Me and my team did it to inspire and, more importantly, to create the tactics and details around how you, your organization, your startup  can know more about start working on coffee business.

However this deck continues my tradition of training step-by-step guides that give you the exact information I’ve used to run my introduction to coffee class. That includes references like :

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Agricultural practices should preserve the soil fertility, which is the wealth of coffee growers.  If possible increase the organic matter in the soil to promote the microbial life and the exchange capacity.

Whenever a soil is destroy it, It is observed that the coffee quality is affected therefore by contrast coffee trees. It will be healthier on a soil rich in active organic matter. They will have a better leaf area-to-fruit ratio leading to a better quality.

Soil is the main reservoir of mineral nutrients for plants. Roots grow and absorb water and nutrients according to the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil .

For most regions worldwide where coffee is cultivated. the nutritional reservoirs in soil are not sufficient to completely cover the coffee plants’ demand.  it is necessary to continue ousel supply the soil in a balanced way with sufficient amounts of organic and inorganic fertilizers.

Fertilization and Coffee Quality

fertilization does influence this chemical effect and due to the final coffee quality in the cup. Among the macronutrients, those containing nitrogen and potassium are the most predominant in the bean, usually followed by calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and sulfur. The effect of iron and manganese make it to be higher than zinc.

Soil fertility

Possible effect on cup quality , Most acidic coffee are produced on  volcanic soils.

Fertilization

Reduction in percentage of hollowed fruits , Chemical fertilization does not affect  cup quality, Breaking down fertilization applications does not affect cup quality , Fertilization does not affect cup quality

Nitrogen fertilization

Fertilization with nitrocalcium and ammonium nitrate produced lower sensory quality. The higher dosage of ammonium sulfate had negative effects on chemical composition and bean quality , Nitrogen fertilization increased bean N content and affected negatively cup quality

Phosphorus fertilization

Cup quality was negatively affected by the omission of phosphor in the fertilization.

Potassium fertilization

High potassium-K dosage reduced boron and Zinc in the bean. Excessive dosage of that reduced quality in inconsistent manner. , Excess of potassium can induce Mg deficiencies and negatively affect coffee quality , Bean quality improved with dosage.

Micronutrients fertilization

Zinc supply positively affected bean quality in terms of less percentage of medium and small size beans. Lower CBB infestation, lower potassium leaching and electric conductivity.

Higher contents of zinc and Chlorogenic , higher antioxidant activities , Cup quality is not affected by using two sources of Micronutrients .

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There are many factors that make coffee valuable to consumers and one of them is shade effect of growing on coffee quality. Shade matters to some from an environmental perspective; others because they feel it influences the flavor. What I actually know about these important issues is :

The good news is, much research has been done on the ecological and economic impacts of shade-grown coffee. Sadly, there is far less information available on how this influences cup quality. When we hear the term “shade-grown” coffee we many imagine a pristine ecosystem where coffee just happens to be planted and coffee farmer happen to be walking around in the woods picking the beautifully ripe coffee they stumble upon. This romantic vision is rare in the coffee industry. There are, however, varying definitions and variations of forested coffee and agroforestry to consider when thinking of purchasing or promoting such a coffee.

Trees and agroforestry can provide environmental advantages to the planet, and simultaneously in coffee production. Trees act as carbon sinks in the landscape, make oxygen, save water, and provide a myriad of other benefits to the local microclimate and ecosystem. Trees provide the ecosystem with structural and chemical resources. Their roots help prevent erosion. They offer the soil much-needed nutrients from their fallen litter, and certain species can fix nitrogen from the air.

Trees act as buffers to the coffee microclimate. That means that they can act as insulators for the understory, where coffee grows. They can both protect coffee from frost as well as cool the microclimate during very warm weather. Another large way that trees regulate microclimate conditions is through holding moisture in the ecosystem, leaving more water in the soil and therefore theoretically available to coffee plants. There is also evidence that tree cover reduces the leaching of nitrogen from the coffee.

There is a large body of literature supporting the idea that when shade is added to a coffee-growing system, the biodiversity of the ecosystem increases. Here we should stop, and remember that biodiversity is an important intrinsic value. It is a choice to recognize and care about biodiversity. While many of us hold this value, the challenge is to quantify the value of it. How much “better” is a coffee that is produced in a highly diverse environment? Our community faces this challenge daily.

What about flavor: can we taste shade-grown coffee?How does it impact the coffee quality? The answer varies depending on the individual situation. What we do know is that generally, the smaller coffee yield under shading leads to fewer, larger coffee fruits. Also, there is evidence that shade-grown coffee seeds have higher sugar and lipid contents than sun-grown coffee, which may increase the cup quality of coffees. Multiple studies have found that the acidity and body of brewed low-altitude coffee was improved by shading. They suggested that a lower growing temperature (provided by shade) produced a more uniform ripening of berries, which led a better quality cup. However, there are also conflicting studies that have found no perceivable difference in quality. What is the problem here? In the end, unless we understand the biochemistry of fruit ripening time and how this directly affects the chemical composition of coffee seeds and link this to repeatable and consistent flavor differences, it is impossible to say with certainty what is going on. That’s right folks—here is another example of why we reach this same conclusion again and again: more research is needed to help fully understand why coffee tastes the way it does!

