My Coffee is Hot and Strong

The Turkish has a proverb for coffee, ‘black as hell, strong as death, sweet as love’. Coffee was originally from Ethiopia. In Ethiopia the main coffee production is still from wild coffee tree forests. Now, coffee grown in over 70 countries. As commodity, coffee is number 2 in world trading money volume, only lost to number 1, oil.

Coffee trees produce their best beans when grown at high altitudes in a tropical climate where there is rich soil. That zone lays between latitudes 25 degrees North and 30 degrees South. There is a zone with tropical climate and has rain forests.

Besides location, other factors affect the quality and flavor of coffee. These include the variety of the plant, the chemistry of the soil in which it is grown, the weather, particularly the amount of rainfall and sunshine, and the precise altitude at which the coffee grows. Combined with the way coffee bean processed, coffee comes in so many taste and aroma. The combination of factors is so complex, that even from a single plantation one finds variation in quality.

World Largest Coffee Producers

Brazil is the largest coffee beans producer for decades with an average output of 28% of the total world production. Colombia is in second place at only 16%, with Indonesia less than half that at 7%.

In Brazil, with a seemingly infinite space for its production, coffee plantations cover vast territories, the need for hundreds of people to manage and operate them, and produced in large quantities of coffee. A Brazilian coffee is 'soft'. Arabica and robusta are grown in Brazil in different locations for each types. A fine cup of Brazilian clear, sweet, low-acid coffee.

Colombia takes position as world's number 2 seriously and works hard to maintain high standards of excellence. The result is consistently good coffee grown carefully and with great pride in thousands of small family farms coffee throughout the country. Extremely rugged landscape provides the perfect environment for the growth of coffee. But a very rugged terrain also made historically difficult to transport the grain of coffee harvested for production and shipment centers. Even today, this is often done by mule or Jeep. Such care and attention on results consistently good, mild coffees, with a well-balanced acidity. Colombian Supremo, the highest level, has a delicate, aromatic sweetness while High Grade could be a little more smooth and acid.

Indonesia still handles coffee production traditionally. Indonesia is composed of thousands of islands. Several larger islands; Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi; are known throughout the world for the fine, quality coffees which grow there. Hundreds of 1-2 acre farms in those three islands combine to secure the country's third place position. Indonesian coffees are noted for a pronounced rich, full body and mild acidity.

Indonesia is also known for its fine old coffees. These are the coffee stored at warehouses for long time. During time, warm and damp climate make coffee has deeper body, less acidity and also stronger. It is a process which cannot been matched by any modern technology.

Types of Coffee

There are several species of coffee trees, but most commercial growers use mainly Arabica and Robusta coffee species. Arabica trees are believed to produce the highest quality beans. However, Robusta trees are more economically viable for their heartiness. Coffee rarely are designated as Robusta and Arabica beans. The soil and environmental conditions which play a significant role in flavouring beans, that all coffee beans are classified according to their geographical origin. Kilimanjaro coffee comes from Tanzania feet near Mount Kilimanjaro, for example, while Java coffee comes from the Indonesian islands.

Espresso, made by brewing espresso roasted beans at high pressure, is a strong black coffee. Machiatto is espresso with a touch of steamed milk. Cappuccino is still thirds of espresso, steamed milk, and a cap of frothed milk. Cafe latte is a third of espresso and two-thirds steamed milk. The favorite drink French, Cafe au Lait is made with strong coffee (espresso), and generous servings of hot milk. With flavored coffee; hazelnut, walnut and maple raspberry, is produced by adding oils flavored beans during roasting. Depending on the manufacturer, the flavors can be natural or artificial.

Back to Home