Coffee travels a
long way before reaching your coffee mug.
Here are some interesting coffee
facts:
It takes three-to-four years for a
coffee seed to grow into a tree that produces coffee beans.
Seeds are first planted in nurseries.
Six months to one-year later, seedlings are transplanted to open fields.
Workers must prepare the planting ground for the small seedlings by loosening
and grading the soil.
Approximately two-and-a-half years
after transplantation, the trees begin to flower and the flowers produce a
small fruit known as a coffee cherry. In the center of each cherry are
two green coffee beans.
Coffee plants grow best where there
is plenty of rainfall at certain times of the year and thrive in a
well-drained, rich, volcanic soil. The plant does not like sudden changes
in temperature, and frost can severely damage or kill it.
During harvest, coffee cherries are
hand picked. It takes approximately 2,000 cherries—4,000 beans—to produce one
pound of roasted coffee.
After being husked, sorted and
bagged, the green coffee beans are shipped from the countries where they were
grown to the countries where they will be manufactured and consumed.
Manufacturing involves the roasting
and grinding of the coffee beans, or the production of instant coffee. Once
manufacturing and packaging are completed, the coffee is ready for the
consumer.
The leading coffee producing
countries of the world are Brazil and Colombia. The United States imports and
consumes more coffee than any other country
Harry & Colin
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