Unfortunately, there can also be true drawbacks to shade-grown coffee. In many situations, shade lowers coffee yield, delays ripening, and is more labor-intensive to harvest. These are luxuries that not all producers, as people who must balance costs and benefits, can choose. Any value or perception thereof must make business sense. Fortunately, some farms that use agroforestry can benefit from pricing incentives offered by certification programs. However, the reality is, that the value of shade coffee is not always translated into farmer benefit.

How does it impact the coffee quality?

Where does this leave us? Certainly, flavor alone is not an indicator of whether or not a coffee was shade-grown. Great-tasting specialty coffee can be produced using many/any/all/unknown production strategies. There are real ecological benefits of shade-growing coffee, and there may be quality benefits too. However, if we seek to support this method of coffee growing, we must recognize and value it for its own sake.

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Coffee from Al-Mokha began to be referred to simply as Mocha coffee, a name originally having little to do with the chocolatey coffee drink you can buy today. (Mocha is also used to refer to a coffee varietyoriginating from Yemen, one that the SCA describes as “genetically very close to Bourbon.”)

Yemen coffee has a distinct flavor and aroma. It’s complex earthiness often holds tones of dried fruit, partly due to being dried with the fruit husk. This Arabian Yemen coffee also carries notes of chocolate, cinnamon, cardamom or tobacco. The strongest of these notes is chocolate, which might account for the modern use of the word “Mocha” in association with Yemen coffee.

How It’ Grown ?

Yemen coffee farms are typically small and on the wilder side, with farmers hand-picking the coffee cherries from ancient varieties of Arabica plants growing on gorgeous, terraced mountainsides.

The microclimate has produced drought-resistant coffee plantsthat create very unique, complex-tasting coffee beans with that iconic chocolate flavor The coffee is typically harvested between November and December and is sun-dried, often right on the rooftops of the farmers’ houses! It’s an easy process in the bright and hot Yemeni climate. The leftover cherry husks are also used to create qishr(the local brand of cascara)

Sanani Coffee

First, we have the Sanani variety, which comes from various coffee plants grown in the regions west of the capital city of Sana’a. This region tends to include some crops grown at lower altitudes, and can, therefore, be of lower quality. Beans from this region have a balanced and fruity flavor profile, a medium body, and typically exhibit less acidity than other Yemeni coffees.

Hirazi Coffee

Hirazi coffee also comes from the western regions of the nation, located a couple mountain ranges west of the capital of Sana’a. This coffee tends to be light and fruity, with a winey acidity.

Ismaili Coffee

One of the few categorized ancient coffee tree varieties of Yemen, Ismaili is the name of a coffee plant varietal. Typically grown in central Yemen, it yields a unique, high-quality, pea-like coffee bean that tends to be bright and berryish, though this brightness can be muted. This tree/region name overlap can lead to some confusion regarding whether a particular coffee with this name comes from the region itself, or from a tree of that variety

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The pour over method involves pouring hot water through coffee grounds in a filter. The water way  through the coffee and filter into a mug. Pour over is also known as filter coffee or drip coffee, although these terms also include batch brewers. What sets pour over apart is that it is made by hand-pouring the water over the coffee. So you may hear it called hand brewing or manual brewing.

Pour over accentuates intricate flavors when compared to other brewing methods, because of the shape and the material of filter,  This makes it a popular choice for single origin coffees, since it allows the flavors and aromas to shine.

Good filter coffee is clean, clear, and consistent. This is because the water is allowed to extract coffee oils and fragrances in its own consistent time and at its own pressure. The filter then catches a lot of oils, leading to a clean cupAnd because this is an infusion method, it is a little more efficient at extracting coffee solubles than immersion techniques such as the French press. Immersion methods cause the water to become saturated, whereas pour overs use a constant supply of fresh water.all infusion methods (including espresso) run the risk of channeling, where a stream of water finds an easy route around the ground coffee. This happens when there are clumps of coffee or the grounds are unevenly distributed, and it means that some of the coffee doesn’t get extracted. So it’s important that baristas learns how to pour in a way that evenly immerses the grounds in water.Because it is difficult to replicate a method precisely every time, some café owners and brewers prefer to use SCA-approved batch brewers instead. These machines bring automation to the method and can have more consistent results than a hand pour. We need some equipment for make the best cup of coffee easy : •     Brewing Devices, •    Filters, •       Scales, •       Scales, •       Kettles

It may seem like there is an unending amount of options for pour over equipment, but you don’t need to invest in all of it. You can start with a simple device and some filters and then add more equipment as you choose.

