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Coffee

Coffee is one of the largest commodity industries in the world, second only to oil. Coffee is indigenous to the highlands of Ethiopia and the Boma plateau in the Sudan. Production is concentrated in the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, with South and Central America and Africa being the largest growers.

Coffees, like wine grapes, get much of their flavor from specific growing conditions and preparation methods of each producing region. Ideal growing conditions include: volcanic rich soil, cool temperatures, tropical rains and a high altitude.

Coffee is grown at numerous elevations along mountains -- up to about 7000 feet. Midway up the mountains, 4500' plus, is where the best quality beans are grown -- these are called "strictly hard beans"

Coffee grows on trees. Individual trees take approximately five years to mature. The average height of a coffee tree is kept trimmed from 4 - 6 feet. This eases picking and maintains quality. Of course, as with fruit trees, the best quality fruit is found at the center of the tree. Crops begin with the flowering of the trees, and approximately 5 to 6 months later the fruit is ripe for harvesting. It takes 5 years for a tree to bear its first crop.

Bright white flowers signal the beginning of the growing season. The fruit matures to a bright red cherry. These cherries are harvested by hand and sent to a processing facility where they are milled, washed, sorted and dried. At this point, they are ready for exporting. Coffee beans are shipped to roasting facilities in burlap bags.

A coffee tree will yield, on average, one pound of coffee per year. Interestingly, about 3,500 coffee beans are needed to produce one pound of roasted coffee.