THE COFFEE BEAN

What is coffee?
Coffee trees produce the "cherry" or coffee fruit which consists of 2 beans inside a cherry, and is normally harvested once a year. There are several types of coffee plants, but the two most common ones are Robusta and Arabica. Robusta coffee beans are small, high in caffeine and often taste bitter. Arabica coffee beans are larger and far superior in quality to robusta, having good aroma, taste, and less caffeine.

Coffee cherries ripen at different times, so they are predominantly picked by hand. It takes approximately 2,000 Arabica cherries to produce just one pound of roasted coffee. Since each cherry contains two beans, your one pond of coffee is derived from 4,000 coffee beans. The average coffee tree only produces one to two pounds of roasted coffee per year, and takes four to five years to produce its first crop. The coffee plant first produces delicate clusters of white blossoms, resembling jasmine in shape and scent. These blossoms last only a few days. Small green coffee cherries then begin to appear and ripen to yellow,,,red,,, and finally almost black, within six to nine months.

Once the coffee cherries are picked, they are transported for processing. The fruit is then removed from the seed by one of two methods. The natural or dry process, where the cherries are dried in the sun or in dryers, and the fruit is then separated from the bean by processing them through a mechanical husker. Or, by a superior soaking method known as the wet process, which produces beans which are referred to as washed coffees. The green beans are then dried, sized, sorted, graded and selected, usually all by hand. The beans are then bagged and are ready for shipment to local roasters around the world. Few products we use require so much in terms of human effort.

COFFEE GEOGRAPHY

Coffee grows in the tropical belt around the world, roughly between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer (25° north and south of the equator). The qualities and attributes of coffees will be very similar within the same geographic region. Coffee trees prefer rich soil (usually volcanic and mountainous), need a good amount of rainfall, and warm temperatures. The following factors determine the coffee's flavor:

* the species and variety of coffee tree
* the type of soil the trees grow in
* the climate and altitude of the plantation
* the care with which the fruit is picked
* and how the seeds (or beans) are processed.

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WHERE DID COFFEE ORIGINATE?

Coffee was first discovered in Northern Africa in an area we know today as Ethiopia. A popular legend refers to a goat herder by the name of Kaldi, who observed his goats acting unusually frisky after eating berries from a bush. Curious about this phenomena, Kaldi tried eating the berries himself. He found that these berries gave him a renewed energy. The news of this energy laden fruit quickly spread throughout the region.

Coffee berries were transported from Ethiopia to the Arabian peninsula, and were first cultivated in what today is the country of Yemen, Mocha was the Yemen port where coffee beans were originally exported from.

From there, coffee traveled to Turkey where coffee beans were roasted for the first time over open fires. The roasted beans were crushed, and then boiled in water, creating a crude version of the beverage we enjoy today.

Coffee first arrived on the European continent by means of Venetian trade merchants. Once in Europe this new beverage fell under harsh criticism from the Catholic church. Many felt the pope should ban coffee, calling it the drink of the devil. To their surprise, the pope, already a coffee drinker, blessed coffee declaring it a truly Christian beverage.

Coffee houses spread quickly across Europe becoming centers fro intellectual exchange. Many great minds of Europe used this beverage, and forum, as a springboard to heightened thought and creativity.

In the 1700's, coffee found its way to the Americas by means of a French infantry captain who nurtured one small plant on its long journey across the Atlantic. This one plant, transplanted to the Caribbean Island of Martinique, became the predecessor of over 19 million trees on the island within 50 years. It was from this humble beginning that the coffee plant found its way to the rest of the tropical regions of south and Central America.

Coffee was declared the national drink of the then colonized United States by the Continental Congress, in protest of the excessive tax on tea levied by the British crown.

Espresso, a recent innovation in the way to prepare coffee, obtained its origin in 1822, with the innovation of the first crude espresso machine in France. The Italians perfected this wonderful machine and were the first to manufacture it. Espresso has become such an integral part of Italian life and culture, that there are presently over 200,000 espresso bars in Italy.

Today, coffee is a giant global industry employing more than 20 million people. This commodity ranks second only to petroleum in terms of dollars traded worldwide.

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WHAT IS SHADE GROWN COFFEE?
Typically, the coffee varieties present in shade coffee farms are the older ones (bourbon, typica, maragogype), which produce fewer beans, more slowly, and with higher levels of sugars.

As the title implies, "shade grown" coffee is coffee cultivated under a canopy of sun filtering shade trees. The extent, type, and utility of shade trees employed vary from farm to farm and country to country. In Chiapas, Mexico and Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, for example the small peasant-owned farms typically cultivate their coffee plants under a multi-storied shade canopy of citrus trees, leguminous trees, and native hardwoods. In the more agro-industrial setting of Costa Rica and Colombia, meanwhile, when shade trees are employed, they are frequently no more than a thin and sporadic canopy of a single species nitrogen fixing variety.

