Coffee, before becoming a beverage, is a fascinating, valuable raw material.
Just take a look at its supply chain. It is a complex set of steps, beginning on the plantation and arriving in our cups. It involves a lot of people and requires a large number of activities, each of fundamental importance.
From growing the plants to harvesting the beans and the single processing steps, from careful inspections during the long trip the raw beans take to reach the roaster to packaging, and finally to the café...
It is an eventful trip that requires total care and dedication.

The Plant
The plant, an evergreen shrub, belongs to the Rubiacee family and includes about one hundred species in the Coffea genus. Only four of these are important in terms of coffee bean commerce: Coffea Arabica, Coffea Robusta, Coffea Liberica, and Coffea Excelsa. Differences between the species are related to various parameters, including geographic origin, the climate and ground suitable for cultivation, the method of pollination, the caffeine content, and the taste it provides.

The Process
Everything begins with the harvesting of the ripe, red fruit. The procedure is not simple if you consider that the berries (or drupe) do not all ripen at the same time. There are three harvesting methods. The first is hand picking of only the ripe drupes, performed repeatedly. The second is the mechanical method (using machines), which is only used in flat areas. The third is stripping, or the harvesting of all drupes in a single passage (including the unripe fruit).
After harvesting, the fruits are treated by dry processing, partially washed processing, and wet processing. Coffee beans are selected and inspected after processing. Then they are bagged and ready to start their trip. Decaffeination (if done) is then followed by roasting and grinding.

At the bar After such a complex, delicate process, it takes the expert skill of the barman and quality equipment, the coffee maker, for the coffee to become a quality espresso at the bar.