The bags of raw coffee are like its identity card: they identify green coffee in all its variations.
They are the first calling card of the coffee that the crudist and roaster are buying and reflect the quality of the content itself.
Let’s find out together why!
We have already seen the differences between the two main botanical species of coffee, namely between arabica and robusta:
The terroir that influences the formation of aroma in the future cup:
How the drupes are harvested:
How they are then processed to extract the green coffee beans:
These are all key characteristics for knowing what taste and quality to expect in the cup!
Now all we need to know is how it is packaged and transported to get to us roasters.
Bags of raw coffee talk!
The coffee arrives in Italy still raw, ready to be roasted and then marketed.
As we have already pointed out several times, quality does not depend solely and exclusively on the typicality of each species or on extraction techniques. But there are a number of links that are all important in achieving the result, including packaging and transportation.
For example: if this stage is not taken care of, raw coffee can absorb moisture and/or saltiness during transport by sea, with obvious negative effects on the taste in the cup, sometimes even making it unmarketable, since the maximum moisture limit for raw coffee has been set at 12 percent for sale.
They are then transported mostly in Standard 60 kg bags of jute and/or sisal. . Although these fabrics are now only an outer covering, as they do not keep the coffee well sheltered from moisture, heat and sunlight. In fact, inside, if quality is to be preserved to the maximum, they are lined with special plastic bags that can be closed with a plastic band and microperforated .
We at Ernani have opted for this solution for all our cafes.
Alternatives may be vacuum packing, but only for small quantities of transported coffee or micro batches of very high quality coffee.
Or coffee poured inside directly of special containers. This solution is chosen by large roasters that market huge quantities.
At this point the crudist , who receives coffee from the importer. If he is careful about the product . checks it, cleans it and bags it to then sell only the best to the roaster .
And that is exactly how our carefully selected raw workers work, and they enjoy our full confidence.
And that’s where we come in, with an initial phase of analysis, both visual of the bags and gustatory, as well as chemical and physical analysis in the company’s laboratories.
But let’s come to us! What do the bags of raw coffee say?
For example, here is Kalle’s sack, on which we can read the following:
- Kalledevarapura summer – the name of the production plantation
- Specialty Indian Coffee – so we see that it is a Specialty Indian Coffee.
- Crop Year: 2018-2019 – the harvest season, which begins in September of the first year and ends in September of the following year
- Customized for Rehm & Co – which is the importer of the coffee
In this case, for the Caffè delle Donne, let’s see:
- Spiga trading – another one of our importers
- The IWCA certificate -the International Women in Coffee Alliance’s certification of equal employment opportunities
- 002 – the identification code of the country of production, in this case Brazil
- 1725 – the carrier code
- 0008 – the lot of this bag of coffee
Now you can read the coffee bag too!
Let’s do it together: this is an Ethiopian Sidamo washed, so washed. It will therefore be a fruity and floral, highland coffee with good acidity.
It is also “Grade 2,” which means that considering a scale from grade 1, the highest level indicating a coffee with zero defects, to a grade 5, which is a coffee that can have up to 100 defects, grade 2 indicates a coffee of excellent quality.
Finally, we always find the various identification codes, as well as the year of harvest.
See how many things you can learn just by reading “the label” of raw coffee?
Marketing, E-commerce e Social Media Manager
Coffee Lover