Brewing Devices

A dripper is simply the piece of equipment that holds the coffee filter and grounds coffee. The V60, Kalita Wave are popular choices. All three sit on top of the cup or carafe and they may seem interchangeable.The Chemex is another popular option with its own design features that impact the cup. The advantage of using any one of these devices is that they are widely available, simple to use, and have filters made specifically for their design.

Filters

Barista tip: you should always rinse your filter before you brew! This rinses out the paper taste and dust and warms up your brewer. You may think that the filter is the least controversial part of brewing, but there is even some debate here. Specific filters are designed to fit different devices and allow efficient extraction. The Chemex uses paper filters that are 20–30% heavier than other filters, which the manufacturers say retain more of the suspended oils during the brewing process. Some claim that paper filters create an undesirable papery taste, particularly if they are bleached. To avoid this, rinse your filter before using it. Cloth filters have been around for a long time and some people prefer them because they don’t affect flavor and have a smaller environmental impact than paper.

Scales

but if you want to create consistently good coffee, they are. Its important to know exactly how much of each you used in a good (or bad) brew can allow you to replicate the recipe or tweak it for even better results.

Kettles

Electric kettel, stove-top, or a batch water heater is up to you but look into the reviews of specific kettles and keep a thermometer handy to keep an eye on the temperature.

Roast Profile

Because the pour over method works well to highlight subtle flavor notes and aromas, you may want to choose a light roast. Beans that are roasted to this profile are the brightest, with the most acidic flavors. Chad says “Light roasts showcase the most authentic quality of the coffee.”Of course, you can go medium or even dark if you prefer, but this brewing method is complementary to subtle flavors.

Grind Size

The size of your grounds affects the rate of extraction. Pour over is a an infusion method, which means that the coffee and water are in contact for a shorter amount of time than in an immersion method, but longer than in an espresso. So you want the coffee to have enough surface area to extract before the water filters through into the cup, but not so much that they under-extract and produce a bitter brew.What this means is that you should start with a medium grind size and then evaluate your cup and tweak it as needed. If it’s a little watery or sour, try a finer grind. If it’s bitter and lacking sweet notes, try going a little coarser. And invest in a quality grinder to make sure your coffee particles are all ground to the same size. Lower-quality grinders may produce inconsistently ground coffee and a lot of “fines”. These tiny fragments of coffee extract very quickly and can throw your cup off. “We use finely ground, not coarse,The advantage of the fine grind size is that you increase the body and aroma of the coffee. And if you are going to make a fast extraction, you’re also going to get the sweetness and the cleanliness that you want in the cup.”

What Ratio of Coffee to Water Should You Use?

You’ll see a lot of different suggested ratios out there, but 1litter water and 55-60gr coffee (1g of coffee to 16g of water) is a generally accepted good starting point. Make some brews with this measurement but adjust factors that affect extraction, such as grind size and water temperature, one at a time until you find a recipe that works for you. Then, try changing the ratio of coffee to water. If your brew tastes watery or weak, add more coffee without changing other factors and evaluate whether it tastes better. If you find your cup too intense, consider reducing the amount of coffee. But remember to keep track of what you’re changing so you can replicate your perfect brew when you find it.And don’t forget about the water. Tap water can contain minerals and contaminants that affect flavor, so use filtered water.

Which Pouring Technique Is Best?

Avoid watching too many videos on technique when you first start to brew with the pour over method. It can quickly get overwhelming. Instead, start out simple. Be consistent in how your pour and learn how to use blooming, pulse pouring, and agitation to achieve even extraction. Many people pour in concentric circles, which helps the barista maintain a consistent flow of water. You can work your way up to more detailed methods or break all the rules when you’re more familiar with the basics.

The Bloom

The bloom is the quick bubbling up of water that happens when you first pour. It is caused by the degassing of carbon dioxide that is built up in the roasting process. Light roasts and fresh coffee are likely to produce a big bloom because they usually contain more gases. Carbon dioxide can prevent even extraction because it repels water, and the disturbed grounds can sit at different heights. So let the gases escape and improve your chances of a consistent extraction. Gently pour twice the measure of coffee in water over the grounds. So, if you have a 15 g dose of coffee, pour 30 ml of water. Then wait 30 to 45 seconds until the bloom has ended and the grounds have settled. Don’t make wrong decision ,

Pulse Pouring & Continuous Pouring

Pulse pouring means using multiple pours of specific amounts of water. You can experiment with the volume of water and number of pours. This technique help prevent channeling or grounds rising up the side of the filter. It also gently disrupts the grinds, causing them to move about and creating more even contact with the water. It’s an alternative to continuous pouring, which is when the barista pours the water at as constant of a flow rate as possible without stopping. Continuous pouring aims to keep the flow and saturation as even as possible, whereas pulse pouring is intentionally varied. You can use pouring technique as another variable to consider when adapting your recipe. Different types of pours will have different effects on extraction and therefore have different impacts on your brew.

