The coffee plant
belongs to the "rubiacee" family and can grow
spontaneously and reach heights of 8-10 meters
depending on species. In the plantations of course
the height never gets beyond 2 meters. It blooms
only in grounds rich of mineral salts like the
volcanic ones of Central America, South America and
East Africa. The ideal climate for coffee is damp
and with average temperatures between 17 and 23
degrees Celsius. The harvestings periods are
determined by amount or rainfall; the plant
generally blooms after several weeks from the
rainfall. After 7-8 months of the blooming it's
possible to pluck the fruit, the "drupe". When
completely ripe the fruits are much like berries,
united in clusters and attached to the branch by
thin stalks. These berries contains two seeds,
called "beans", surrounded by the sweet pulp. After
harvest, the pulp is separated from the seeds by
applying one of two methods: the dry method or the
wet method. With the 1st method the fruits are
allowed to dry in the sun and then following that
smashed to separate the membrane from the seeds.
With the second method (utilized with the more
fancier species) the drupes are dipped in large
tanks of water where they ferment. After
fermentation they are removed from the tanks,
stripped of their pulp and again allowed to dry in
the sun. The final outcome of both the methods are
the green beans that are traded in big sacks of
jute.
