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Coffe is a beverage that comes from the milling of seeds of tropical trees belonging to the Coffea genus, which is part of Rubiaceae family, a group of angiosperms that includes more than 600 genera and 13.500 species.
Coffee trees can reach from 3 to 15 meters of height according to the species, however in plantation its height is kept at a maximum of 3 meters, by trimming, in order to make berries collection easier.
The flowers grow into groups of 5-7 and are white, with a colour similar to jasmine. Both blossoming and fruit season may occur several times per year if the plant grows in a suitable place and climate.
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After blossoming, that lasts one or two days, fruit come out. Initially the berries are Yellow and green and then they become red and finally dark red, like cherries, which they also take their name from.
Once taken off the skin and the pulp of the fruit, there are two seeds inside, each of them is protected by a membrane called "pergamin" and by a thin silvery film.
The seeds are usually similar and regular, flat and with a hole on the internal part and convex on the external part.
Despite within the coffea genus there are more than 100 identified species, only 2 of them are to be considered important from a commercial point of view: Arabica (Coffee arabica) and Robusta (Coffee canephora).
Arabica was born in the mountains of Ethiopia and it is the finest plant. It represents 75% of the whole world coffee production. Arabica coffe has a round taste, slightly acid and a little bit chocolaty. Their smell is strong and the cream has an hazelnut reddish colour and a slightly bitter taste; the caffeine amount contained varies from 8% to 1,5%. At the end of the process both with washed and natural method fruit are transformed into green coffee. Then beans are classified according to different criteria, such as provenance, species, year of production, altitude of crops, roasting, aroma of the beverage once ready in the cup. After classification coffee beans to be exported are put into jute bags and enter the international trade.
Roasting
Through roasting green coffee beans become coffee in grains, soft, light, brown and perfumed beans and then powder for espresso and other preparations. During these crucial 15 minutes the 800 substances responsible for coffee taste and aroma arise.
Within a great rolling machine green coffee is first dried up to eliminate any humidity trace and then taken to a temperature of about 200 AC, then it is cooled down. |
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HISTORY
Coffee history is very long. It started around 900-1000 a.C. and still today coffee continues to be a symbol of sociality. According to some studies it already existed during Homer times as it was drunk in Troy.
Coffee was brought to Europe thanks to travelers, traders and adventurers following the route of boats, but also by scholars, doctors and drawers.
1615 is considered the year when coffee first entered into Europe, thanks to Venice traders that followed sea route that connected the Far east with Venice and Naples. The credit for having introduced coffee in Italy goes to the botanist Prospero Alpini who had been the doctor of Venice consul in Egypt, and also to G. Francesco Morosini, Pietro della Valle and Fausto Nairone. Venice was the first Italian town to know coffee aroma, that afterwards was brought through the other Italian regions and became the point of reference not only for Italian traders, but also for traders coming from other Countries, especially from central and northern Europe.
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PROPERTIES
Coffee is one of the food sources richest in natural substances with antioxidant properties, thanks to the abundance of clorogenic acids and compounds derived from roasting. Several studies have shown that people who drink coffee have an highest level of protection against some diseases like type 2 diabetes and Parkinson; furthermore it also slows down brain natural decline in old people, and, in case of moderate intake, it contrasts negative effects of cardiovascular risk.
Other coffee benefits: three cups per day can help those who suffer from breathing problems since coffee helps dilation. After lunch a coffee cup increases saliva production and therefore favors digestion.
It is also largely used in cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry: caffeine has a draining effect and stimulates microcirculation and it is used in creams for legs, in sun filters and in anti-baldness products as it stimulates the activity at the root of the hair. |
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DID YOU KNOW?
The most known legend on coffee origin says that a shepherd called Kaldi put his goats out to pasture in Ethiopia. One day the goats found a coffee plant and started to eat leaves and berries.
At night instead of sleeping the goats started to wander around with energy. The shepherd understood it was due to the plant, he roasted the seeds, milled them and got an infusion, that is coffee.
In Muslim world the spread of coffee as a beverage was more difficult as it was believed to be the beverage of evil. Instead, Pope Clemente VIII did not want to excommunicate it because after trying it he liked it so much that he decided to bless it and make it a Christian beverage. |
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FUGAR COFFEE CREAM
Evolution of espresso coffee shake, halfway between a sorbet and an ice-crea, coffee cream has become in the years a real must.
Fugar Coffee cream is the first sweet and fresh "cremolata" prepared with the ingredients and know-how of the best Italian gelato. Easy and quick to use: just mix it with milk and cream and it is ready to be put into the slush machine. It can be served after about three hours.
Coffee Cream composition is unique in the market: real freeze-dried coffee, presence of noble sugars like fructose, absence of hydrogenated vegetable fats, WITHOUT COLORINGS.
It is suitable for all seasons thanks to the fine structure of ice grains and it can be the base for countless preparations by adding whipped cream, topping, grains and other decorations.
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