Coffee cultivation from seed to harvest

The embryo that is born or seedling that produces coffee is a tropical shrub called a coffee tree and belongs to the Rubiaceae family, which in 1737 was classified as a new genus and was assigned the name coffee with a single species called Arabica or Arabica, but currently more than one hundred species are known throughout the world . Well, although the objective is to describe the entire coffee cultivation process, I first want to tell you about the morphological context of this wonderful plant, which includes the following steps:

1. The root: This penetrates the soil vertically up to 50 centimeters deep. From these, other thick roots emerge and spread horizontally. Through this organ, the seedling absorbs the water and nutrients necessary for growth and production. Substances that nourish the leaves and fruits also accumulate there.
2. The stem and branches: These form the skeleton of the coffee plant. Various types of buds are found at the nodes of the main stem. Some of these give rise to the primary branches, while others form the flowers. It is the new branches that allow for the complete harvest because they facilitate better flowering and future production.
3. The leaf: Allows the coffee plant to carry out the processes of photosynthesis, transpiration, and respiration. The leaves appear on the branches every 15 or 20 days, reaching an average of 440 leaves per year. The flower: This is what gives rise to the coffee fruit .
4. The flowers appear at the nodes of the branches toward the base of the leaves. There, they are arranged in clusters of four or more flowers on a short stem known as a glomerulus, and each leaf may have up to four of these.
5. The fruit: This is the result of the fusion of the pollen grain with the ovule. The seeds also originate from this. Its formation consists of several stages during which it grows and hardens until it reaches a ripe red or cherry color.
6. The seed : It consists of the kernel and the parchment. The former is hard and greenish in color. The latter protects the seed like a kind of covering and contains a sugary substance called "mucilage" or "slime."

A coffee crop involves a process before, during, and after planting the seedlings. Specialists say that approximately 5,000 trees should be planted per hectare to ensure sufficient distance between each plant for optimal development. The first fruits are obtained after 18 months. This initial harvest has a low yield of 70 arrobas per hectare, but it gradually increases until reaching an optimal yield of 3,000 arrobas per planted hectare. I'm going to describe the process that encompasses coffee planting, harvesting, and post-harvest. Let's see.

1. Germination: Coffee seeds are sown in bags until they form hills, which are plants that already have two or more properly formed branch crosses. This process takes approximately two months.
2. Seedbed or nursery: Here, seedlings are selected and placed in a location with maximum sun exposure. They remain there until they are ready to be transplanted.
3. Plantation: The hills are moved to the cultivated land.
4. Flowering: This consists of the growth of flowers on the coffee tree, which takes between four and five months.
5. Ripening: After the fruit is born, it matures in six to eight months.
6. Harvesting: Each red-colored fruit is picked manually and placed in a container.
7. Pulping process: The pulp is mechanically removed from the fruit until it is left as a bean. The beans are left to ferment in a chamber and then washed. This process takes 12 hours and may require about 25 liters of water per kilo of coffee.
8. Drying: The beans are spread out in the sun to remove moisture and turn them into parchment coffee.
9. Threshing: An industrial process removes the husk from the bean, leaving it as green coffee. It is then graded according to size and quality.
10. Roasting: Green coffee beans undergo a roasting process in a machine and are ready to be ground or sold, as needed.

Finally, it's important to know that there are various temperatures, soils, and altitudes for coffee cultivation , and that only certain conditions allow for an optimal harvest of the Arabica coffee bean, which is the variety grown in Colombia and most widely marketed worldwide. The appropriate area should have temperatures between 19 and 21.5 degrees Celsius. The altitude of the land is also crucial for the proper development of the coffee tree and its fruits. In Colombia, coffee crops should be planted in areas between 1,200 and 1,800 meters above sea level.