Traditionally, all coffee was grown under a canopy of shade trees. The original típica and borbón varieties of coffee, those brought over to the New World centuries ago, are relatively intolerant of direct sunlight and require the filtering effect of shade trees lest the leaves will burn. These ancient varieties grow to heights of twenty or more feet, require ample space to grow, are typically only moderately prolific bean producers, yet render a wonderful cup. In the last twenty-five years, however, new sun tolerant varieties of coffee have been hybridized - caturra, catuaí, mundo novo, and variedad colombiana, for example, which can be cultivated without a shade covering. These new varieties are shorter and denser in stature, allow for a much greater plant population per acre, and usually produce more prolifically.

So why would a farmer choose to stay with the shade grown grand-daddies? The answer is beautifully simple: shade grown coffees are more ecologically and economically conservative, sport greater bio-diversity, and are thus more "sustainable" than non-shade coffee farms. This is so, for a myriad of reasons. In terms of ecological conservation, the shade trees serve numerous purposes. In addition to their obvious role as a sun screen for the coffee plants, they also provide a nitrogen-rich mulch to the coffee soil as their leaves fall and decompose on the ground. In addition to being a natural fertilizer, the presence of the mulch is also useful in soil moisture conservation, suppression of weed growth, and prevention of soil runoff during the rainy season. The result is a lessened if not non-existent need for chemical fertilizers and herbicides.

The shade trees can also act as an economic buffer for the coffee farmer. Earlier we pointed out the varying layers and types of shade trees employed on small farms in Nicaragua and Mexico. Frequently, the lowest layer will be citrus, avocado, and banana trees, which provide not only food for the family, but frequently allows for excess to be sold at local produce markets. The upper shade story, meanwhile, is typically composed of native hardwood trees or large nitrogen-fixing leguminous trees, is an other economic resource. As these trees are thinned and pruned throughout the year, their branches and timber area source of fuel and cooking wood, fencing material, and a viable source of timber for building and construction purposes. In times of low coffee prices, clearly, the presence of the shade trees is integral in the economic survival of the small farmer.

Finally, shaded coffee farms perform an only recently recognized function - that of sanctuary for resident and migratory bird and animal life. Since the mid 1970's, rain forests and orchards have been decimated at an alarming rate in South and Central America. As the forest disappears, the shaded coffee farm becomes a sort of tropical refuge and sanctuary for the forest dwelling fauna, mainly birds. Experts from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center have documented sightings of up to 150 different bird species in a shaded coffee farm; in unshaded coffee farms, however, only five to twenty species were counted. While this is great news for members of the Audubon Society, it is actually significant for the coffee farmer because a diverse and large bird population can often be an excellent source of insect and pest control. In general, an increase in bio-diversity results in a far lower risk of infestation, plague, and disease in the coffee farm. Thus, less need for insecticides - more sustainability for the farmer.

Despite these many benefits of cultivating coffee under a canopy of shade trees, farmers continue to elect to remove the shade trees and plant the new sun-tolerant varieties in dense stands for the hopes of higher production. While higher production is likely, the ecological price tag is higher on these farms due to the increased dependence on herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers, as well as increased soil erosion and water runoff. Nonetheless, this continues to be the current mode in coffee farming, particularly so in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

Why Shade Grown Coffee Is Important (Written by Grounds for Change for ENN.com)
A shade grown coffee farmer stands in his coffee plot laced with orange, avocado, lime and scattered high-canopy trees. Birdsong rains down from above and the rustle of animals in the twigs and fallen leaves surrounds him on all sides. Dappled sunlight filters down and glints off the glossy green leaves of his mature coffee shrubs.

This vision is in sharp contrast to the sun-baked, acidified soil and relative silence found on standard full-sun coffee plantations, which must clear-cut the forest and use large quantities of toxic fertilizers and pesticides to keep their full-sun coffee productive.

Coffee is a shade-loving shrub and naturally-occurring varieties can only be cultivated under a canopy of shade trees. What we now refer to as "shade grown coffee" was the only way coffee was cultivated until 25 years ago, when new full-sun hybrids were developed that produced substantially higher yields for coffee farmers and allowed the creation of massive agribusiness-style plantations, which were not economically viable prior to this time.

The increased yields of full-sun coffee come at the expense of the environment, the flavor of the coffee itself and of migratory bird populations, which have been decimated in the last 25 years.

