Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages in the world, not only because it's the elixir that gives us energy for the whole day, but also because of the cultural expansion it has unleashed in recent times regarding preparation methods, the variety of styles, and its many accompaniments. But what do we know about its origin? What is the coffee plant like? How do we maintain it?
Well then, The coffee tree or Coffea is a bush native to Ethiopia and South Asia , belonging to the Rubiaceae family of plants, with the unique characteristic that it can simultaneously produce flowers and green and ripe seeds. For its development, it must be planted in tropical climates; warm and with abundant water, with an ambient temperature between 15 and 29 degrees Celsius. At ripening, they can reach a height of 10 to 15 meters in the wild, but in cultivation they are pruned to 2 to 4 meters to facilitate fruit harvesting. Depending on growing and maintenance conditions, the useful life is 20 to 30 years. An alternating humid and dry climate is ideal. Temperatures below freezing destroy coffee trees. Tropical altitudes favor aroma and acidity, as coffee grows and ripens more slowly there.
Components of the Coffee Tree
The roots of this plant are extremely important because they provide the shrub with good support and stability, providing the soil with the nutrients and water necessary for its development and allowing its main root to grow vertically to a depth of 50 centimeters. Its leaves are green year-round and are responsible for photosynthesis and respiration. Therefore, it is essential to ensure their abundant and healthy growth by applying fertilizers, controlling weeds, and regulating light to increase their production. One of its greatest enemies is the wind, which causes excessive leaf fall.
So far, everything is very normal, like any other plant. The difference between a coffee plant and others lies in its white or pink flowers with a peculiar jasmine-like scent. These flowers are the reproductive organs of the plant that form the magical fruit commonly known as the coffee seed. Fertilization is very important in the cultivation process, as it determines the coffee species. For example, hermaphrodites like Arabica are self-fertilizing, unlike Robusta, which requires insect intervention for pollination (they are the two most produced species in the world, accounting for nearly 80% of total production). Its care is essential; coffee growers must keep timely records of the coffee plantation's flowering to understand and determine aspects such as crop distribution and pest and disease management that may affect the quality of the crop. Harvesting can begin fruiting after two years and yield a better yield after four to five years of planting. In regions like Colombia, the climate means that the coffee bush flowers twice a year, resulting in two potential annual harvests.
The coffee tree fruit is similar to a small cherry, also called a drupe, and appears 6 to 8 weeks after fertilization. Initially, its skin or epicarp is green like the leaves, but as it ripens, it turns red. The coffee beans are found inside the fruit, separated by a groove, covered by a yellow skin and protected by a silvery film.
Nutrients for the coffee bush
Plants alone cannot reach their peak quality; we must support them with various nutrients aimed at improving fruit production. Therefore, coffee plants have a high consumption of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which are obtained from water and the atmosphere, while nitrogen and potassium are obtained from the soil, especially at a mature age after three years. Because coffee is generally grown on sloping terrain with high rainfall, a smaller amount of manganese, boron, zinc, copper, and iron must be added to support its growth.
This is where coffee originates. It only takes a few minutes of preparation to delight us with years of planting, a slow growth amidst the formation of that seed in tropical climates where heat and rain converge to obtain a meticulous harvest, and finally a processing process where only the best reaches the consumer. There are no more secrets; this is where the magic of coffee comes from.