Agitation

This is simply mild disturbance of the coffee grounds during the brew process. There are many ways to agitate coffee, including stirring or swirling the brew. Agitation disperses grounds that can be left “high and dry” on the filter by channeling. It also breaks up any dry clumps inside the bed of coffee. By making sure all grounds are saturated, agitation aids even extraction. Pour over coffee can be a great way to make your daily cup and it doesn’t have to be complicated. By understanding these key topics, you’re well prepared to make a decent brew and have the tools to tweak it until it becomes a great one.

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Coffee trees are pruned short to conserve their energy and aid in harvesting, but can grow to more than 30 feet (9 meters) high. Each tree is covered with green, waxy leaves growing opposite each other in pairs. Coffee cherries grow along the branches. Because it grows in a continuous cycle, it’s not unusual to see flowers, green fruit and ripe fruit simultaneously on a single tree. It takes nearly a year for a cherry to mature after first flowering, and about 5 years of growth to reach full fruit production. While coffee plants can live up to 100 years, they are generally the most productive between the ages of 7 and 20. Proper care can maintain and even increase their output over the years, depending on the variety. The average coffee tree produces 10 pounds of coffee cherry per year, or 2 pounds of green beans. All commercially grown coffee is from a region of the world called the Coffee Belt. The trees grow best in rich soil, with mild temperatures, frequent rain and shaded sun.

Botanical classification

Coffee traces its origin to a genus of plants known as Coffea.  Within the genus there are over 500 genera and 6,000 species of tropical trees and shrubs. Experts estimate that there are anywhere from 25 to 100 species of coffee plants. The genus was first described in the 18th century by the Swedish botanist. Botanists have disagreed ever since on the exact classification, since coffee plants can range widely. They can be small shrubs to tall trees, with leaves from one to 16 inches in size, and in colors from purple or yellow to the predominant dark green.

In the commercial coffee industry, there are two important coffee species — Arabica and Robusta.

Coffea Arabica — C. Arabica

Varieties: Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Mundo Novo, Tico, San Ramon, Jamaican Blue Mountain

Coffea Arabica is descended from the original coffee trees discovered in Ethiopia.  These trees produce a fine, mild, aromatic coffee and represent approximately 70% of the world’s coffee production. The beans are flatter and more elongated than Robusta and lower in caffeine.

On the world market, Arabica coffees bring the highest prices.  The better Arabicas are high grown coffees — generally grown between 2,000 to 6,000 feet (610 to 1830 meters) above sea level — though optimal altitude varies with proximity to the equator. The most important factor is that temperatures must remain mild, ideally between 59 – 75 degrees Fahrenheit, with about 60 inches of rainfall a year. The trees are hearty, but a heavy frost will kill them. Arabica trees are costly to cultivate because the ideal terrain tends to be steep and access is difficult. Also, because the trees are more disease-prone than Robusta, they require additional care and attention.

Coffea canephora — C. canephora var. Robusta

Variety: Robusta is a one canphora variety

Most of the world’s Robusta is grown in Central and Western Africa, parts of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Vietnam, and in Brazil. Production of Robusta is increasing, though it accounts for only about 30% of the world market. Robusta is primarily used in blends and for instant coffees. The Robusta bean itself tends to be slightly rounder and smaller than an Arabica bean. The Robusta tree is heartier and more resistant to disease and parasites, which makes it easier and cheaper to cultivate. It also has the advantage of being able to withstand warmer climates, preferring constant temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, which enables it to grow at far lower altitudes than Arabica. It requires about 60 inches of rainfall a year, and cannot withstand frost. Compared with Arabica, Robusta beans produce a coffee which has a distinctive taste and about 50-60% more caffeine.

The Anatomy of a Coffee Cherry

The beans you brew are actually the processed and roasted seeds from a fruit, which is called a coffee cherry. The coffee cherry’s outer skin is called the exocarp. Beneath it is the mesocarp, a thin layer of pulp, followed by a slimy layer called the parenchyma.  The beans themselves are covered in a paper-like envelope named the endocarp, more commonly referred to as the parchment. Inside the parchment, side-by-side, lie two beans, each covered separately by yet another thin membrane. The biological name for this seed skin is the spermoderm, but it is generally referred to in the coffee trade as the silver skin.

In about 5% of the world’s coffee, there is only one bean inside the cherry. This is called a peaberry (or a caracol, or “snail” in Spanish), and it is a natural mutation. Some people believe that peaberries are actually sweeter and more flavorful than standard beans, so they are sometimes manually sorted out for special sale.

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About the environmental factors that affect coffee flavor and sustainability. It’s important how the terroir determines have effect on the character of a coffee and the success of a crop. Among all the environmental factors that could affect a coffee plant in its lifetime, some, such as altitude, are impossible to alter. Others, such as soil nutrition and shade cover, can be altered, but this often requires vast capital expenditure. Our goal is to give baristas and coffee lovers a clearer picture of how certain aspects of terroir can affect a plant’s health and the success of a coffee farm. In this topic, we look a broad range of our experience and long research on the books.

