The origins of coffee and the discovery of the properties of its toasted seeds are not clear and unequivocal. According to ancient legends, it seems that it was discovered almost two thousands years ago and that it was widely used as a drink above all in the Middle East starting from the year 1000. Since then, coffee spreads first in East and then in West and today it is one of the most popular drinks in the world. In Italy, coffee became a real cult after the first “Bottega del caffè” in Europe was founded in Venice in 1640.

The coffee plant belongs to the botanical family Rubiaceae which has some 60 species of the “Coffea” genus. Here the most popular: Coffea Arabica is one of the most popular and flavoured, it has a sweet and delicate flavour and is cultivated above all in Arabia and Brazil; Coffea Robusta has smaller beans but richer in caffeine, it has a stronger and more robust flavour, it originates from Congo and is currently cultivated in Indonesia, India, Uganda and Western Africa; Coffea Liberica has bigger and stronger fruits and seeds, it originates from Liberia and is currently cultivated above all in the Ivory Coast and in Madagascar; Coffea Excelsa is very prone to diseases and droughts and has a delicate flavour.

The coffee plant, grown to be harvested, comes out from the sowing of selected coffee beans which produce the first fruits within 3 to 4 years. Starting from that moment, the coffee plant remains productive for almost 20 years, giving less than a kilo of coffee every year. The reproductive cycle starts with the first blossoming.

After almost seven months, changeable according to the weather conditions, a fruit called coffee cherry originates from the coffee flowers; at the height of the maturation it is red. Inside the fruit there are two seeds coated by a thin pellicle called pergamin; they will become precious coffee beans.
The coffee blossoming is not regular and therefore it is possible to find fruits with different degrees of maturation in the same plan, which makes it difficult to choose the right harvesting moment.




The coffee harvesting occurs through two methods: the picking or the stripping.
By the first method, the picking,  coffee is harvested by hand. It is a more expensive method but allows to pick only ripe cherries granting the best possible quality.
The second method, the stripping, occurs through the use of machineries which shake the plant and harvest fruits, both mature and not, leaves and branches, making the end product a low-quality one because of the scarce selection it is submitted to.

The beans inside the fruit are extracted from the pulp and freed from the pellicle around them within few days after their harvesting. It is possible to use several methods: the entire cherry is placed in the sun to dry or in special dryers (dry process, natural coffee); coffee beans are sorted by immersion in water and are then dried in the sun (wet process, “milds” or washed coffee). In both cases the seeds are freed from the residues through the use of special machines which remove their skin, dry pulp and parchment.

The beans of raw coffee have to be graded and classified. Through coffee grading it is possible to establish the size and the shape of the beans, which can be coarse-grain, medium-grain, fine-grain or caracolito (the round beans which grow in the tip of the branch). The harvested and processed beans are selected to drop the damaged seeds and are then classified to identify their main features. The classification occurs according to special criteria such as origin, number of defects, botanic species, processing method, harvesting year, shape and size of the grain and colour. After the processes of grading and classification the beans of raw coffee are ready to be delivered and roasted.

Once delivered, the beans of raw coffee are toasted before they are marketed. Through roasting, coffee beans increase in volume and obtain the characteristic brown colour. Toasting occurs through blasts of warm air at a temperature ranging from 180°C for a light toasting which heightens the coffee’s acidity to 240°C for a dark toasting which enhances its characteristic bitter flavour. The differences in temperature also determine the different level of caffeine in the beans. By higher temperatures there is a stronger dehydration and a subsequent higher loss of caffeine due to warmth.

Almost every coffee in the market comes from a blending of coffee beans having different origins and undergoes a process aimed at obtaining the right combination of ingredients.
Blending is a real art based on the determination of which ingredients have to be used and which is the exact quantity to obtain a coffee having the right flavour and taste. Weather it occurs before toasting or not, blending must consider the characteristics of each ingredient and combine them in the best possible way to heighten or contain their peculiarities. Most people think that the best blends originate from the combination of at least three or four types of coffee (arabica, robusta and so on) or of coffee beans having different origins (Africa, South America and so on).

After toasting and blending, coffee beans undergo grinding in order to powder. A good coffee also depends on a right grinding. The different origin and composition of each type of coffee determines a different reaction to grinding and influences the acquisition of different characteristics.

Grinding is responsible for this process: a bean having a too much fine grain does not let water properly pass because it becomes compact and increases in temperature and so it could taste “burnt”; a bean having a too much coarse grain, on the contrary, can let water pass too rapidly and does not allow to obtain a strong taste and a full body flavour. A correct grinding must also take into account the type of preparation. For a normal coffee maker, a mocha, it is better to use a medium-fine grinding, while for an espresso machine it is advisable to use a finer powder.

According to the type of preparation, coffee can have different characteristics as far as flavour, consistency and body are concerned: it’s a matter of taste.

The coffee prepared through mocha is one of the most popular. It is necessary to use a coffee maker divided into three parts.  You have to put water in the lower part and coffee in the central metal filter; in the upper part spills the final drink, obtained through the pressure the boiling water exerts on the coffee powder which goes up thanks to the generated water vapour. The coffee obtained through such a procedure has a strong taste and an intense flavour.

The espresso preparation requires the use of a special machine which is very spread in the Italian bars but requested and used all over the world to prepare what is known as the real Italian espresso. The characteristic of such a preparation is its speediness to obtain a full body coffee having an intense taste and a creamy consistency.

The preparation of the Neapolitan coffee requires the use of a particular coffee maker divided into two parts separated by a filter section. For the preparation of a Neapolitan coffee it is necessary to fill the bottom section with water and the filter with the grinded coffee. When the water boils, the entire coffee maker is flipper over to let the water filter through the coffee grounds.

The preparation of the Turkish coffee requires the use of a “coffe pot”, a small brass pot with a wide base having an opening to add sugar and water. Just as the water begins boiling, the pot is removed from the fire and a fine grind of coffee is added, then the pot is put on the fire again until it reaches a creamy consistency and is then repeatedly removed and stirred. To help coffee grounds settle on the bottom, a spoon of cold water has to be added.

The American coffee requires the use of a pitcher, of a portafilter and of paper or fabric filters containing medium-fine coffee ground. Once positioned the filter in the pitcher, it is necessary to pour hot water in the pitcher through the filter. When the water passed from the filter into the pitcher the coffee is ready to drink. In North America a light toasted coffee is preferred and the quantity used is of 6 gr for each 150 ml cup, while in France and in Northern Europe dark toasted coffee is preferred and the quantity used is of 10 gr for each 150 ml cup.