Coffee beans are the seeds of a berry called a “cherry” for the shape and for the deep crimson color of a fully ripe fruit. The best flavor comes from deep vermilion cherries verging on a mahogany color – the color of dead-ripe Bing cherries.
Once hand picked the cherries travel by truckloads to nearby mills where they undergo a “wet” processing. The fruit is siphoned into a depulper for a skinning stage which is actually a misleading term. The pulp stays; the skin goes. The slimy skinned beans come to rest in a trough, a big stone open-topped fermenting tank. Timing is of the essence as the cherries begin to ferment quickly – a process that is meant only to loosen the pulp of the fruit from the seeds it holds and not to add any flavor. If this fermentation penetrates the beans they will have the taste of rotten fruit or a “sweaty onion” flavor. In the troughs overhead pipes dump the wet beans into separate tubs by size. The water drains out the bottom and the seeds sit for anywhere from 8 to 48 hours or longer while the sugary mucilage begins to ferment and decompose. The removal of the fermented mucilage takes place in a long, elevated channel. In the washing channel the beans are further separated by size. The washed and sorted beans flow into stone draining pools where they remain until they lose their excess water.
Did you know that the popular phrase “What’s Up?” came from the coffee industry and the sea?
“What’s Up?” was a popular greeting among seafaring people for centuries. Sailing cargo ships laden with coffee and other freight traveled great distances to and fro. When a helmsman (the guy who steers the ship) was relieved for the night, the relieving helmsman would ask which way the wind was coming from. Sailors used the word “up” as the direction. So the next time someone asks you “What’s up?” give a thought about your St. Ives Coffee and may you always be “up wind!”
See what’s up and brewing at St. Ives Coffee Roasters! Our arabica coffee beans are roasted to perfection providing you with the rich full-bodied flavors. Taste the difference, order St. Ives Coffee today.
Coffee drinkers should give thanks to a “Little Farmer” that works very hard in making some of the world’s best coffees. The Apis Mellifera or Apis Cerana also known as the Honey Bee, just like you see in the movies and on TV, is a diligent worker. To help explain how this wonderful creature helps the coffee industry, we will compare three different coffees from Africa. We will compare Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (pronounced Yer-Ga-Chef), Ethiopian Harrar, and African Kenya Kirinyaga. The Yirgacheffe has a citrus and walnut taste to it. Whereas the Harrar is just a pure citrus taste. On contrast, the Kenyan coffee has a black walnut taste. Why are these African coffees different? If one will remember from our earlier stories, the citrus taste comes from pollen collected by bees and other insects which cross-pollinate with the flowers on the coffee tree. The fruity tasting pollen comes from the orange, lemon, or other flowering fruit trees nearby. Planting fruit trees is a favored practice among coffee growers who rely on the little honey bee to make their fabulous coffees stand out from rival coffee growers “next door.” Same soil, same sun, same water, but it is the pollen that “carries the day” for these competing coffee growers. So, when you see a honey bee flying around, be sure to thank him “or her” for the hard work that they do.
Kenya AA is known to many as Kirinyaga AA. This Kenyan coffee is vastly superior to other Kenyan coffees sold on the market today. Kenya got a bad “rap” when for the longest time they only sold “Robusta” coffees. Finally, investors realized the wonderful soil conditions on the sides on Mt. Kenya were perfect for our “Arabica” beans to grow. This is a very “bright and tingly” coffee that dances on your tongue. It holds a black currant finish, and truly has a citrus malt effect when enjoyed. Try some St. Ives Kenya AA Arabica coffee.
