Coffee: The Tree to the Cup
Stage 1
Coffee starts as green “berries” on trees. Coffee grows in tropical regions near the equator between the Tropic of Cancer and The Tropic of Capricorn (known as the “Coffee Belt”). Pictured here are Robusta coffee berries from our farm in Silang. Silang is approximately 300 meters above sea level. The Arabica variety grows at higher elevations between 600 and 2,000 meters above sea level.
Stage 2
Pictured here are the Excelsa coffee variety, otherwise known as Liberica or “Barako” in the Philippines. Notice that these berries are slightly larger than Robusta berries. Cavite farmer’s crops are predominantly Robustas with a only a minority of Excelsas. The warm climate and volcanic soil from the Taal Volcano make the highlands of Cavite conducive to coffee growing. Philippine Arabicas are grown in the higher elevations of Benguet.
Stage 3
Coffee berries change from dark green to yellow as they ripen. After 6-7 months they become deep red “cherries”. (Cherry is the term for ripe coffee fruit.)
Stage 4
Coffee trees begin to produce fruit between 3-5 years of age. The spear-shaped leaves of the tree are bright and evergreen. Our coffee is grown purely natural with no artificial fertilizer or pesticides.
Stage 5
The skin of the red cherry covers a sweet pulp containing two coffee seeds which are shaped like two beans. These beans are each covered with a thin skin called “parchment” and under this skin is another very thin, delicate skin, called the “silver skin”.
Stage 6
Too much direct sunlight can be harmful for the coffee. Many of our coffee trees are shaded by larger trees above.
Stage 7
Our coffee pickers walk between trees filling small bags with cherries. An efficient coffee picker can harvest approximately 8 “cans” of coffee in one day. The picked coffee cherries are measured by cans or “latas” in Tagalog. 1 can = ~10 kg.
Stage 8
After picking the coffee, we prepare coffee for milling using the “dry method.” We spread the coffee cherries in thin layers on drying grounds and turn them with rakes to fully dry the coffee cherries.
Stage 9
The dried coffee berries are weighed carefully to convert the harvested cans into kilos. 1 can = ~10 kg.
Stage 10
Once the coffee cherries are dry, they are ready for milling to remove the dried pulp and release the “green beans”. Within each dried coffee cherry are two green beans.
Stage 11
After milling, we hand sort the beans to screen out impurities and any broken beans. Only export quality green beans reach our roaster. Any flawed, defective or even just slightly unsatisfactory bean is filtered out completely.
Stage 12
After milling and sorting, the beans are stored in 60 kg jute bags.
Stage 13
Arabica green beans are larger and flatter than Excelsas and Robustas. They are a lighter shade of green. Arabica coffees offer a balanced aroma and sweet taste.
Stage 14
Excelsa green beans have pointed ends are yellowish in color. Excelsa coffee has a strong bold taste and a fruity aroma. It is known as “Barako” in the Philippines, which means bold.
Stage 15
Robusta green beans are smaller and rounded, with a sharper green color than Arabicas. Robusta coffee has twice the caffeine content of Arabicas and have a wine-like flavor and thick body.
Stage 16
Green coffee beans are loaded into the hopper of our roaster. The beans then rotate in a horizontal drum with the heat produced by LPG. It takes only 15 minutes to roast a 40 kg batch of coffee.
Stage 17
When the coffee reaches the appropriate temperature for the specified roast, the coffee is released into the cooling bin. Our master roaster Danny has been with our coffee family for over 30 years and has extensive coffee experience from the tree to the cup.
Stage 18
We cool the coffee for approximately 10 minutes after roasting.
Stage 19
Coffee naturally emits carbon dioxide as part of the cooling process. It usually takes 30-36 hours to complete this degassing process. Our one-way valves on our packaging enable us to package the coffee immediately after roasting to lock all of the flavor, aroma and freshness in the bag until you open it. We package the coffee in foil bags that protect the coffee from factors that accelerate the staling process such as direct sunlight, moisture and oxygen.
Stage 20
This photo recaps the stages of coffee from the tree to the cup. Coffee starts as green coffee berries, ripens to become red coffee cherries, are milled to reveal two green coffee beans and is roasted to unlock the flavor and aroma that you enjoy in the perfect cup of freshly roasted coffee.