The Environment
Clear-cutting the forest for full-sun plantations increases soil erosion and deadly mudslides and the chemicals used to support the growth of full-sun hybrids produce toxic run-off and acidify the soil. Needless to say, biodiversity on these plantations is negligible. Shade grown coffee shrubs live twice as long and the shade trees generate natural mulch, which means less replanting and less need for chemical fertilizers.

Flavor
Experts agree that the flavor of shade grown coffee is superior to that of full-sun coffee and that it is significantly less bitter. Shade grown coffee shrubs mature more slowly and produce fewer coffee cherries so the flavor is more concentrated and mellowed in the resulting harvest.

Migratory Birds
The plight of migratory birds is frequently identified with shade grown coffee because shade grown coffee farms are small ecosystems, second only to tropical rainforests in terms of biodiversity. These farms act as an oasis for over 150 species of migratory birds whose populations have declined 50% in just the last 25 years, primarily due to habitat destruction caused by full-sun coffee plantations, which have 95% fewer bird species than their shaded counterparts.

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COFFEE AND HEALTH: PESTICIDES AND CHEMICALS

The concerns raised by those apprehensive about the use of pesticides and agricultural chemicals in coffee growing are twofold. First is the health issue for the consumer: whether harmful chemical residues may reach our systems when we drink coffee. Second are the related environmental and social issues: whether buying coffees that my be grown with the help of potentially harmful chemicals contributes to the destruction of the environment and threatens the health of the rural poor who raise coffee.

Agricultural Chemicals and Consumer Health. The consumer health issue is simplest to address. Coffee is not eaten raw like lettuce or apples. The bean is the seed of a fruit. The flesh of this fruit is discarded. Along the way the seed is soaked, fermented, and subject to a thorough drying process. Later it is roasted at temperatures exceeding 400°F, and finally broken apart and soaked in near boiling water. This savage history concludes when we consume only the water in which the previously soaked, fermented, dried, roasted, and infused seed was immersed. Given this history of relentless attrition, it hardly seems possible that much if any of the small amounts of pesticide/fungicide residue permitted by law in green coffee ever make it into the cup.

Chemical Free Alternatives. In brief, coffee drinkers concerned about the impact of agricultural chemicals on environment and society or those unwilling to accept the reassurances on the consumer health issue have essentially three alternatives:

• Buy a traditional coffee, grown as coffee was grown from its inception, before agricultural chemicals were invented. All Yemen, almost all Ethiopia, and most Sumatra Mandheling coffees are grown in such a state of innocence, and all are among the world's finest.

• Buy a certified organic coffee. Certified organic coffees are coffees whose growing conditions and processing have been thoroughly monitored by independent agencies and found to be free of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, and other potentially harmful chemicals. The monitoring agencies visit the farm and verify that no chemicals have been used on the farm for several years, and then follow every step of the processing, preparing, transporting, storage, and roasting. Such careful monitoring is of course expensive, which is one reason certified organic coffees cost more than similar uncertified coffees. Many such certified organic coffees are the product of socially and environmentally progressive cooperatives.

• Buy a coffee labeled "sustainable". Sustainable is a rather loose term meaning that, in the view of the importer or roaster, designated farmers are doing everything within reason to avoid the use of agricultural chemicals and to pursue enlightened environmental and socially progressive practices in the growing and processing of their coffees.

COFFEE AND HEALTH: ANOTHER SUSPECT - ACID

Caffeine is only one of the villains in the coffee controversy. Another is certain chemicals often lumped together under the term acid. Some people do not like the acid or sour note in coffee and claim it upsets their stomachs. Others say it causes jitters. Does that sourness in coffee make your tongue or stomach feel uncomfortable? Then you have three alternatives:

• Try to find a coffee with the acid reduced through a process much like the ethyl acetate solvent decaffeination process. These coffees, treated in Germany, are marketed under the name special mild coffees. They are hard to find, do not offer much choice, and suffer from the same potential for flavor-diminution as decaffeinated beans.

• Buy a moderately-dark- to dark-roasted coffee. Dark roasting reduces the acid sensation in coffee.

• Buy a lower-altitude, naturally low-acid coffee brought to a moderately dark roast (full-city, Viennese, light espresso). To me, this is by far the best solution for acid-shy coffee drinkers. Naturally low-acid coffees include Brazils, most India and Pacific (Sumatra, Timor, Hawaii) coffees, and most Caribbean coffees.

It also helps to buy very good coffee, because the best coffee has been processed from ripe coffee fruit, and coffee from ripe fruit is naturally sweet and lacks the sharp, astringent sensation of cheaper coffee processed from less-than-ripe fruit.

