘peaberry’ and abbreviation PB is added to its name.
Most of the coffee beans come from two beans cherries. Before the bean is roasted and can be turned into final product of green coffee, the coffee cherry must go through process of coffee bean cultivation.

Cross-section of a coffee cherry

Freshly shelled coffee beans (Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia)

Harvest

Cherries are striped from the trees. Higher quality coffee types are harvested by hand to ensure that unripe cherries remain on the tree and are allowed to ripe.

Coffee cherries hand harvesting (Costa Rica)

Coffee can be collected using a harvesting machine. Mechanical harvesting is employed especially in Brazil where coffee is grown in lower altitudes. The machines strip all fruits including unripe ones and may cause damage to the coffee tree plants. Mechanical harvesting is used for coffee of lesser quality and for Robusta harvesting.

Plantation for mechanical harvesting of coffee (Brangaca Paulista, Brazil)

Coffee cherries processing

Once the cherries have been harvested, processing must begin (in 24 hours, preferably in 12 hours). Coffee is processed in one of two following ways.

The Wet Method

In a special machines coffee seeds are taken out from the cherry. Shelled seeds proceed to cylinders of a machine where they are being washed by water; hence the name ’washed’ coffee. The washing process separates seeds of lesser quality from those of higher quality. Water also washes away dirt, remains of pulp etc. After washing, silverskin, perchament, and little pieces of pulp remain on the surface of the seed. In the background of the picture 2 you can see rotating drums used for taking the seeds out from the cherry. In the front you can see cylinder were the seeds are being washed.

After separation, the beans are transported to large, water-filled fermentation tanks (see picture n.3). Depending on a combination of factors – such as the climate and other conditions – they will remain in these tanks for anywhere from 12 to 36 hours. In fermentation process remaining pulp and slick layer is removed from the surface. Fermentation process is carefully monitored to avoid coffee beans decay and other side effects.
After the fermentation process that takes about 12 to 15 days the beans must be dried to approximately 11 per cent moisture (see the pictures 4 and 5). When drying process is finished, parchment envelope is removed in specialized machines. To complete the process the beans are ‘polished’ and silverskin is partly removed (the rests of silverskin are removed in a process of roasting).
Wet-processing results in a coffee with brighter and cleaner flavour, lighter body, and perceived acidity.

Picture n.1: Coffee washing machine (washing station, Canavari, Bolivia)

Picture n.2: Pulping machine and coffee washing drum (Konga Farmers Cooperative washing station, Ethiopia)

Picture n.3: Fermentation tanks (Konga Farmers Cooperative washing station, Ethiopia)

Picture n.4: Coffee beans drying after the washing process is finished (Branganca Paulista, Brazil)

Picture n.5: Drying after completion of washing process (Caroico, Montano family’s farm, Bolivia)

The Dry method

Less commonly used method of coffee cherries processing is called the dry method. The cherries are first cleaned from dirt, separated from unripe fruits and little stones, placed in a thin layer and dried for about one month in the direct sunshine, if the conditions permit. Hence the name sun dry. Coffee processed this way is also known as unwashed, or natural coffee.

Picture n. 6: sun dry coffee processing (Braganca Paulista, Brazil)

In order to prevent cherries from fermenting and consequential moulding, they are raked and turned throughout the day. When the moisture content of the cherries drops to 10 per cent, the dried cherries are moved to silos where they are stored. Shrunk and dried remains of the cherry (that are similar in its appearance to a raisin) are removed along with sliverskin only before they are sent to the consumers.

In comparison to the wet method the dry method is economically less demanding, however, it requires more time. It is used especially in dry regions or regions where using the dry method can add to the coffee flavour (drying coffee in a vicinity of spices growing areas has an impact on coffee flavour). Nowadays, the dry method is most commonly used in Brazil where it amounts to about 95% of the Arabica coffee production. Harar province of Ethiopia, Hawai, or Paraguay are also known for the dry method coffee processing. Almost all Robustas are processed using the dry method. When dry processed, the bean is exposed for a longer period of time to its pulp that makes pulp sugars enter into the coffee bean. This results in fuller flavour – a more distinctive body, less acidity and a sweeter undertone. Unlike in the wet method when faulty seeds are washed away, the dry method does not use any mechanism to sift the faulty seeds through. In consequence, final product contains higher proportion of faulty seeds.