Phenotype vs. Genotype

Nomenclature

Terroir is The character of the land and the farming environment. Environmental factors such as altitude, latitude, climate, soil condition, and farming practices affect a crop’s phenotype.

Phenotype The observable characteristics of an organism in a given terroir, resulting from the interaction of an organism’s genotype (genetic code) and the terroir.

Genotype The chemical composition of DNA that gives rise to a particular phenotype; the genetic code for a particular trait.

Great coffee is the result of a plant’s genotype and the terroir that surrounds it. The environmental factors of climate, soil, and farming techniques combine to create the terroir of a coffee farm. This topic explores how the terroir determines the character of a coffee and the success of a crop. Among all the environmental factors that could affect a coffee plant in its lifetime, some, such as altitude, are impossible to alter. Others, such as soil nutrition, can be altered, but only with vast capital expenditure. To get a clearer picture of how expensive farm management can be and how certain aspects of terroir can affect a plant’s phenotype, we conducted a broad range of interviews with scientists, agronomists and green buyers.

This course provides an overview of what factors you can control and how it can be done to produce a sustainable crop and a great tasting cup.

Origin – In the cloud forests of Kaffa, in southwest Ethiopia, Coffea arabica grows as an understory plant. Local tradition stipulates where the coffee can be gathered in the forests and who can harvest it. Coffee plants that grow in this type of heavily shaded terroir have a far lower yield than those grown in full sun on most of the intensively farmed large Brazilian plantations.

Many botanists consider southwest Ethiopia to be the birthplace of Arabica coffee, but the debate about its precise origin is not settled. In Southern Sudan, for example, a bit farther down the plateau, wild arabica ignores human-made borders.

The original terroir of coffee, in the ancient forests on the Boma plateau of Ethiopia and South Sudan, was quite different from that of the Arabian peninsula and the Port of Mocca, from where the global coffee trade first emerged in the sixteenth century. In the opinion of coffee’s leading taxonomist, Aaron Davies of Kew Gardens, it was two-way traffic for coffee across the Red Sea (Jeff Koehler, 2016). Coffee arrived in Yemen and, over time, genetic strains adapted to Yemen’s dryer terroir and poor soil. Eventually, these varieties returned to Ethiopia with certain improvements.

The Taxonomy of C. Arabica – Why isn’t it Called C.Aethiopica?

In 1753, Carl Linnaeus, the originator of plant taxonomy, “unintentionally hijacked Ethiopia’s proprietorship of coffee,” according to writer-researcher Jeff Koehler. Linnaeus had already arrived at the name Coffea (C.), using his new system of classifying plants. In his definitive work Species Plantarum, he added the word arabica (from Arabia) to the passage about coffee. Koehler explains –

A decade or so later he published Potus Coffea, an eighteen-page pamphlet made of rag scrap with words running to the edges, adding that the plant grew spontaneously in “Arabic felici and Aethiopia”. It was too late. He had named it Coffea arabica, not Coffea aethiopica, and Arabia would continue to be regarded in the public mind as the original source of coffee.

Even the earliest-known writing on the subject of coffee, a treatise by Abd al-Qadir al-Jaziri called The Best Defense for the Legitimacy of Coffee, first published in 1558, regarded the origins of coffee to be in Arabia. It wasn’t until Scottish explorer James Bruce ventured into Kaffa in 1769 that Europeans had any evidence as to the origins of arabica coffee. Bruce’s message is reported to have been considered too wondrous to be true, however, and it was widely ignored.

Present-Day Production Methods

Global coffee production worldwide is largely in the hands of smallholder farmers, totaling an estimated 100 million coffee farmers. (F. E. Vega et al., 2003) This means the livelihood-value of coffee farming is immense. In Ethiopia, about twelve million smallholder farming households account for an estimated 95 percent of agricultural production and 85 percent of all employment. The majority of coffee production is carried out as garden coffee, grown in amongst other crops. Only 5 percent of Ethiopia’s coffee production comes from plantations. (Jeff Koehler, 2016) The third means of production comes from an agroforestry practice known as semi forest, wherein some trees are pruned and some of the forest canopy is thinned in order to manipulate the available sunlight coming to the plants, which increases their yields.

In other parts of the world, such as Brazil, coffee is grown on huge plantations using intensive farming techniques involving a high degree of automation — in particular, mechanical harvesting and sorting. Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer, accounting for around 40 percent of the world’s arabica coffee production, yet in spite of the increased level of technology, 3.5 million Brazilians depend on coffee for their livelihoods.

not every terroir is suitable for high levels of automation, and as global warming advances, it is expected that the suitable terroir for coffee production will shift to higher altitudes and lower latitudes. This is known as the upslope potential.

