

Demystifying Coffee Beans

History And Types Of Coffee Beans

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Coffee beans have one of the most distinct aromas in the world. Just taking a sniff of dark roasted, oily beans can stimulate the pleasure centers in the brain, making you long for a steaming cup of coffee. Coffee has come a long way since its discovery in Africa centuries ago, and has now risen to become a varietal product much like wine. Coffee aficionados talk about acidity and undertones and find that coffee beans from particular regions have distinctive properties. Whether taken with cream and sugar or mixed into a latte, a look into the world of coffee beans can help you understand the sometimes confusing labels.

Coffee beans are actually the seeds of coffee berries (also called coffee cherries) that grow on coffee trees in various parts of the world. Each tree produces approximately two pounds of coffee beans per year. The seeds are green when they emerge from the berries and are put into a roaster and roasted at different temperatures for different time periods to achieve a particular color. The amount of roasting and the color of the beans will produce different levels of body, aroma, and acidity and will determine the type of coffee produced. Each bean contains an amount between .8 and 2.5percent of caffeine, which is the element that gives coffee drinkers an extra boost of energy. Roasting caramelizes the sugars and carbohydrates that are in the beans and gives coffee its distinct aroma and flavor. Contrary to popular belief, darker roasts have less caffeine and acidity than lighter roasts.

The History of Coffee Beans
Coffee originated centuries ago in the area now known as Ethiopia in eastern Africa. A popular legend says that a goat herder saw that his goats were particularly lively after eating the berries of a certain tree.
The herder tried these berries and found that he had extra energy. Local monks then dried the berries for transportation to distant monasteries. Once the coffee berries reached the monastery, the monks reconstituted the berries by soaking them in water and drinking the liquid.

Coffee beans were first roasted in Turkey, where they were ground and made into a drink resembling today’s coffee. Venetian trade merchants first brought coffee beans to Europe. Once on western shores, members of the Catholic clergy tried to ban the beverage, saying it was the drink of the devil. Pope Clement VIII tried the hot drink before agreeing to the ban and loved it. The Pope later blessed coffee and declared it a truly Christian drink. In his opinion, something that tasted so wonderful had to have come from God.

In the 1700s, a lone French infantryman nursed one coffee plant as he traveled to the Caribbean island of Martinique. Within 50 years, there were 19 million plants in the Americas. During the early part of U.S. history, the Continental Congress proclaimed coffee as the national drink to protest the British tea tax. The first espresso machines appeared in France in 1822 and were soon perfected by the Italians. Today, coffee beans are a global industry that employs over 20 million people. Because the beans ripen at different times on the same bush, most coffee is harvested by hand. This hand-harvesting process makes coffee one of the most labor-intensive products in the world.
Coffee Countries
Coffee bean types are affected by several factors. The seeds, location, soil, altitude, weather, harvesting methods and processing all have an influence on the final product. There are two main types of coffee beans: arabica and robusta. Arabica coffee beans are grown at elevations over 3,000 feet. These beans tend to have the best flavor and aroma; they also contain about half the caffeine of other types of beans.

Arabica are considered the superior coffee beans by roasters and blenders. Robusta plants are easier to grow and produce more berries, but also have a woody and astringent flavor that is not appealing unless it is blended with another type of bean.

Coffee plants grow at altitudes ranging from sea level to 6,000 feet, but are always within a narrow band close to the equator. Two of the main areas for coffee bean production are in Africa and India. These beans are noted for chocolate and fruit undertones with intense aromas. Coffee producing countries in Africa include Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Arabian mocha is grown in Yemen and is considered the oldest and most traditional coffee, as well as one of the finest variations. Central and South America grow coffee that is lighter and has sharp acidity with bright clean flavors. Brazil grows about 35 percent of the world’s coffee. A third of the world’s coffee is produced on the islands of Indonesia. Coffee from this area is rich with full body and gentle acidity. Kona coffee from Hawaiiis highly prized and is often blended with lower priced coffees to boost flavor and body.
Roasting Coffee Beans
Coffee beans must be separated from the berries, this is usually done with one of two methods. The first process is called the “wet process” where the berries are soaked in water until they separate from the green beans. The “dry process” separates the beans by removing the fruit from the seed as it dries in the sun or in machines.

After the beans have been separated, they are transported to local roasters all over the world. Good coffee is roasted in small batches, often at the location where they are sold. Drum roasting tumbles the beans in a metal drum that is heated by gas or wood. Hot air roasting tumbles the beans on a current of hot air. Coffee roasters use different degrees that vary from “cinnamon” to “espresso” to describe the type of roast they use for their beans. Most roasters blend beans after roasting for their signature coffee blends. Espresso roasts can have anywhere from three to seven different types of beans in each blend.

Special Coffee Beans
Decaf coffee beans must have 97 percent of caffeine removed, although most people find that the process alters the taste to some degree. Most processes soak the beans in water and a solvent and then re-infuse the flavor that has been lost back into the beans. Many companies advertise “naturally decaffeinated” coffees because they use ethyl acetate as their solvent, which is found naturally in many fruits. The Swiss water process uses water and activated charcoal to decaffeinate the beans.
Decaffeinated coffees a few decades ago were processed with solvents that were found to be harmful to humans, but they have been made safe in recent years.

Organic coffee beans must be certified as organic by the United States Department of Agriculture. To be labeled “organic,” these types of coffee beans have to be grown and processed without any chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

Fair Trade beans empower local farmers in coffee-growing countries, giving them the ability to compete globally. The Fair Trade label guarantees that the local coffee farmers get a fair price and work under good labor conditions. Buying Fair Trade beans helps support these efforts. You can find out more about the movement at

If you love coffee, going to a specialty coffee retailer can help you find the specific kinds of beans you like. Acidity and strength vary widely with different types of coffee beans, and sampling different beans will steer you toward the regions and type of beans that best suit your palate. Many people make their own coffee blends by combining pure bean varieties into their “house brew.” Experimenting with different types of coffee can be a great way to spend a morning, just be sure to keep track of how much of each type of beans you are adding so that you can consistently replicate the blend whenever you want. Coffee drinking goes back hundreds of years, so set up your coffeemaker, grab your cup and participate in a little piece of history.

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