For Connoisseurs
Types of Coffee & Cultivation Process
Among the many varieties of coffee grown in Puerto Rico, here is a sampling of some of the more popular:
Coffea arabica Type A is the most widely-grown coffee in the world and in Puerto Rico, comprising approximately 80 percent of total production. When growing wild, the plant reaches an average height of 18 to 25 feet. The blossoms are white and fragrant. Coffea arabica beans are distinguished for their superior flavor.
Coffea canephora is native to the equatorial regions of Africa, stretching from the western coastal regions all the way to the areas of Uganda and southern Sudan. Its flowers are white and sometimes tinged with shades of pink. Approximately 20% percent of global coffee production is Coffea canephora and 18% of all Puerto Rican coffee belongs to this variety.
Typica is a traditional heirloom varietal derived from the Coffea arabica plant growing wild along the Ethiopian plateaus of Africa. The plant is conical in shape, straight-trunked, and its prolific branches offer an abundant production of fruit. Both fruit and seed are large in size. The majority of Puerto Rico¹s specialty coffees belong to the Typica variety.
Bourbon is a natural mutation of the Typica variety, first found on the island of Reunion. The compactness of its branches allows the Bourbon to yield a greater number of fruit, though somewhat smaller in size than those of the Typica variety. During heavy rainfall, the Bourbon suffers the drawback of frequently dropping fruit during harvest, thus reducing yields. Nevertheless, the flavor of this bean is very highly regarded. The Bourbon varietals Caturra and Pacas are also grown in Puerto Rico.
According to the Coffee Research Institute, Typica and Bourbon are considered to be the first coffee varietals. Most latter varietals are considered byproducts of these two cultivars.
Over the years, Puerto Rico has produced several local hybrids as well: the Porto Rico Limani and Frontón varietals are among those most worthy of mention.
cultivation
Coffee cultivation is both time-consuming and labor-intensive as the plants take years to mature and must be harvested by hand. Only vigorous, healthy plants, aged 6 to 10 years in age, are eventually selected for the final harvest. Cultivators must carefully examine and select only those specimens clearly bearing the most outstanding characteristics of the specific varietal to be produced. Altitude, rainfall, and climate are all critical to the quality of the coffee harvest. Puerto Rico’s lofty central mountain range, known as La Cordillera Central, offers one of the world’s most idoneous settings for year-round coffee cultivation.
harvest of the fruit
The cherry is picked at its optimal stage of ripeness when scarlet-red in color. Fruit are selected from those parts of the branch with the fullest production, while fruit at the extremities of branches is usually left untouched. This technique helps prevent unwanted cross-pollination.
In warmer, equatorial climates, trees can display blossoms, ripening fruit, and mature cherries all on the same branch. Pickers must harvest the branches time and again in order to find and pluck only those perfectly-ripened berries from the branch.
processing: wet or dry?
Two principal methods exist for processing coffee beans once they are harvested. Traditional dry processing is less labor-intensive and less expensive. However, due to a loss of quality, dry processing is primarily used today in Brazil and parts of Africa for the mass production of lower-quality beans. Dry processing is also highly climate-dependent, as the beans are ordinarily sun-dried, which renders the process somewhat unpredictable in nature. Wet processing is the much more accepted method for the production of higher-grade coffee. In wet processing, harvested cherries are carefully directed down a series of water channels where they receive an initial cleansing. Unripened fruit tends to sink to the bottom while ripened fruit will continue to float.
pulping
The coffee bean used for roasting is not the cherry itself—but rather, its enclosed seeds. Seeds are flat in shape and are normally found in pairs: two per cherry. To get ready for roasting, these seeds must first be physically separated from the surrounding fruit flesh. This process, known as ‘pulping’, should be done the same day of harvest to ensure optimal quality.
washing and drying
After fermentation, the beans must be washed and then dried—either on long racks lying in the sun or in rotating mechanical drums which circulate hot air within their chambers. Traditional sun-drying can last up to a full week, depending on the local weather conditions whereas mechanized drum-drying is usually accomplished in a day.
hulling
At this stage, the beans themselves are still encased in a silky, protective inner skin known as the “parchment.” Hulling is necessary to remove this skin and prepare the beans for roasting. Special machines accomplish this by mechanical friction which physically tears the husk away from the bean. After hulling, the beans are typically olive-green in color and consequently, coffee, once it has been hulled, is often referred to as “green coffee.”
roasting
Now the beans are ready for roasting. The application of smooth, uniform heat elicits qualities of both flavor and aroma from the bean critical to its final performance. The bean physically swells. Color changes as well, now acquiring the characteristic nutty-brown to dark chocolaty-brown tones associated with the beverage itself.