Coffee : From cherry to cup

The coffee industry differs from other major commodity chains in that it involves two very distinct products: Arabica and Robusta. The 1980s saw the emergence of new markets:

• originating in the United States, demand for "gourmet coffees" is growing every year and spreading to other continents, particularly Asia. The demand is for coffees with a wide range of aromas;

• local coffees are also increasingly in demand. They represent a reaction to globalization, which means that consumers want to know where their food comes from;

• fair trade coffees are a response to consumer awareness of the need to help producers in poor countries. To be a success, the rules of good processing practice need to be included in the specifications;

• Finally, organic coffees are enjoying a boom. They come from certified plantations that use only natural fertilizers and authorized pesticides, and in very limited quantities. They are the result of a nature protection approach and are very popular in Germany.

But whatever the final type of coffee, its quality is shaped by agronomic choices, cultivation, initial processing and machining. Then, secondary processing, i.e. roasting, blending, decaffeination and soluble coffee production, must preserve the potential of green coffee. These numerous stages, their role and the techniques they require, are explained in this article.

A glossary of terms is provided at the end of the article.