roasted coffee beans

To keep their monopoly, the Yemeni rulers ordered that the seeds should be roasted or steamed before being exported. The sources vary concerning the smuggling of raw seeds or plants but agree that the Dutch were at the origin of cultivation of coffee outside Arabia. The town of Mokha (Mocha) on the Red Sea was a flourishing town even before the coffee trade was introduced, because of all the boats and caravans meeting there for trade in incense, myrrh, mother of pearl, etc. It became even more prosperous after the introduction of coffee into European countries, being the center of the new trade. This golden age came to an end near the middle of the Eighteenth century when the quantities of coffee grown in other countries such as Indonesia, West Indies, etc., were important enough to lower the price.

The first largely cultivated species was Coffea arabica which grows well on hilly, well-watered and drained slopes. Nowadays, the ‘robust’ Coflea canephora, var. robusta which has fewer needs and different characteristics, is mainly produced in Africa, and hybrids are also cultivated. Great care has to be taken concerning all the steps from the plant to the cup: collecting, pulping, drying, freeing from the husk, storage, roasting and further storage. Small scale operations may not be successful as complete control of cultivation and production is essential to high quality. Bad storage and bad drying of the berries may be at the origin of ‘stinking’ green beans, as observed in Yemen , even though some of the very primitively treated crops will certainly not reach the international trade.

SOURCE : Coffee Flavor Chemistry, Ivon Flament

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