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HOW IS CAFFEINE REMOVED TO PRODUCE DECAFFEINATED COFFEE?
(Fergus Clydesdale, head of the Food Science Department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, provides this answer:

"First, some background. Coffee is the second most popular beverage in the world, after tea. Historians believed the use of coffee as a stimulant originated in ancient Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Caffeine is the component of coffee that is responsible for its mild stimulatory effect on the central nervous system. A six-ounce cup of coffee typically contains approximately 50 to 75 milligrams of caffeine, although the amount varies considerably depending on the method of preparation and they type of coffee; Robusta coffee contains nearly twice as much caffeine as Arabica, for instance. For people who are sensitive to caffeine, even 10 milligrams can cause discomfort. That is why nearly all decaffeinated coffees contain less than 10 milligrams of caffeine (typically two to five milligrams) per serving. Today decaffeinated coffee accounts for approximately 12 percent of total worldwide coffee consumption, or nearly 1 billion pounds per year.

"This first process for decaffeinating coffee was invented by Ludwig Roselius in 1905. Roselius' method used benzene, a potentially toxic hydrocarbon, to remove caffeine from premoistened, green coffee beans. Modern decaffeination processes are much more gentle; many make that point by claiming to be 'naturally decaffeinated.'

"There are three main decaffeination processes currently in use. They have some basic similarities, In all three approaches, the green or roasted beans are first moistened, making the caffeine soluble so that it can be drawn out. Also, they all decaffeinate green coffee at moderate temperatures, typically ranging from 70 to 100 degrees Celsius (160 to 210 degrees Fahrenheit).

"One method is water processing. As you might expect, this process employs water as the solvent to remove caffeine from the green coffee beans. Typically a battery extraction process using either to 12 vessels is employed; each vessel contains green coffee at a different stage of decaffeination.

"A mixture of water and green-coffee extract that has already been reduced in caffeine is circulated around the coffee beans within the extraction battery ) oils in the coffee extract aid in the decaffeination process). After a predetermined time, the vessel that has been exposed to the low-caffeine extract is isolated and emptied. The decaffeinated coffee beans are then rinsed and dried, and a vessel containing fresh green coffee is put on stream. The caffeine-rich extract that was drawn off from the vessel containing the fresh, green coffee is passed through a bed of activated charcoal, which absorbs the caffeine. This charcoal has been pretreated with a carbohydrate, typically sucrose, that helps it absorb caffeine without removing other compounds that contribute tot he flavor of the coffee. The sucrose blocks carbon sites that would normally absorb sugars from the liquid, green-coffee extract. The caffeine-reduced extract can then be reused to begin the process anew. The water process is natural (that is, it does not involve any chemicals), but it is not very specific for caffeine; it removes 94 to 96 percent of the caffeine.

"A second decaffeination method is the direct solvent method. These days this technique usually employs methylene chloride (used predominately in Europe), coffee oil or ethyl acetate to dissolve the caffeine and extract it from the coffee. Ethyl acetate is an ester that is found naturally in fruits and vegetables such as bananas, apples and coffee. The liquid solvent is circulated through a bed of moist, green coffee beans, removing some of the caffeine; the solvent is then recaptured in an evaporator, and the beans are washed with water. Residues of the solvent are removed from the coffee to trace levels by steaming the beans. Often this process utilizes batch processing - that is, solvent is added to the vessel, circulated and emptied several times until the coffee has been decaffeinated to the desired level. Solvents are used because they are generally more precisely targeted to caffeine than is charcoal, leaving behind nearly all the noncaffeine solids. The more caffeine-specific solvents, such as methylene chlorides, can extract 96 to 97 percent of the caffeine.

"The third approach, supercritical carbon dioxide decaffeination, is very similar to the direct solvent methods, except that in this case the solvent is carbon dioxide. High-pressure vessels (operating at roughly 250 to 300 times atmospheric pressure) are employed to circulate the carbon dioxide through a bed of premoistened, green coffee beans. At such pressures, carbon dioxide takes on unique, 'supercritical' properties that enhance its usefulness as a solvent. Supercritical carbon dioxide has a density like that of a liquid, but its viscosity and diffusivity are similar to those of a gas. These attributes significantly lower its pumping costs. Carbon dioxide is a popular solvent because it has a relatively lowe pressure critical point, and it is naturally abundant. The caffeine-rich carbon dioxide exiting the extraction vessel is either channeled through a bed of activated charcoal or through a water 'bath' tower to absorb the caffeine. The carbon dioxide is then recirculated back to the extraction vessel. Supercritical carbon dioxide decaffeination is capital-cost intensive, but it offers very good yields. It typically can extract 96 to 98 percent of the caffeine originally present in the beans."

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