How does coffee production work?

The most common types of coffee are coffea Arabica and robusta, to which are added the many variations and blends that allow us to indulge when we order and experiment in search of the one whose taste best matches our own. But how does coffee production work? From cultivation to packaging, from harvest to cup, there are many steps in the processing of the black gold. Let's see, in general, which ones just to find out more about what we drink on a daily basis.

Types of beans

First of all, experts explain that coffee beans can be of three different types depending on the stage of processing and production in which we find ourselves.

We speak, in fact, of "parchment suka," or parchment beans, when the bean is completely or partially covered by the dry endocarp; of "block beans" when the coffee has just been washed and is therefore still wet; and of "cherries" when, instead, we observe the freshly harvested bean.

The stages of coffee production in brief

Let us see, now, in brief what are the main stages of coffee production starting with the harvest. At this stage, coffee berries that are not green in color and are therefore sufficiently ripe for the next step, defruiting, are harvested.

The fruit is separated from the seed, leaving the bean equally still protected by a layer of pectic and one of what is called "silver skin." Thus separated it is washed and laid out in the open air for a week for the heat of the sun to dry the crop. In some cases, brushing of the grains may also be necessary to remove the "silver skin."

Once the beans have been washed and dried, they should be separated by color and size. In cases of industrial coffee production in particular, broken or damaged beans, as well as any external bodies that have mixed with the coffee, are removed.

The next step in most cases is roasting. The beans are roasted, increasing in volume, color and density. In fact, it takes on the dark brown color we then see in the packaged product when it reaches 200°C. Before this stage, another one is inserted, namely the aging of the beans, for some specific qualities of coffee, generally typical of India or Indonesia.

Then follows the bagging, analysis and grinding of the coffee: processes that vary greatly depending on the type of product to be obtained and the rules that each company may decide to choose. Before understanding, for example, how the coffee production process proceeds for Co.ind, a company that has more than 50 years of experience in the industry, let's look specifically at the most common methods of coffee harvesting.

Coffee harvesting: the methods of picking and stripping

There are two main methods of coffee picking that are used in production. The choice of one or the other depends on whether the plant flourishes based on the amount of rain that falls during the season.

One method is that of picking. In this case, ripe coffee berries are picked exclusively by hand. The picker, therefore, goes through the rows of plants several times a week and selects, one by one, which fruits are to be picked and which are not.

The most widely used alternative, however, is stripping. It consists of grasping a branch of the coffee plant, running it forcefully between the fingers of the hand, and thus picking everything that does not resist. In this way one tends to take away from the plant not only the ripe berries, but also the unripe ones, the rotten ones and, often, even some leaves. This method has also been industrialized and mechanized with the added problem that, in this way, sometimes the plants are also damaged.

The first methodology is certainly preferred because it is more accurate and allows for a quality product from the beginning, however, it is also very expensive and is, therefore, used less frequently.

Picking coffee by picking or stripping also has an effect on the flavor of the coffee. In fact, in the former case the beans then used to prepare the blend are all at the same degree of ripeness, while in the latter the presence of unripe beans more make the taste of the cup of coffee more bitter and astringent.

Coffee production: the experience of Co.ind

The entire production process, at Co.ind, is managed through a high-tech computerized system and is characterized by five stages:

1. Control
2. Roasting
3. Blending
4. Grinding
5. Packaging

In fact, the focus on the raw material to be developed and cared for starts already in the coffee's countries of origin: there, a group of experts selects the best raw coffees to be then exported to Italy where specific tasting tests and chemical-physical analyses are carried out. The goal is to do further quality verification and classify the coffee beans according to homogeneous organoleptic characteristics.

The next step, again in Co.ind's example, is roasting: the beans, brought to a temperature between 200 and 240°C, are roasted uniformly. The risk is that of burning them so the whole phase is monitored constantly thanks to some electronic equipment that follows the "curves" of roasting, which vary based on the type of product you aim to obtain.

Once the coffee has been roasted, the manufacturer takes care of blending and grinding, whether the goal is ground coffee or pods. Are, in this case, used roller grinders of the latest generation: the quality of the result is, then, measured with a laser granulometer, the last step before packaging.

This step is also crucial because this is where care must be taken to prevent the taste and aroma of the coffee from dispersing. To achieve, then, also the right maturation Co.ind chooses to let the packaged coffee rest at least two weeks in its warehouses before proceeding with the taste test. Only the coffee that passes even the experts' judgment can be marketed.

From the places of origin to our cup, this is the actual journey that corresponds to coffee production. Did you know the various stages?