Coffee

The by-products of coffee processing are mainly coffee pulp, parchment husks and coffee husks. The main environmentally sustainable alternative uses include soil conditioner, fertilizer, mulch, animal feed, alcohol, bio gas, charcoal, heat energy, wax, and acids.

Coffee chaff from coffee roasting and spent coffee grounds from coffee manufacturing can also be used as CO2-neutral fuels. Spent coffee grounds from soluble coffee production can be burned as renewable fuel which replaces or reduces fossil fuel use for other production stages.

Four common sustainable coffee by-products include the following,

Composting

• Coffee pulp is a rich source of nutrients: 0.5% nitrogen; 0.15% phosphorus, and 0.5% potassium.
• Coffee pulp can be treated and used as organic fertilizer.
• Usually the coffee pulp is placed on piles and left to compost for about 3 to 12 months.
• During that time, coffee pulp turns into rich, black humus excellent for composting.
• Using organic fertilizers improves soil conditions and increases agricultural yield.
• Farmers save money otherwise spent buying inorganic fertilizers.

Mushroom planting soil

• Coffee pulp can also be used as planting soil for mushroom production.
• When used for this purpose, the coffee pulp is fermented for about two days.
• The coffee pulp is then pasteurized with hot water, drained, dried and mixed with mushroom spores.
• Next, the mixture is put in plastic bags with holes where the mushrooms develop for about 3 to 4 weeks.
• When the mushrooms grow out of the holes, they are collected.
• One bag allows for about 2 to 3 mushroom harvests.
• The fresh mushrooms are for table consumption or they can be dried for sale.
• The income from mushroom growing can be significant for the farmers who do this.

Animal feed supplement

• Coffee pulp is very rich in nutrients.
• Coffee pulp can be dried and used in animal feed.
• The pulp needs to be treated as quickly as possible to prevent the development of fungi.
• Usually, coffee pulp is treated with calcium hydroxide and dried under pressure.
• Another way to dry pulp, in the absence of industrial equipment, is to mix the coffee pulp with sugar cane molasses or other inorganic substances before storing the mix in silos.
• The resulting silage is available for use after 3 weeks and can remain stored for up to 18 months.
• The use of coffee pulp for this by-product appears to offer limited value because the cost of processing the pulp can exceed the gain derived from its use.
• The research on the effects of caffeine, potassium and other natural chemicals in the pulp on the health of animals is ongoing and will be influential for the future of this by-product.

Energy source for heat exchangers of coffee driers

• The most energy consuming step in coffee processing is drying.
• Sun drying is very common and offers many benefits but has drawbacks as well.
• Sun drying conserves energy, minimizes the use of fossil fuels and reduces costs.
• However, parchment coffee can be contaminated with dust and dirt during the sun drying process.
• Rainstorms happen without warning and are a challenge for farmers to prevent bean re-wetting which can promote bacterial infections and moldy growth.
• Because sun drying is time intensive, many coffee processors choose mechanical drying. The downside is that the cost to operate mechanical dryers is high and can cut down on margins.
• Using coffee parchment husks as the energy source for burners for heat exchangers of coffee driers is both a great environmentally friendly waste-recycling and energy-saving solution.

With international markets changing and the economic pressures mounting everywhere, crops such as coffee require innovative thinking to improve efficiency, cost effectiveness, quality and competitiveness. Sustainable coffee by-product development will continue to be a fast growing and important field of research.

What about drinking a delicious cup of Kona Extra Fancy Certified?

Timothy (“Tim”) S. Collins, the author, is called by those who know him “Gourmet Coffee Guy.” He is an expert in article writing who has done extensive research online and offline in his area of expertise, coffee marketing, as well as in other areas of personal and professional interest.

Come visit the author’s website: http://www.ourgourmetcoffee.com

Copyright – Timothy S. Collins. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

Author: Timothy S. Collins
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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It is widely believed that coffee is a native of the Ethiopian rain forest, which lies in eastern Africa in the southern part of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean on its northern side. But, that was over hundred years ago. In present times, there are over 50 countries across the world where coffee is cultivated on a substantial scale. Some of these are Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guatemala, Vietnam, Indonesia and Yemen besides Ethiopia, of course.

A common fact that many people, including regular coffee drinkers, do not know is where coffee comes from. These same people may say it comes from plants, but little knowing that these are actually trees!

