By Olamide Tejuoso
If you’re a coffee lover like me, you’re most likely to be excited to read these interesting ideas about your favourite beverage – coffee. For lovers like us, we often say, ‘there is nothing like a hot sizzling cup of fresh coffee … hmmmm’: that aroma right? But have you any idea how it is cultivated? Do you know there’s a lot that goes on before you enjoy your cup of coffee? Now, grab a cup and let’s get to talk about coffee farming! As one of the oldest beverages in the world, myth has it that an Ethiopian goat, herder named Kaldi, was the first to recognise the use and effect of coffee.
Kaldi had realised the potentials of coffee beans when he noticed his goats would become excessively active and energetic after consuming coffee berries. It wasn’t long after that that people discovered that brewing beverages made with the fruits kept them awake for a longer period. A coffee plant is very remarkable if you’ve never seen one in person. Despite the fact that coffee is planted all over the world; the best coffee is grown in mountainous areas where there is predictable rainfall and temperature. The tree usually bears bright red, cherry-like fruits once a year. Here are 10 simple facts you need to know about coffee:
1. The coffee plant has 16 important elements that must be present when planting so that the coffee plant is properly nourished. They are; carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, zinc, boron, manganese, molybdenum, iron, copper and chlorine.
2. Every coffee fruit picked by a farmer contains 50% to 70% of water, hence little is usually realised after drying and processing.
3. There are only two main commercially-grown and sold-coffee beans, which are: Arabica and robusta, despite the various flavours and varieties. Arabica is the commoner type of bean grown (70 percent of coffee is Arabica), and it’s considered more flavourful. Robusta is hardier and cheaper, most commonly seen in instant coffee jars.
4. A whole field of coffee beans cannot be harvested at the same time, because it takes several rounds of picking by a trained eye to know a mature fruit.
5. Coffee plants don’t start producing until it’s about three years and it won’t hit peak production levels until the age of 10 and might continue producing for the next 20 years.
6. Coffee trees become much less likely to bear fruit after the age of 30.
7. Not less than 25 million people are cultivating coffee globally; 70% are smallholders, but it is estimated that around 100 million people are involved in this agricultural sector.
8. Meanwhile, coffee is reported to be the second most consumed beverage after water as consumers drink 2.6 billion cups of coffee, every day and worldwide.
9. The health benefits of drinking coffee include; lowering cholesterol, reducing stress, boosting immunity, and preventing neurological diseases, among others.
10. The demand for organic coffee is projected to reach $12.6 billion by 2026, which is estimated to double its $6.8 billion market size, as at 2018.
