Coffee Beans Are The Seeds Of The Coffee Plant

Coffee beans are the seeds of the coffee plant and is the source of coffee drinks. The color of the seeds are white and mostly the endosperm. Each fruit generally have two seeds. Fruit containing only one seed is called peaberry and is believed to have a better taste.

Two varieties are the most widely cultivated arabica coffee (75%) and Robusta coffee (20%). Arabica coffee contains about 0.8-1.4 percent caffeine, whereas robusta coffee 1.7-4% caffeine. Coffee is one of plantation crops and a major export commodities than half of developing countries in the world.

Cultivation

Coffee trees can grow up to 10 meters high. Coffee plants are generally planted with the distance between trees about two meters. Arabica and robusta coffee each have different environmental requirements; Arabica coffee prioritize termperatur cooler and robusta coffee requires warmer temperatures. As with other fruit plants, coffee requires a dry season and the sun is pretty much when it begins to bear fruit.

Post-Harvest

When the fruits begin to ripen, usually picked by hand and it takes patience growers in selecting fruit really ripe. Besides picking selectively, other methods that farmers picking whole fruit on the branch, both ripe fruit or not, to then be selected in place of processing.

In the coffee processing facilities, coffee fruit through the process of separation of pulp from the seeds, and then soaked in water for two days to dissolve the rest of the pulp and pulp may still stick to the seed. In addition to using the immersion method, the coffee beans can also be dried in the sun to dry to separate the fruit flesh and seeds.

Nutrition

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethyl-xanthine) is an alkaloid compounds which are located mainly in coffee beans, fresh or digaringkan. Levels vary between 1 to 2.5 percent depending on the type. The caffeine content of coffee beans do not undergo significant changes during the ripening of fruit on the tree. The solubility of caffeine in water increases with temperature and the addition of chlorine acid, citric acid and tartaric acid, all of which are also located in the fresh coffee beans.

Besides caffeine, there are also alkaloids theophylline, theobromine, paraxantin, liberin, and metilliberin with low levels. Theophylline also an alkaloid that is found in green tea, and the levels of these alkaloids in coffee beans decreased when coffee beans digaringkan.

Trigonelin (N-methyl-nicotinate) is a derivative of vitamin B6 and contained in the coffee beans fresh grading between 0.6 to 1 percent. Penggaringan change most trigonelin into niacin. Trigolenin have been observed to have mutagenic properties.

See Also : History Of Coffee - The Origin of The Coffee Plant

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