GROWING AND PROCESSING
FAQ

• What's the difference between Arabica and Robusta coffee?
• How is coffee grown?
• How is coffee processed once it's picked?
• How is coffee roasted?

What is the difference between Arabica and Robusta coffee?

The best coffees, of the species Arabica, are grown high in the mountains in a zone 10 degrees north and 10 degrees south of the equator, and require very specific conditions to thrive.

The species of coffee called Robusta  grows in the lowlands. It has a higher yield per plant and is more disease resistant than Arabica. So it is cheaper to buy. Unfortunately, Robusta coffees taste somewhat like rubber. But the major coffee companies still use these poor-tasting Robustas in their grocery store blends because they are cheaper.

At Heine Brothers', we use only Arabica coffees.

How is coffee grown?

The ideal conditions for growing excellent Arabica coffees are generally only met in the mountains of jungly regions in the coffee-growing countries. They include:

• temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees F.
• even rainfall of 6" per month with a peak wet season;
• loamy, fertile, well-drained soil;
• high humidity; plenty of mist and cloud;
• diffused light and
• moderate winds. .

Once a coffee bean is planted, it takes five or six years to flower and produce its first good crop of coffee cherries. During that time, the trees are hand tended, hand pruned, weeded and fertilized, often with coffee pulp. When the green cherries ripen to red, they are hand picked one by one. Inside each coffee cherry are two coffee beans. If there is only one bean inside, it's called a peaberry.

How is coffee processed after picking?

There are two methods of processing coffee cherries once they are picked: wet processing and dry processing. Wet processed coffees are also called washed coffees.

• Wet processing is used in countries where fresh water is plentiful. Most of Heine Brothers' coffee is wet processed. The pulp of the coffee cherries is removed to release the two coffee beans inside. The beans then sit in water for 24-48 hours to ferment. This is the heart of wet processing--when the fine, acidy flavor of great coffee is produced.
  
  After fermentation, the remaining pulp is washed off and the beans spread out on a patio to dry. The coffee can also be dried in a mechanical dryer, powered by a wood, gas or solar power.

• Dry processing is used in countries where water is scarce. After the cherries are picked, the skin and pulp are removed without water, either by hand tools or machinery. Then the beans are dried on a patio for several weeks. Our Sumatra Mandheling is dry processed.

Our Yemen Mocha Mattari undergoes a slightly different type of dry processing. When the coffee cherries are ripe, they are left on the tree to dry naturally. After several weeks, when they are dry, they are removed and depulped. This processing is one of the reasons that our Mattaris have such an unusual and wonderful flavor.  Read more about the taste of this coffee.

We buy green coffee in burlap bags of 132 to 150 lbs and it is shipped to our roastery in Middletown. At any one time, we may have 3-5 tons of green coffee in Middletown.

How is green coffee roasted?

We roast our coffee in a hot-air roaster. It works much like a giant hot-air popcorn popper. It tumbles the coffee in a column of hot air as it roasts them. As a result, we get a bean that is evenly and smoothly roasted with no bitter aftertaste like many coffees. After our coffee is roasted, it's immediately delivered to the stores.