STRUCTURE OF THE COFFEE FRUIT

The coffee cherry normally contains two beans (its seeds), which are flat on one side and develop in the center of the fruit with the flat sides facing each other. When only one bean is produced into the fruit, it is round and called a “peaberry.” Beneath the fruit flesh is a layer of slimy, mucilaginous matter, and beneath it is the parchment skin, a very tough, almost shell-like coating that is difficult remove. The mucilaginous layer is removed after the harvested cherries are pulped, ether by natural fermentation during soaking or by mechanical means. Beneath the parchment skin and covering the coffee beans is a thin membrane called the “silver skin”; a small portion of this skin is usually found on the cleft of the bean after hulling. After hulling the bean is referred to as “green coffee.”

HAND-HARVESTING

Coffee fruit on a tree does not mature all at once- several stages of cherry development will be found on a tree. When the cherry has matured and is ready for picking, it usually turns from green to slightly red and then to glossy red when fully ripe. When hand –harvesting, only ripe coffee should be picked. Immature, overripe, and raisin (dried-on-the tree) cherries are of inferior quality. Overripe cherries and soft and brown, and when they are squeezed, the individual seeds can be felt inside the fruit because the pulp and mucilage is gone. Most small coffee farm in Hawaii, they use hand harvesting, however, some big coffee company use mechanical harvesting. The machine’s cost about $100,000. We are keeping quality for good coffee using hand-harvesting.

ROAST STORY

Green coffee beans are heated in a large rotating drum, then their transformation begins. After about 5 to 7 minutes of intense heat, much of their moisture evaporates. The beans turn a yellow color and smell a little like popcorn. After about 8 minutes in the roaster, the "first pop" occurs.The beans double in size, crackling as they expand. They are now light brown. Very sour one-dimensional flavor notes are dominant, while more complex coffee flavors haven't yet developed. After 10-11 minutes in the roaster, the beans reach an even brown color, and oil starts to appear on the surface of the bean. At this roasting time (different for each coffee, but usually somewhere between 11 and 15 minutes), the full flavor potential begins to develop in the beans, bringing all of their attributes into balance. The "second pop" signals that the coffee is almost ready. The moment that the coffee is released into the cooling tray is a memorable one. The smell of freshly roasted coffee fills the air, along with the sound of applause created by the final clapping of the "second pop."

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