COFFEE

Coffee in the maturation of coffee lasts from six to eleven months, and the season of flowering and the harvest substantially depends on climate and the soil. With good approximation, we can say that in the regions of cultivation in the north of the equator, the period of flowering corresponds to our spring and the harvest falls in the winter. Instead the blossoming to the south of the equator takes place at the end of our summer, and the harvest, beginning in the spring, lasts until the summer. The fructification can be very irregular, is thus not difficult to find on the same plant flowers, cherries green, red and even brown. The roasting and for many considered an art, is performed by hot air currents (about 240 degrees) that invest the grains lightly stirred by normal containers. The main changes that the grain undergoes during this phase are: weight loss (due to the evaporation of the water and some volatile substances), increase in volume with respect to raw product, formation of a brown-blackish (due to the charring of the cellulose and the caramelization of sugars) appearance, on the surface of the grain, a brownish oil, that determines the characteristic aroma, finally, a slight loss of caffeine due to heat. The higher the temperature of roasting, the greater the decrease in caffeine in grains. In Italy the roasting process is very thorough and the resulting beverage is therefore very aromatic and relatively poor in caffeine with respect to the coffee drunk in other countries. Roasting, may increase the friability of the product, making easier the grinding. Also increases the ability to absorb moisture and therefore the coffee especially if ground, it should be kept in packs in which or vacuum is made or you enter inert gas.