Yes, that is true! Coffee grows on trees, though these trees may not always be tall as many coffee farmers prefer to keep their trees short because it is easier at harvesting time to deal with shorter trees. Just like the climate in the original country where coffee was first grown, the South American rainforest area too, provides similar shade as required for the optimum yield in coffee plantations.

Thus, it can safely be said that the best coffee in the world is that grown near the equator, as it requires tropical environment to produce best results. Apart from shade, coffee trees need a fair bit of water, and sun though no special soil conditions. In some areas, coffee farmers may use fertilizer to increase productivity but doing so may be detrimental for the environment.

However, national coffee boards of the above mentioned countries which are top producers of coffee beans reveal that the best beans come from coffee trees planted in tropical plantations at high altitudes, which typically have rich soil. This is why countries along the equatorial zone have the best coffee plantations.

However, as mentioned earlier, location, including altitude, is not the sole criteria governing the quality of coffee. Its flavor as well as its quality is dependent on other factors too, such as the plant variety used, the chemical composition of the soil it is grown in, amount of rainfall experienced in the region and the availability of sunshine.

It is a vital combination of the right mix of these complex components along with the manner in which the cherries are processed post-picking that determines the quality of coffee one receives from a particular region and sets the distinction of coffee obtained from different countries. Sometimes, due to the complex nature of these variables, the coffee obtained from the same plantation may also yield different quality and flavor.

A little known fact about coffee beans is that these are actually berry seed, and very small in size, therefore referred to as cherries. Each berry will typically contain 2 green coffee beans but sometimes these may be mutated. After these berries turn red, it means they are ripe for picking and this is the ideal time for harvesting them, as opposed to ‘strip picking’ which some farmers indulge in to save on labor, but this early picking before coffee berries ripen causes the coffee obtained from them to be of an inferior quality.

However, the time invested in harvesting ripe coffee berries can be considerable, taking up to 7 days or more for a farmer to single-handedly pick coffee for filling a 100-pound bag of beans, by hand. Now, when one thinks of nearly 7 million tons of this brown concentrate, being produced annually, one can well imagine the number of laborers required on coffee plantations to pick enough berries to meet this demand!

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Author: Martin Salter
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Not all coffee beans are grown in environments that consist of huge commercial coffee plantations that are located in remote places in far off southern Latin American countries and it is also another common assumption that growing coffee requires plenty of sunshine as well.

There are however different kinds of coffee crops that grow under different conditions and which use different procedures of harvesting. Thus one can think of two different types of coffee that include the shade grown or organic coffee and the traditional coffee that is grown in direct sunlight.

Two Types Of Coffee

These two types of coffees are diametrically opposite as far as their production is concerned. There was a time when coffee was only grown in the shade and it was much like the present day organic coffee that we drink today. It is not usual for most kinds of coffee to grow properly under direct sunlight and grow at their best when under shade.

Thus shade grown coffee or organic coffee are used to benefiting from the falling of leaves that are instrumental in mulching the soil and helping in retaining moisture. Also, such type of coffee, when grown beneath trees means that the trees provide a home to birds and thus are a way of controlling pests.

Till about thirty years ago there was not much fertilizer or pesticides used and thus organic coffee was synonymous with healthy production. Then, in the seventies a number of new varieties of coffee began to appear and new methods of producing coffee became known which meant production of more Coffee beans, slower rate of harvesting and also use of direct sunlight to grow the crops.

Thus, the coming of non-organic coffee meant that farmers began to cut down on trees so that they could make plantation rows and in the United States alone it meant almost two million acres of land being dedicated to both organic as well as non-organic coffee growth. Only those farmers that were too poor to use fertilizers as well as pesticides continued producing organic coffee.

There is little doubt that organic coffee does cost a bit more, but the transition from organic to the sun coffee has also meant that the environment is being sacrificed. With erosion of soil and the depletion of nutrients, more chemical fertilizers are being sprayed into the ground and there has also been the removal of rainforest land just so that non-organic coffee can be grown.

This has led to just a few countries remaining that are still producing organic coffee and these countries include Ethiopia, Panama, El Salvador and Mexico. The bigger producers of coffee such as Costa Rica and Brazil are now producing sun coffee.

In the end, organic coffee does mean a better and cleaner environment that does produce a better coffee as far as health and a clean environment are concerned.

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Author: John Hilaire
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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