Your Own Coffee Maker Can Be Your Worst Enemy. Yes, it is true. An uncared for coffee maker, though shiny and clean on the outside hides some secrets that you don’t want to know. This is a scary horror story that you might not want to read, so put your tough armor on and be prepared! Take a wet paper towel, pull out the filter basket, and wipe the inside of the basket. Do you see anything? One will find a brown film from the coffee oil that will soil the paper towel. You will need to rinse this basket out from time to time. Likewise, wipe underneath where the coffee filter basket meets the coffee maker. It is where the hot water comes out from the machine into the basket. Do you see what we are talking about? More grime. This is from the coffee “splashing” inside the coffee filter basket. The build up actually will become moldy, and that mold leads to sour tasting coffee, yuk! I told you this was scary! Wipe away the build up once a month, and you shouldn’t have this problem. Good luck, and be kind to your coffee maker. It really can be a better friend than an enemy to your coffee pleasure. When all else fails, buy a new coffee maker.
Maxwell House Coffee got its start back in 1890 at a Nashville Hotel. The hotel was called Maxwell House and they had their own coffee. President Theodore Roosevelt is said to have coined the phrase, “good to the last drop” after tasting some of Maxwell House Hotel’s coffee. Don’t get us wrong, Maxwell House is a fine company and has been an American icon for many years. However, the only coffee beans they purchased were the cheap Robusta coffee. Robusta is an ugly cousin to the Arabica beans we sell. The Robusta bean is harvested from the lowlands, has practically zero taste, and is super cheap to grow and harvest. Indochina (namely Vietnam) grows Robusta as well as a few places still in South America and Africa. More recently coffee drinker demand has shifted from Robusta beans to Arabica, namely because of the quality found in the Arabica bean. If you watch television, look for the Maxwell House commercials. They now advertise that they switched to Arabica beans…Welcome Maxwell House to the St. Ives world of taste.
Yemen Mocha is the very best dark coffee St. Ives has to offer. Yemen is believed, by some, to be the birthplace for coffee. The name “Mocha” actually comes from the name of the port that exports the coffee. Guess what, they also grow and export cocoa beans from there as well. The birds and bees cross-pollinate with the coffee trees giving a faint hint of chocolate in this coffee. We, at St. Ives, think you will fall in love with Yemen Mocha Matari. Order some today and see if you’ll get hooked.
Costa Rican La Minita is St. Ives Coffee Roaster’s flagship coffee bean. The La Minita plantation prides itself on making the perfect coffee bean. The grower’s take special care in working the soil, growing the coffee trees, and harvesting the coffee beans (read more). Their careful attention gives that extra something special to the quality of the La Minita bean.
Bolivian Coffee is classified as organic from the plantation and is a bird friendly product. It is a dark medium to dark roast with a very sweet taste. St. Ives customers who sampled this wonderful coffee are quick to order a pound.
Coffee is grown in over eighty different countries that have Tropical and Sub-Tropical temperatures. Each tree, after planting, can take up to three years to mature. Each coffee tree can produce around 2,000 coffee “cherries” a year. This equates to 4,000 coffee beans. An estimate of the world’s total production of coffee is around 14 billion pounds of coffee.
If you were to collect all of the coffee beans Americans consumed each year, you would be able to create a very large pile of vast collection of beans. Imagine the pile shaped like a lumpy pyramid. The base of the pyramid would be almost a half mile wide on each side. The top of the pyramid would be higher than the Washington Monument! Talk about a close encounter of a aromatic kind.
A Brief Life History of the Coffee Bean ~ Part I
the coffee industry and the sea?
have coined the phrase, “good to the last drop” after tasting some of Maxwell House Hotel’s coffee. Don’t get us wrong, Maxwell House is a fine company and has been an American icon for many years. However, the only coffee beans they purchased were the cheap Robusta coffee. Robusta is an ugly cousin to the Arabica beans we sell. The Robusta bean is harvested from the lowlands, has practically zero taste, and is super cheap to grow and harvest. Indochina (namely Vietnam) grows Robusta as well as a few places still in South America and Africa. More recently coffee drinker demand has shifted from Robusta beans to 
Coffee is grown in over eighty different countries that have Tropical and Sub-Tropical temperatures. Each tree, after planting, can take up to three years to mature. Each coffee tree can produce around 2,000 coffee “cherries” a year. This equates to 4,000 coffee beans. An estimate of the world’s total production of coffee is around 14 billion pounds of coffee.
