Mmmm! Go_____, Jimmie! This is some serious gourmet s___! Usually, me and Vince would be happy with some freeze-dried Taster's Choice right, but he springs this serious GOURMET s___ on us! What flavor is this?
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.
Coffee is too delicate to leave on a burner for any length of time.
Costa Rica and Columbia have great coffees.
The coffee cherry (fruit) contains the coffee bean (seed).
Fascinating info!
I’d heard about the coffee where the beans are picked out of civet cat poop. We only have regular cats, but it makes a very distinctive cup. The hardest part is forcing the cats to eat enough coffee beans to make several cups every day. Note to self: restock band-aid supply soon.
Sweet Maria's used to be the go-to for green beans. The last few times I checked the website, there weren't nearly the vast selections and stories of yore.
Absolutely--bring coffee kit for travel.
After about fifteen years and running, the Hottop has definitely lived up to its price tag (although when we bought it, it was probably $400 less than it is now). My wife and I joke it’s got to give up the ghost sometime, but it just keeps on going. One trick is to disassemble it from time to time for cleaning. That chaff gets into the strangest places. When it does decide to up and die, though, I will buy another in a heartbeat.
I get my coffee at:
http://www.coffeefool.com/default.asp
&
https://www.coffeeam.com/
I don’t see either brands at those sites.
Good info about cleaning the innards. Don’t know if/when the Gene will fail. If it does, replacement parts are available for older models, and very reasonably priced.
The truest ground coffee preparation is using distilled water in a stainless steel electric percolator. I’m sure the factory flavor panels still use that method. It was heavily tested 50 years ago.
Mmmmn! Coffee cherry pie! :-)
We agree again. Can't leave the coffee on a warmer! I'm the only coffee drinker in our house so the 20oz carry around works great for me. I am through with coffee by 10:30 AM or so.
On a related note, all the small steps you and I described is what it takes to make a great cup of coffee. I hate to say this, but for years I was a Starbucks fan (for brewed coffee only). I hated (and still hate) their politics, but they made a decent brewed coffee. I experimented and experimented with learning to duplicate their flavor. After some effort, I succeeded. What I described did the trick -- and I don't have to be smacked in the face with their nutcase ideology and purple-haired servers/baristas just to get a great cup of coffee.
Enjoyed your post.
Yes; that is Sam’s Club’s notable straight-up coffee label. Great stuff for the connoisseur of just good ol’ coffee.
I’ve got some store brand decaf my mom had for years before she died a decade ago. Still good! Just keep reheating in the micro couple times a day. Or I get sheetz decaf and reheat it over a couple days. The milk doesn’t go bad suprisingly.
“I read somewhere that the half-life of caffeine is around 5 hours. If you are letting 5 or more hours elapse after your last cup it should not keep you awake.”
Depends on the person. My wife drinks coffee into the night and sleeps.
One cup for me after noon and it is the opposite.
I just use an inexpensive electric drip machine. I used to use a French press, but it doesn’t make enough coffee.
Cool!
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