Posted on 08/02/2022 12:25:50 AM PDT by LibWhacker
Researcher Addis Alemayehu with collected coffee cherries drying on a wire mesh. A research group in Ethiopia studied production methods and bean processing methods of Arabica coffee to determine which factors influenced the flavor the most. Credit: Fikadu Ejigu But is it the type of bean, the way it is grown—or the way it is processed that makes the most of every last drop of coffee?
Researchers recently published a paper about this question in Agrosystems, Geosciences and Environment journal. The journal is a publication of the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America.
Addis Alemayehu and a research team at Southern Agricultural Research Institute in Ethiopia studied Arabica coffee. Ethiopia is Africa's leading country for coffee bean production, and Arabica is the leading variety.
"Arabica coffee is an integral part of the southwestern Ethiopian tropical forest agroecology," says Alemayehu. "The forest ecosystems create conducive conditions for producing distinctive quality coffee. They also are a good source of income for farmers."
"Coffee production and processing systems are the primary factors that determine the overall quality of coffee produced in a specific environment," says Alemayehu.
Many factors influence the growth and development of coffee plants, including:
altitude, rainfall pattern, temperature, relative humidity, light, moisture, and soil nutrients These factors then influence the quality of the bean, and of the biochemicals inside the bean that influence the coffee quality.
Coffee cherries grow in various systems within the Kaffa Zone, in the southwestern part of Ethiopia. This photo shows coffee growing in semi-forest coffee system. Researchers collected the red coffee berries and studied various processing methods and how they influence coffee quality. Credit: Addis Alemayehu The research team studied coffee crops from three different regions. All the regions were within the Kafa Biosphere Reserve in Kaffa Zone, in the southwestern part of Ethiopia. The growing regions ranged from over 1,500 feet high (comparable to Arizona's Camelback Mountains) to over 11,000 feet (similar to the Wasatch Mountain Range in Utah). The temperature and rainfall varied at each site, as did some of the growing practices. This gave the team data on production and growth habits that may influence coffee bean quality.
To study bean processing's influence on bean quality, the team collected the ripe cherries (unprocessed beans) at study sites from October to December 2018. Each sample was divided into three equal amounts to apply the three processing methods: dry, semi-wet and wet processing:
Dry processing means coffee cherries were sundried. Wet processing means coffee cherries are pulped with machine. The beans are then fermented as part of the wet processing method. Semi-wet processing means coffee cherries pulped with machine and hand washed, then parchment coffees with mucilage cover were sundried. Professional coffee testers participated in the testing phase of the research. They participated in the physical, raw, and cup testing procedures.
"We need to keep bean moisture content high within the recommended range to get better cup quality, specifically coffee acidity," says Alemayehu. "The study confirms that better quality coffees come from selective hand-picking of red-ripe cherries. In addition, it is better to use the dry processing method within the recommended range of green bean moisture content."
Because of deforestation, the genetic material of Arabica coffee is stored in a preserve, called the Kafa Biosphere Reserve which was established in 2010 as a UNESCO site. The United States preserves both seeds and genetic materials in seed banks. In addition, some sites, like the Wild Chile Botanical Area in Arizona preserve live plants, similar to Ethiopia's UNESCO site.
Reading through the comments here - dang, you’re a bunch of coffee snobs! Just give me Maxwell House Colombian.
Tea..!! And yes, with Cream and Sugar...
Coffee is my drug of choice. I even dream about it.
You say that like it's a bad thing.;-)
We do as well, and have been for years. We have a cash deal with a local roaster who sources beans from around the world. It’s cheaper than store-bought swill and we get access to some fairly exotic strains. Before we hooked up with this roaster, we would buy from a place called Sweet Maria’s out west.
Our roasting machine is the Hottop, a drum roaster with a cooling tray. It’s built like a tank and we’ve been using it for years with no issues. We brew in a Technivorm Mochamaster.
Good coffee is a must for me. I bring a kit when I travel, and as I sit in a hotel room right now this morning, I’m enjoying a strain from Papau New Guinea. I get up earlier in my hotel than I normally would just so I can take 45 minutes to enjoy a nice cup in leisure.
Roasting is definitely worth the cost and time. It’s the only way to truly enjoy what coffee is meant to be…
We drink Folgers Columbian. Have a bunch put back “just in case”. Don’t want to run out if SHTF.
I had my first cup of Blue Mountain for breakfast in Ocho Rio in 1970 and I was immediately hooked.
My gf and I drank 4 pots during breakfast and walked for hours trying to get rid of the buzz. But my eyes were opened (in more ways than one).
There's coffee...and then there's COFFEE!
As I have aged, I realize we must accept the good with the not-so-good. Thus, I often toss a scoop of decaf into the morning pot of java.
If I have a long bike ride during the day, I drink a 4th cup of full-caf.
Still sleep like a baby.
Outstanding! Unfortunately, I have trouble with obtaining optimum leverage using the Aeropress. I must rely on the taller human with large hands to serve up my afternoon Aeropress coffee.
It is in these hills that Juan Valdez and his trusty goat gather coffee beans every morning
So, do you feel that the unspoken answer is the location where it is grown?
That is what I am thinking, assuming a good roast and brewing. A friend sent me some on-line beans he had roasted. They were from Madagascar and various parts of Africa. You could definitely taste the difference in the flavors.
I enjoyed the flavors, but I will say that coffee is one of those things where I don’t appreciate a great deal of variety. I know what I want it to taste like in the morning, and that is what I aim for - consistency. I don’t really need a morning surprise, even a good one.
Same here..great coffee. Actually started drinking Folgers right after Manson Murders when they killed Abigail Folger... a bizarre start but what the hell.
Since I discovered Green Mountains Dark Magic I don’t care for anything else.
Strong but not bitter.
Coffee - my drug of choice!
With great beans, a perfect roast and grind, the water used for brewing will make completely different cups when tap water is used, rather than filtered water.
The top ingredient is caffeine. Everything else is just details.
DITTO! Have been buying that for a long time.... also ‘Eight O’Clock’
I bought one of those once for travel, but stopped carrying it because on X-ray it must look like a penis pump.
I didn’t want to get odd smiles and snickers from TSA folk…
Whew! At first I was afraid this was going to be a rehash of the story about how they had to pass the beans through the digestive tract of a water buffalo.
BTW - I’ll gratefully pass up Starbucks for Dunkin’ Donuts every time.
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