Picture n.7: The dry method in home settings (Yirgacheffe province, Ethiopia)

The third hybrid method combining both above mentioned methods that results in a coffee known under the name semi-washed will be described just as a matter of interest. From all its variations, the one used in Indonesia (where it is called giling basash) deserves to be mentioned. In this process, farmers remove the outer skin from the cherries mechanically, using traditional pulping machines, and store them for up to a day. Following this waiting period, the pulp is washed off and dried to reach about 30% of moisture content. Parchment is peeled off from semi-wet beans. The beans acquire green-blue colour. The coffee processed in this way is distinguished by its raw, natural coffee taste.

Coffee sorting (Defects)

After coffee cherries are processed the coffee beans are sorted by size and defect seeds are removed. Sorting is done partly by hand, partly by machines.
Coffee is then graded. There is no unified guideline to grade the coffee quality. Each part of the world has its own grading criteria.
Central American and some South American countries, for instance, use grade scale based on altitude of coffee plantations. That is why abbreviations such as SHG (strictly high grown), SHB (strictly hard bean), HB (hard bean) referring to the altitude of a coffee plantation might appear in the name of a coffee. The abbreviations refer to hardness of the bean, because the higher the planation is, the higher quality and density making coffee bean harder the coffee achieves. Coffee also may be graded by number of defects in already sorted coffee, such as non-coffee elements (pebbles, sticks, etc.), unripe beans, badly fermented beans, deformed beans or beans with any other sort of imperfection. The number of imperfections is reflected in a coffee flavour. Central and some South American coffees use number of imperfection per sample to distinguish between coffees for European market (up) and coffees for American market (usp). Coffee sold on European market has to fulfil higher quality criteria and allows only for 8 defects maximum per 300 gram sample, meanwhile coffee sold on American market may have up to 28 imperfections in 300 gram sample (the number might differ in each American state).

Sorting by hand (La Paz, Bolivia)

Another way how to grade coffee is by coffee bean size and flavour characteristics. In Tanzania, for example, coffee is marked AA, AB, C and so on. A stands for the beans of the biggest size, C for the smallest ones.

Ethiopian coffee is sorted by number of defects and bean size. On 8 scale grade number one (1 Gr.) is coffee with zero to 3 defects in 300 gram sample. For instance, Yirgacheffe coffee you can purchase in our coffee houses chain is graded with Gr.2 and contains maximum 12 defects in 300 grams while regular coffee produced by Ethiopian farmers is graded as Gr.5 with up to 100 defects. Similar scale of 6 grades and different number of defects allowed in each grade is used in Indonesia.

Coffee might be also described by the country of origin (Honduras SHG Marcala, Costa Rica, Tarazzu, Indonesia Sumatra Aceh, Tanzania Kilimanjaro AB). The name then refers to region’s unique coffee growing conditions. Indonesia is a good example of a country where coffee growing conditions differ island to island which must be reflected in the coffee name.

Coffee sorting is a complex issue we cannot fully cover in the limited space we have here. Explanations of particular classification systems are always part of our individual coffees descriptions. Therefore, the only thing you need to know is that coffee is classified according to various qualitative criteria derived from the size, quality, and flavour profile of a coffee bean.

