How is Coffee Made (From Seed to Cup)

Coffee is such a regular part of our lives, it’s easy to take for granted. But in fact, every coffee bean travels a long way, encounters a lot of people, and goes through many processes to end up in your cup. So let’s follow along on its journey. You’ll have all the more reason to savour that next cup of coffee.

Growing Coffee: From Seed to Plant

Coffee production starts at growing a coffee plant. Coffee grows on a flowering shrub. It was once native to tropical Asia and Africa, but now coffee is found around the world. These coffee trees, especially those that produce the best coffee, only thrives in certain climates, typically those found near the equator. The regions where coffee beans come from are collectively known as the coffee belt.

You can learn about it in this quick and informative video:

The key conditions for growing coffee are ample sunshine, no frost, plenty of rain, and well-draining soil. Other factors, like mineral-rich soils, high elevation, and steady day-to-night temperatures, contribute to growing high-end coffee.

There are two main types of coffee, ARABICA, and ROBUSTA. Arabica coffee beans are the type of coffee beans that are considered superior, with sweeter and more complex flavours, but they are more expensive and challenging to grow. Robusta has harsher flavours and more caffeine, but it’s a hardier plant that thrives in rougher conditions. Both coffee bean types have a place in the coffee world.

Coffee plants produce fruits known as coffee cherries. At the heart of each coffee cherry are two beans — or occasionally one coffee bean, a peaberry, but that’s a story for another day.

Related: Coffee: Pros and Cons

Processing Coffee: From Plant to Green Coffee Bean

Coffee processing is the step of removing the coffee beans from the coffee cherry and drying them. This results in green beans that you can store until roasting.

There are three main processing methods:

• Natural processing: Also called dry processing, this is the oldest method. The coffee cherries, which are sometimes called coffee berries, are left in the sun to ferment, and then the fruity pulp is removed. The beans absorb sugars from the fruit during the process, so naturally processed coffees are often sweeter. This is also the most challenging method to control because the cherries can rot in the sun if not tended carefully.
• Washed processing: Also known as wet method or wet processing, the fruit is removed from the beans before fermentation. The coffee is much more consistent and has a cleaner taste, but wastewater management can present environmental problems (1).

• Honey processing: This is essentially a mix of the first two. In this new method, the cherry is only partially removed before fermentation and drying. The resulting coffee is both sweet and clean-tasting.

Roasting Coffee: From Green to Brown Coffee Bean

Roasting the coffee gives it the rich brown colour you recognise from the local cafe. Roasting makes the coffee more soluble, so you can extract all its glorious flavour when you brew, and it adds flavours of its own.

The flavour of a roast depends on the time and temperature of roasting. Light roasted beans still taste mainly of the origin, with bright fruit and floral flavours. Medium roast coffees take on some flavours of caramelisation from the roast. Dark roast coffees get much of their character from the roasting process, with toasted flavour notes and a full body.

Brewing and Extraction: From Coffee Beans to a Coffee Drink

There are many methods of brewing coffee. Plus, the new ones are popping all the time! But at their core, they all do the same thing.

To facilitate this extraction, we grind the coffee. The finer the ground coffee beans, the faster you can extract them. That’s why you need finely ground coffee to pull a quick shot of espresso. A medium grind is for a pour-over and coarse for a slow method like French press or cold brew.