Coffee
Coffee… Almost everyone drinks it, several cups per day. But what exactly is coffee? Where does it come from, how is it discovered, how is it grown and how did it became so popular?
Coffee is a hot beverage prepared from roasted seeds, also called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. Coffee beans are the seeds of the coffee berries that grow on coffee plants in over 70 countries. The caffeine content of coffee can have a stimulating effect on our body.
We never really think about it, but that black liquid in your cup in the morning is a remarkable thing. Coffee is the most popular beverage on earth after water. According to the World Food Bank, there are no less than 500 million people directly or indirectly involved in the global coffee trade. Coffee is the most traded commodity on the planet after petroleum. Yet most people do not know exactly what coffee is, and will therefore not know exactly how to prepare the best cup of coffee.
Everyone recognizes a roasted coffee bean, but unless you’ve lived or traveled in a coffee producing country, chances are that you do not recognize a coffee plant when you see him.
A cultivating coffee plant is cut short, but in the wild coffee plants can grow more than 30 feet high. A coffee plant is covered with dark-green, waxy leaves that grow in opposite pairs.
The coffee berries grow on the branches of the plant. After flowering of the white blossoms, it takes almost one year for a cherry starts to ripen. As the plant grows in a continuous cycle, it is not unusual for a plant to simultaneously carry both flowers, as green and ripe berries.
Coffee plants can become approximately 20 to 30 years old and are able to grow in a wide range of climates, as long as no violent fluctuations in temperature occur. The coffee plant prefers a rich soil and mild temperatures, with frequent rain and light sun.
People in the coffee world talk a lot about the “seed-to-cup chain”, a seemingly insurmountable series of events from the selection of cultivare plants to the coffee being served, which all together determine whether your coffee tastes like heaven, or just like poo.
Think of the planting, the long-term care of the plants, the level and quality of soil, the climate, the care being paid to harvesting, the rough travel of export, the process of grinding coffee and the competence of the barista. For the perfect cup of coffee all these steps should be perfect.
Finding a good cup of coffee can be difficult, and finding the perfect cup of coffee even virtually impossible. The enormous amount of brands, styles, certifications, labels and production methods make it even more confusing. On this site you already find some tips that can help prepare a delicious cup of coffee.
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