Coffee (genus: coffea), one of the well-known and widely-consumed beverages worldwide was first discovered in Ethiopia in the 9th century. However, it was only after 15th century, coffee reached Italy, the country where the history of modern day coffee drinks originates from. Subsequently, coffee houses started becoming popular in Italy, UK and Austria in the 17th century. The next two centuries saw coffee spreading to Central America and South America, the largest coffee producers of modern day. Today, coffee is one of the largest exports for more than 12 countries worldwide as the consumption of coffee has increased manifold in recent times.

Coffee is made from the ripe coffee beans which are dried, roasted, ground and brewed using different methods. There are two popular varieties of coffee available - Coffea Canephora and Coffea Arabica. The caffeine content in Coffea Canephora (also known as robusta) is higher (2 - 4 %) than Arabica and accounts for its strong flavour. Arabica has caffeine content between 1 – 2 % and has better flavour, pleasant aroma and little sweet aftertaste. Most popular coffee drinks like espresso and cappuccino blend both these coffee in specified ratio to get different flavours and aroma.

When coffee berries (which contain coffee beans or seeds) become ripe, they are plucked and the fleshy part of the berries is removed. Coffee seeds are then dried (now they look green) and roasted before they get ready for consumption.

It is the roasting process that gives different flavours and aroma to coffee beans so it is important that beans should be roasted at right temperature and for varied durations. When coffee beans get roasted, the moisture in the beans gets evaporated and the chaff fell off and removed. While roasting, coffee beans turn to yellow, to brown and then to dark brown depending on the roasting time. Soon, coffee beans also begin to get different aroma, from mild to strong, again depending on different roasts.

Light roast

Roasting time of 5-8 minutes gives mild flavour to beans, e.g. cinnamon roast and New England Roast.

Medium roast

This is roasting of beans for 10 minutes and gives good aroma and a bit sweet taste, e.g. American roast, city roast.

Dark roast

Also known as Italian roast. Preferred for making espresso and cappuccino coffee drinks. Coffee beans are roasted for about 15 minutes until they turn to very dark brown or black. This roasting offers strong flavours and a bit acidic taste to coffee beans.

You may like to store your coffee in different forms for later use. Typically, un-roasted, green beans can be stored for much longer time (2 years) in ideal conditions. Roasted seeds can lose flavour and aroma within six months while ground coffee should be used as soon as it is ground for good aroma and flavour.

Environmental factors like air, temperature, humidity and sunlight can affect the quality of coffee so they need to be considered while storing coffee.

• Store green beans in jute or paper bags and also keep them away from direct sun light. Never use plastic bags to store green beans as the beans will deteriorate rapidly without air. Make sure that humidity is around 60 % and the temperature is around 20 C.



• Roasted beans should be stored in air tight bags or containers and should be kept in cool places like freezers and away from direct sun light. At best, roasted beans can be preserved for a few months and get deteriorated after that. If you want to use roasted beans from freezer, let them come to room temperature before you grind them.
• If you grind your coffee in your home, it is always better to use it as soon as possible. Ground coffee loses flavour and aroma much quickly so it should be stored in air tight containers. When you buy ground coffee from stores, it should be used as quickly as possible once you open the bag.