What is coffee?
Last updated
Last updated
People often know a lot about roasted coffee beans, but many of us don't know what a coffee plant actually looks like.
Coffee trees are usually limited in height by braking the tops. This helps the plant grow evenly, achieve high yields and is easy for harvesting. But if released for development, the coffee tree can grow up to 9m tall. Each tree is covered with a lot of leafy branches around, the leaves grow opposite each other in pairs. Fruits grow in bunches and along the branches. Coffee plants grow in a continuous cycle. A year there is only a period when the plant flowers and then begins to bear fruit. Fruits when young are green, and when ripe are bright red.
When coffee trees begin to flower for the first time, it takes after one year for the tree to fully mature and after about 5 years of growth, the plant will achieve high yields. Coffee trees can live up to 100 years, coffee trees reach their highest yields between the ages of 7 and 20. Proper tree care can maintain and even increase yields for many years, which also depends on the variety. The average yield of a coffee tree is about 20kg fresh
All commercial coffee in the world is grown in a region called the coffee belt. The plant grows best in conditions of fertile soil, cool temperatures, frequent rains and sunshine.
Plant classification
Coffee is derived from a cultivar known as Coffea. In this genus there are more than 500 genera and 6000 species of tropical trees and shrubs. Experts estimate that there are between 25 and 100 species of coffee.
The genus was first described in the 18th century by Swedish botanist Carolus Linneaus, who also described Coffea Arabica in his 1753 work "Species Plantarum". In the commercial coffee industry, there are two important types of coffee, Arabica and Robusta.
Arabica
Coffea Arabica originated to be first discovered in Ethiopia. This type of coffee has a delicious, slightly sour taste and accounts for about 60% of the world's coffee production. The shape of these coffee beans is flatter, longer than Robusta, and has a lower caffeine content than Robusta
In the world market, Arabica coffee brings the highest value. Arabica coffee trees are grown in high positions, from 610m to 1830m above sea level.
The most important factor is that temperatures should be cool, ideally between 15 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius and rainfall at about 60 inches per year. The arabica coffee tree has good vitality, but with a lot of frost, the plant will die.
Arabica coffee cultivation is quite expensive because the ideal terrain tends to be steep. In addition, plants are also more susceptible to disease than Robusta, so they need careful care.
Robust
Most of the world's Robusta production is grown in Brazil, Central Africa, West Africa and parts of Southeast Asia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Robusta's production accounts for about 40% and is increasing.
Robusta is mainly used in blending and instant coffee. However, in some countries such as Vietnam, Robusta coffee is mainly used in traditional coffee. Robusta seeds are slightly rounded and smaller than Arabica.
Robusta coffee trees have strong vitality, good resistance to diseases and parasites that make cultivation easy and cheaper. It can withstand warmer climates with temperatures ranging from 25 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius. Thus allowing this plant to grow at lower elevations than Arabica.
Robusta coffee trees are also suitable for about 60 inches of rainfall a year and do not tolerate frost. Robusta coffee beans have a rich, bitter, post-sweet aroma and are about 50-60% more caffeine than Arabica.
(Original General Expert)
