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Coffee
Coffee is grown in about eighty countries across South and Central America , the Caribbean , Africa and Asia . There are two main varieties , Arabica and Robusta . Arabica coffee comprises around three-quarters of the coffee grown worldwide , and it is grown in Latin America , Central and East Africa , India and , to some extent , Indonesia . Robusta coffee is grown in West and Central Africa , throughout South-East Asia and , to some extent , in Brazil .
Overview
Brazil is the largest coffee exporting nation , but Vietnam tripled its exports between 1995 and 1999 , and became a major producer of Robusta beans . Indonesia is the third-largest exporter and the largest producer of washed Arabica coffee . World coffee exports amounted to 9.69 million bags in June 2015 , compared with 10.02 million bags in June 2014 . Exports in the first nine months of coffee year 2014 / 15 ( Oct / 14 to June / 15 ) fell by 4.3 % in comparison with the first nine months of the last coffee year , and in the twelve months ending June 2015 , exports of Arabica totaled 67.31 million bags compared to 69.34 million bags the previous year ; whereas Robusta exports amounted to 43.12 million bags compared to 44.66 million bags according to the International Coffee organization .
Coffee Production
The coffee bean is really a seed that when it is dried , roasted and ground may be used to brew coffee . Alternatively , it can be planted to grow a coffee tree . The coffee seeds are usually initially planted in shaded nurseries until theysproutand then the seedlings are planted in individual pots in carefully formulated soils . They require frequent watering and also need to be shaded from bright light until they are strong enough to be permanently planted .
Depending on the variety of coffee plant , it will take around 3 to 4 years for the trees to begin to bear fruit . The fruit is called a coffee cherry , and it turns a deep red when it is ripe and ready to be picked . The coffee crop is mainly handpicked , though in some locations , the process has been mechanized . All coffee is harvested in one of two ways :
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Strip Picked - the entire crop is harvested at one time by machine or by hand and all the cherries are stripped off the branches at one time Selectively Picked – In this method , only the ripe cherries are harvested and they are picked by hand . Pickers rotate among the trees every 8 - 10 days , choosing only the cherries that are ripe
In most coffee-growing countries , there is one harvest a year , but in some areas there is both a main and secondary crop . A good coffee picker will pick around 100 to 200 pounds of coffee cherries each day and that may produce 20 to 40 pounds of coffee beans . Once picked , processing must begin as quickly as possible to prevent spoilage . Depending on location and local resources , coffee is processed in one of two ways :
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The Dry Method- This is the original method of processing coffee still used in many countries where water resources are limited . The freshly picked cherries are spread out to dry in the sun . The cherries are continuously
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