A Christmas Coffee Tradition: Exploring Holiday Flavors
Christmas is a time to share love, joy and traditions, and for many, that includes savoring specialty coffee flavors that
December 24, 2024
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Coffee seeds are usually planted in shady beds. Planting often takes place during the wet season, so that the soil remains moist while the roots become firmly established. The two major species of coffee plant are tropical evergreen shrubs or small trees of African origin; Arabica and Robusta.
Depending on the variety, it will take approximately 3 to 4 years for the newly planted coffee trees to bear fruit. The fruit, called the coffee cherry, turns a bright, deep red when it is ripe and ready to be harvested. Once the cherries has been picked, it is processed quickly to avoid spoilage.
The cherries are processed by disengaging the coffee seeds from their coverings and from the pulp and by drying the seeds from an original moisture content of 65–70 percent water by weight to 12–13 percent. Three techniques are used for processing the coffee: the dry, or “natural,” process, the wet (and washed) process, and a hybrid process called the semi-washed, or “pulped natural,” method.
The coffee resulting from these processes is called green coffee, which is then ready for roasting.