• Coffee is the dominant understory plant in most forests, there is a lot of competition for growth from other species.we need to know The Forest coffee production system is one of the popular systems available. This system is known for harboring wild coffee trees. The level of coffee genetic diversity in this system is relatively higher than the level of genetic diversity available in other production systems (semi-forest, garden, and larger private farms). But when we are talking about the level of plant species diversity available in most forests, coffee is not the dominant understory plant.
• There are various understory tree species growing in most of the forests. And the availability of diverse species basically creates strong competition among different species. Densely of spaced do the coffee shrubs tend to be in the forest and The level of coffee management intervention by the local community who live near the forest highly affects coffee tree population density. Where the level of intervention is minimal, coffee trees are found growing densely. However, those parts of the forest areas that are highly accessible by the local communities are characterized by sparsely populated coffee trees.
• coffee plants prefer a particular type of forest canopy and plants perform better in spaces where trees have been pruned, sometimes large trees have fallen and created gaps in the canopy but Coffee is naturally a shade-loving plant. Shade helps coffee trees to have a longer and more productive lifespan, with a consistent production pattern year after year. Thus, the nature of the forest canopy determines the inherent production potential of a given coffee variety. A lot of research has been conducted so far on coffee shade trees. A forest canopy that allows 20 percent of sunshine is supposed to be an ideal shade level for optimum and consistent production patterns. Coffee trees under such a shade level perform better than those trees under a closed canopy or on fully open farms.
• any planting occur in the forest And it’s the way of how they choose the variety is Legally, the local communities who live near the forest are not allowed to bring in and plan their own varieties (coffee or any other plants) in the forest. But in the other production systems like semiforest and garden coffee, farmers or local communities are allowed to do their own plantings.
• the plants that farmers grow as ‘garden coffee’, outside the forest is differ from the plants that grow within the forest because Varieties that grow in gardens and forest production systems have different characters. The main difference is their morphological (physical) appearance. The coffee trees in the forest are aged. If a [forest] tree is young, it is a little bit longer, with [fewer] primary/secondary/tertiary branches. Moreover, the trees in a forest appear less productive. And the reverse is true with garden coffee trees.
• Agroforestry is offer coffee plants more protection from diseases, compared with growing coffee outside the forest because Since coffee is a shade-loving plant, naturally, the level of abiotic/biotic stress will be very severe when the coffee is planted without shade or outside the forest. The level of sunlight received determines the level of leaf-to-crop ratio. Under open farms, the level of crop is very high and that a significant level of imbalance between leaf (food source) and crop (food sink) ratio. This causes overbearing (overproduction) dieback (tree death). Thus, agroforestry is an inevitable option to [ensure] healthy coffee trees and consistent level of production year after year.
• we think makes Ethiopian coffee taste so intensely floral is in their terroir, the genotype(s) and range of factors, like Coffee quality is a very complex trait. It is controlled by genetics (G) (genetic makeup of the coffee tree), environment (E) (altitude, soil, rainfall distribution, and other micro- and macro-climatic factors), and the interaction of both (G x E). Ethiopia is known as a center of origin and genetic diversity. There are a wide range of coffee varieties available in the country, which is one of the reasons behind the intense floral taste. Secondly, the availability of diverse agro-ecology (environment/terrior) interacting with different varieties could create a wide range of flavour notes in Ethiopia. Most Ethiopian coffees are known for their intense floral aftertaste. In particular, coffees from Yirgacheffe, Guji, Sidama, Gera, and Anfilo are known for their floral/ fruity/spice flavours.

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The most intense solar radiation reaches a plant growing in the tropics when the sun is directly overhead. As the Earth tilts, the solar intensity is reduced because the radiation is spread over a larger area.With some simple trigonometry, you can see that a shift in the angle of the sun of 60° reduces the available sunlight by approximately half. A coffee farm located on the Tropic of Capricorn will receive direct sunlight on the 21st of June. But by the 22nd of December, the angle of the sun will have shifted from 23° 26′ south to 23° 26′ north. this change results in direct sunlight being spread over roughly 36 percent more land area, reducing the intensity of light where it strikes the earth. However, the times when the sun is directly overhead roughly corresponds with the rainy season, which can result in significant cloud cover obscuring the sun’s rays in an effect known as albedo. Based on observations on Reunion Island, sited in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, Bertrand et al., 2012 reported that solar radiation was negatively correlated with elevation, due to the frequent cloudy weather in the highlands, and positively correlated with temperature.’ In other words, increased solar radiation and temperature occurred in areas of lower elevation.

• During the season when the sun is directly overhead in the tropics, the combination of a lot of rain and a lot of light represents an intense growing phase for coffee plants. At this time of year, coffee plants tend to flower. Coffee farms located closer to the equator have some complexity regarding this seasonal fluctuation, however, because they can experience two rainy seasons per year. The biological clock of a coffee plant usually works on an annual cycle, but in some places on the equator (such as Colombia), some regions can have trees flowering while in a neighboring valley the farmers are harvesting.