Decaffeinated Coffee

Even if recent medical research has proved that caffeine is less harmful to human health than it is widely held in popular thinking (some researchers even tend to stress its positive effects on human health), among some decaffeinated coffee still remains popular.
Coffee bean contains more than 400 types of agents all of them influence the final coffee flavour. In a process of decaffeination caffeine is extracted from the coffee bean with maximum of other agents preserved. According to EU guidelines caffeine content in decaffeinated coffee cannot exceed 0, 1%.
Attempts to cultivate coffee plant bearing caffeine-free fruits have been made. No significant results have been reached so far and caffeine must be still artificially removed from the coffee. The methods use ability of certain agents to bind to caffeine. Swiss method and CO2 method we are going to talk about in the following are the most commonly used decaffeination methods.
To decaffeinate the coffee bean by the Swiss method, green beans are soaked in hot water, releasing most of its agents including caffeine. The water then passes through a carbon filter that traps caffeine but lets the coffee agents pass through. The beans are then sprayed again with resulting solution. The process repeats until the beans have desired caffeine content. The process is not invasive and beans retain most of their flavour.
CO2 method is another widely used and recently much praised method. In high temperature and pressure coffee is exposed to carbon dioxide stream that under these conditions gains properties midway between a gas and a liquid and comes into ‘supercritical state’. Carbon dioxide binds to caffeine and extracts it leaving other agents in the bean intact. Even if the same CO2 can be used several times on different batch of beans, this method is technologically complex and expensive. Therefore, it is convenient to use it only if large amounts of coffee are decaffeinated. Coffee beans do not lose almost any of its original flavour in the process.
The name of the coffee tells which method has been used for decaffeination; H20 stands for Swiss method, C02 for CO2 method.

There is no agreement on which of the two methods retains more original bean flavour. Moreover, in order not to spoil the original flavour, to some coffees only one of the two methods is applicable. Talking from our own experience, we feel free to say that decaffeination does not strip coffee of any of its major aroma and flavour qualities.

Roasting

Roasting is an important part in coffee processing that produces all significant flavour and aroma characteristics. Since it is secret know-how of every coffee producer you will never know what the coffee roasting process was exactly like. Roasting methods differ according to coffee characteristics. In the process, temperature and heat intensity is regulated to adjust to the specific characteristics of each coffee. Outer factors such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure as well as characteristics of green coffee itself also influence the process. Moreover, bean density, sugar, acids and other agents’ contents must be taken into account in order to determine an appropriate roasting method.
After roasting coffee starts releasing various gazes such as carbon dioxide and must be left ‘resting’ for a few days. Some say that the best coffee taste is achieved just a few hours after roasting, however, the truth is, that we have to wait a few days to let the taste and aroma develop and stabilize.

Coffee is cooled down right after the roasting is finished to stop or slow down chemical processes triggered by roasting (mamacoffee roastery)

Degree of roast

For you as costumers, the important piece of information is that there are several degrees of roast. The degrees are described in the table below. Each degree highlights different component of coffee flavour composed not only by coffee flavours but also by sub-flavours and coffee body that can be described as a coffee flavour ‘weight’. Since different ways of processing require different ways of roasting, it is of crucial importance to choose the right degree of roast appropriate not only to the coffee characteristics but also to its way of processing. More on that in the part on a coffee preparation.

Characteristic

• Light

Beans are dry and cinamon brown coloured .
Light body and low acidity. Roasting is too light and does not let coffee fully develop its flavour potential.

• Medium light

Beans are of medium brown light colour and dry. Distinctively acid taste, slightly distinguished body.

• Medium

Beans have medium brown colour, their surface is mostly dry. Increase in acidity as well as in body that becomes more distinguished.

• Medium dark

Beans have deep brown colour and oily spots on the surface.
Acidity is being eclipsed, body gains on its intensity. Degree of roast fitted for espresso.

• Dark

The colour of the beans ranges from deep brown to black. There are oily stains on the bean surface or it is all covered in oil. Slight flavour nuances are surpressed, flavour tends to disappear, body stands out.

• Deep dark

Black surface covered with oil. All flavours are suppressed and coffee body is shallow. Roasting suited for American Espresso.

Changes in coffee beans during the roasting process (lower left corner, coffee after 3 minutes of roasting, upper right corner coffee is almost roasted – degree of roast – dark)

We tried our best to reveal for you essential plots in the story of the coffee. This brief overview should provide you with enough information to help you to choose the coffee you are looking for. The following parts of the blog elaborate on coffee degustation and coffee preparation.