Coffee is a beverage that millions of people across the world are addicted to. In most of the south Indian houses, not a single day begins without the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen. As for men, coffee is a must while reading the newspaper in the morning. For some, it is like a fuel without which their body engine cannot even get out of the bed. Though I'm neither a coffee lover nor a connoisseur, I truly enjoy the smell of coffee powder percolating through the filter and it energizes me to carry out my morning chores!
'A lot can happen over a cup of coffee' is famous adage. True to this, many great leaders and thinkers like Subhas Chandra Bose, Ravindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray et al. used to frequent coffee houses to refresh their minds while shaping up their ideas. Mark Pendergrast in his book 'Uncommon Grounds - The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World' mentions that part of French and American revolutions were planned in the dark corners of coffee houses!!
I have even read a bizarre incident in a newspaper where a man applied for divorce to his wife because she was not serving him coffee on time! A true coffee fanatic :)
Today's generation has given a new meaning to coffee houses. It is not uncommon to see couples dating, business men, professionals and others, cutting across the age groups browsing web, listening to music, enjoying and relaxing over a cup of coffee.
Well, so much so, to the power of this steaming beverage.
Have you ever wondered about it's history and the journey that the coffee beans take before they reach your cup?
I have tried to put together the details of the same, as gathered from a guide, during my visit to a coffee plantation and processing unit in Chikmaglur during the winter of 2013.
Coffee was accidentally discovered in the 13th century by a goat herder named Kaldi in the Ethiopian highlands.
He noticed that his goats were behaving strangely after eating red berries from a plant. They were highly energized after consuming them. He reported this to a nearby monastery where the monks tried to experiment with the berries and found that they were able to keep themselves awake for long hours during the prayers.
Coffee then reached to other countries like Yemen, Egypt, Persia, later to Europe and then the rest of the world.
Coffee is supposed to have been introduced to India from Yemen by Baba Budan. When he went on a pilgrimage to the Middle East, he brought, rather smuggled, seven coffee seeds by tying them around his waist as it was strictly restricted to export fertile coffee seeds to prevent them growing outside of Arab countries. He planted them on the hills of Chikmaglur in the year 1670. We can proudly say that Chikmaglur is the birth place of coffee in India and Karnataka is the largest coffee producing state in India.
Worldwide, Brazil is the leading coffee producer.
There are more than 25 major species in coffee, but the 2 primary types are Arabica and Robusta. Let's try to understand some differences between the two so that you can make a better choice of your coffee when you buy it the next time.
Arabica accounts for world's 60-70% production and produces superior taste than Robusta. Their caffeine content is much less.
Robusta's taste is stronger and harsher with caffeine content twice as much as Arabica's.
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| Coffee Nursery |
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| Inside a coffee plantation |
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| Pepper and other trees grown for giving shade to the coffee plants |
You might find some orange trees as well and their purpose is to distract the monkeys who come to eat the coffee cherries.
But the secret is these monkey bitten seeds are very tasty!
Such seeds are kept by the owners themselves or are exported.
Arabica variety is more susceptible to attack by pests.
Robusta grow at lower altitudes (0-700 m), their leaves larger, shallow root system, smaller seeds,low production and maintenance cost and yield more per acre. They do not need shade unlike Arabica.
They are more resistant to diseases and hence the name 'robusta'.
Instant coffees mostly use Robusta seeds.
In Karnataka, Arabica is grown in Chikmaglur and Robusta are found in areas around Sringeri.
Coffee plants flower around March/April and depending on the variety, it takes around 10 months for the flowers to turn into fruits (cherries) which are deep red in colour. It's a treat for the eyes to watch the coffee plants in full bloom as the flowers resemble jasmine.
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| A coffee plant beaming with flowers |
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| Closeup view |
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| Green fruits |
Let's now focus on some behind the scene story of transforming the cherries into beans.
The cherries are usually picked by hand which is a laborious and time consuming process. There are different methods of processing them like wet, semi-wet and dry. Dry processing is used in places where there is scarcity of water.
Coffee beans are covered inside the red pulp of the cherries. In the wet method, this red pulp is removed by using a pulping machine.
This leaves the seeds with a slimy, wet covering around the parchment. They are then subjected to fermentation for around 24-36 hours where enzymes break the slimy substance and can later be washed away.
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| Heap of Cherries waiting to go through the pulping machine |
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| Removed pulp lying in a heap |
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| Removed pulp used as fertiliser |
In the final step known as curing, parchment is removed from the beans. They are then cleaned, screened, sorted which is now called green coffee and are exported in big jute bags.
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| Beans with parchment |
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| Green coffee |
Wait! This is not all. The brown colour, rich aroma and taste that you get from the coffee beans is obtained only after properly roasting it.
The beans are put into the roaster which spins them at certain speed and temperature depending on the roasting level needed. They are then ground into powder and packaged.
Coffee companies add cheaper quality beans and chicory, which is a coffee substitute, to their coffee powders in order to bring down the coffee cost and make it affordable to customers who are price sensitive. If someone tries to sell you coffee powder for a lesser cost, watch out for the above factors.
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| Coffee roaster |
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| Packaging unit |
Now you are ready to sip your hot cup of coffee!
We did bring a coffee sapling in memory of our visit to the plantation. It has now added leaves and branches
Am optimistic that this will yield me a cup of coffee some day ;)
