The coffee plant is a tropical shrub that grows about 30 feet high and contains a number of small red fruits that look something like berries. Each berry contains two seeds, which are called “beans.”
The coffee berries are picked and then washed. They are then left in the sun to dry for a few weeks, and are turned over now and then to make sure they dry evenly. Once the berries are dry, the beans are squeezed out.
These beans are green, but then they are roasted, and turn brown. It takes about five pounds of berries to produce a pound of coffee beans. The roasted beans are ground into a powder, packaged, and sent to the supermarket.
Coffee has become a popular drink because coffee beans contain a mild drug called caffeine. Caffeine stimulates the body’s nervous system and has the effect of “waking up” the coffee drinker.
In spite of modern technology, no one has yet invented a machine to pick coffee berries, and they must still be picked by hand!
Related Posts
-
Where Did Coffee Come From and Who Were the First People to Discover and Drink Coffee?
The Muslims were the first to develop coffee. As early as 1524 they were using it as a replacement for the wine they were forbidden to drink. According to legend, an astute Arab…
-
How is instant coffee made and Where does instant coffee come from?
Whether you agree with the ads that freeze dried instant coffee packs in more flavor, or stand by the powdered brand you've been using for years, the manufacturing process for both is similar,…
-
Who invented coffee and How did people learn how to make coffee?
According to Arab legend, a lone shepherd named Kaldi was roaming the hills with his herd of goats sometime around A.D. 850. One day he found his usually quiet herd behaving very strangely:…
-
How is Decaffeinated Coffee made and How do they get the Caffeine out of Coffee?
The bitter, white substance caffeine makes up only about one percent of the composition of coffee beans. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires 97 percent of that tiny amount to be removed…
-
How are Instant Coffee and Freeze Dried Coffee Made?
Freeze dried coffee is made by the sublimation of ice. Freeze-dried coffee differs from ordinary instant coffee in an important way. To make either kind of fast-beverage powder, they first brew two-thousand-pound batches…
-
Why Is Coffee Bitter and Where Can I Find Coffee With Less Acid?
Acidity often gets a bum rap. Maybe it’s because of all the television commercials for drugs designed to control heartburn and acid reflux. But the acid in our stomachs (hydrochloric acid) is thousands…