Albedo

• Sunlight can reach a plant from below as well as from above. One means of this is by reflection from the Earth’s surface. In wine growing this is known as albedo. The extreme form of albedo comes from fresh snow, which will reflect over 80 percent of the solar radiation. High up, clouds in the stratosphere can reflect 70 percent of the solar radiation. Dark-colored, wet soil (typical of most coffee farms) will reflect only around 10 percent of the sun’s radiation. This is very similar to the amount that will be reflected from forest cover.The availability of sunlight is the major rate-limiting factor in the process of photosynthesis by coffee plants. For this reason, coffee farmers may thin the forest canopy as their plants mature.

Aspect

• Aspect refers to the orientation of a hillside relative to its compass bearing. It is an established principle of winemaking that the angle and orientation of a hillside can alter the flavour of a wine. The classic example of this is the difference between north- and south-facing slopes. If your coffee farm were on the Tropic of Capricorn in your rainy season, the sun will be aligned with the Tropic of Cancer. In this situation, a north-facing slope receives the most direct sunlight and a south-facing slope receives the least possible amount of light exposure.(Bertrand et al., 2012)concluded that the terroir of the coffee plant determined the sensory characteristics and chemical contents of its beans. They also found that the plant’s altitude and slope exposure created nuances in the sensory characteristics of coffees grown within a terroir.
• What’s the difference between Eastern or Western Aspect?

Plants with an east-facing aspect receive the first morning light, making them drier than plants with a west-facing aspect. The dew and rain begin to evaporate sooner in the day than they would on a west-facing aspect, so they have a head start. Plants with a west-facing aspect are usually warmer than those on a south-facing aspect, so ripening tends to occur more quickly. The last two decades have seen increases in the land area devoted to shade-grown coffee, but at the same time, non–shade-grown production has increased almost exponentially. ‘Shade-grown’ now describes around 24 percent of the land used for coffee. This amount is down from 43 percent in 1996. Yield-focused government incentives have been the driver for the widespread adoption of full-sun farming over the past two or three decades. Coffee research institutes created in the 1970s and 1980s , promoted the reduction or removal of shade cover.

• There is some controversy around the subject of shade. A disconnect exists between conservationists looking to maintain biodiversity and the viewpoint of yield-driven government incentives, aimed at increasing farmer prosperity. However, the literature points towards a happy medium here. Studies … have predominantly revealed that intermediate shade levels (approximately 35%–50%) produce the highest coffee yield, which is probably because of the balance maintained between optimal temperatures in shaded environments and optimal photosynthetic rates in unshaded environments … Because coffee yields are typically assessed independently of yield from timber, other crops, or ecosystem services, it may be difficult for governments and conservation institutes to weigh the benefits of diversified farming approaches. High yields don’t always equate with high quality.

Does Shade Grown Coffee Taste Better?

• it is clear that shade coverage is able to reduce average temperatures for coffee plants. using 45 percent shade netting found a significant difference between inner and outer leaf temperatures of coffee plants and a significant overall temperature drop. we measured differences of 4◦ C for inner leaves (measure from the trunk up to the sixth leaf) and 2◦ C for outer leaves. The same experiment accumulated sensory impressions of coffee grown under differing levels of shade cover. The chart below records the findings of their sensory panel. In addition, to testing full sun and shade, they also tested fruit load by removing a quarter and a half of the fruit from certain trees. The reason for this is that full sun plants tend to overbear and so the experiment sought to test if pruning could counteract this issue whilst still yielding good tasting coffee under full sun. The panel showed a clear preference for the shade-grown coffee over two growing seasons. A scientific study conducted on Reunion Island (the site of the Typica variety’s famous mutation into the Bourbon variety) collected sensory and chemical data from sixteen microclimates across the island. This research found a correlation between a cooler climate and positive sensory performance. Positive quality attributes such as acidity, fruity character and flavour quality were correlated and typical of coffees produced at cool climates.’
• One theory to explain why coffee may taste better in shade is the slower maturation of the fruit. In the case of the Reunion Island sensory trials, In a warmer micro-environment with high irradiance, coffee berries ripened faster in full sun than in shade. Therefore the harvest peak was delayed by about 1 month owing to shade. The slowed-down ripening process of coffee berries at higher elevations (lower air temperatures), or under shading, allows more time for complete bean filling Vast, yielding beans that are denser and far more intense in flavour than their neighbors grown at lower altitudes. Tropical climates are characterized by a reduced seasonal temperature variation. Where large changes in temperature do occur, altitude is usually the main modulating factor. But shade can give the farmer the ability to ‘micro-adjust’ the climate. The Reunion Island study confirmed that temperature during seed development has a major effect on the flavour of roasted coffee. The sensory trials found multiple correlations between coffee quality and lower temperatures. Coffees produced in regions with a cool climate (more elevated) are more acidic, have a better aroma quality and display fewer flavor defects than those produced in warmer regions (less elevated). Conversely, coffees grown under the hottest temperature conditions have lower acidity, lower aromatic quality, as well as the presence of green and earthy off-flavors … Aroma quality, acidity, fruitiness and overall quality were favored by cool climates, whilst the undesirable earthy and green tastes were increasingly present as the temperature increased. It therefore appears that the quality was weakest under warm climates.

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Most Arabica coffee trees in cultivation around the world are no more than three or four generations from the wild. What this means is that many features of coffee’s physiology resemble the phenotypes of the Ethiopian landrace varieties from the wild forests. That means they still favor the types of environment found in the cool understory of the wild forests which historically have experienced a winter dry season.

Selected sun adapter cultivars under intensive management conditions have allowed arabica coffee plantations to be spread to marginal regions with average temperatures as high as 24–25ºC, such as in northeastern Brazil On the other hand, in regions with a mean annual temperature below 17–18ºC, growth is largely depressed.

The optimum terroir for arabica coffee is relatively confined to areas that resemble the terroir of the wild forest of Ethiopia and in the same way the anatomy of coffee around the world remain quite similar to landraces from the cloud forests of South Sudan’s Boma plateau and the Ethiopian highlands. First part is the lives the leaves of coffee plants are shiny and usually dark green in color. The leaves have ruffled edges that look like edges of a Kalita wave filter paper. The leaves are usually located in pairs along straight branches. Plants tend to shed leaves by the end of the dry season coinciding with the harvesting period. The leaves of coffee plants don’t react very well to wind stress. High winds can lead to a reduction of leaf area and a shortening of the internode length of the branches. Mature leaves will often reach around 15cm in length. After that the root system of an arabica coffee tree is concentrated in the first 30 cm of soil. It is distributed in a circle of approximately 1.50 m in diameter around the trunk. Unless trained in a special way, most Arabica plants are single trunked. Plants that are multi-trunked have either been stumped to encourage regrowth or pegged down as young saplings to encourage suckers (new potential trunks) to grow up. This is a common practice in Kenya and Uganda.

Flowers

On a branch of a coffee plant, the leaves are arranged in pairs spaced along each branch with a few CMS between them. The meeting point of each pair of leaves is called the axil. It is between the pairs of leaves at the axil that the coffee flowers appear. Unlike most flowering plants, the flower buds occur in clusters of as many as 16 flowers. This is called an inflorescence (a cluster of flowers on one branch). Each flower has five petals which come together in the center to form a funnel-like tube. The calyx is very rudimen­tary, being five-denticulate, and the corolla is white, the five petals being united in a tube to form a salver-shaped corolla. The stamens protrude up above the narrow corolla which looks and smells very much like Jasmin.  Relatively high temperatures during blossoming, especially if associated with a prolonged dry season, may cause flowers to be rejected by the tree. Unseasonably high winds can also reduce yields if flowers are blown off the plant prematurely. Well-defined wet and dry seasons lead to more pronounced flowering patterns. This occurs at the outer edges of the tropics in places like Minas Gerais in Brazil where long summer days (over 13 hr) tend to inhibit flower-bud initiation for 3 or 4 months.

1. The Anther of a Stamen
2. Stigma
3. Anther of a stamen
4. Petal
5. Corolla
6. Calyx
7. Ovary
8. Peduncle (Stem)

After rainy season the flowers bloom and then they dry, fruit come out and flower fall down, then The coffee fruit is often referred to as a cherry or a berry, but in fact, it is a drupe. Other drupes include apricots, peaches and plums. Cherries are also classed as drupes, though berries are a separate category of fruit. (The confusion is compounded here when you consider that strawberries and raspberries are also not classed as berries.) The key to what defines a drupe is the built-in line of weakness in the outside of the pyrene (the stone or kernel) that splits apart and allows the seed to escape. This does not occur with berries such as grapes or red currants.

In this figure number B is a peaberry and A is normal coffee cherry, then a is skin, b is exocarp or pulp, c mesocarp, mucilage or pectin, d is endocarp or parchment , after that there is a skinny and papery layer which is silver skin and after that it is embryo which is the main part.

Peaberries

Peaberries, while sometimes considered a defect, are not associated with any flavour taints. In fact, many roasters tell us that because of the characteristic rugby ball-like shape of peaberries, they are easier to roast than ordinary beans. It is simply the loss of yield that is the problem. research into the formation of peaberries indicates that they are the result of environmental stress, but some plants are more prone to the production of peaberries than others. In some cases, the peaberry may account for as much as 40 percent of the crop. Plants prone to peaberry formation are usually removed from a farm because for every 1 percent of peaberries in a crop, there is a 0.75 percent loss of yield.a research study looking into drip irrigation of coffee plants found that in the first year of cultivation, the test plot without irrigation had a very high percentage of peaberries, at 21 percent of the total crop. The report states, ‘The production of peaberries is partially related to adverse environmental factors, mainly in the flowering and fruiting. So appropriate management of irrigation in these phases provided better conditions for the formation of beans, thus reducing the percentage of peaberries.’ Research demonstrated that air temperatures close to 24º C (1 degree above the upper limit of what is considered optimum for arabica coffee) increases the amount of peaberries harvested .

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