Do you ever pause to think about where that cup of coffee in your hand comes from?
It never ceases to amaze me how many hands that the coffee I drink every day passes through before it reaches my cup. Coffee farmers in their plantations lovingly plant coffee trees by hand on the steep slopes of mountains. These plants need care for 3 to 4 years before they bear fruit. The fruit is the coffee cherry and when harvested contains the seeds that become the coffee bean. After harvesting these cherries (usually by hand) the serious work begins.
The cherries are de-pulped, and the seeds go through several processes of drying to a specific moisture content to become the green coffee bean. The pulp from the cherries is used as compost back on the ground around the trees. The process for creating the green coffee bean is labour intensive and precise to ensure maximum return for the farmer by ensuring the quality of the bean.
Lucaffé has strong connections with each of their growers and suppliers to ensure that the coffee is grown and harvested ethically. This extends to caring for the people involved with all processes as well as sustainable farming techniques.
SO…. we put all that effort into sourcing the green coffee beans, what’s next?
This is where Lucaffé steps up and weaves its magic
Shipping our own beans from around the world ensures they are handled correctly and at the right times of the year to keep the optimum flavour. We then store them in a special facility just for green coffee beans.
Roasting and blending is where the wealth of artisanal experience and investment in the latest technology shines through. Gian Luca, the owner of Lucaffe, invests as much time, personally, in the torrefazione as he does in the latest equipment to support this.
All that said, the real talent lies in the roaster being hands on and closely involved with every roast. A machine can’t smell, taste ….. And a machine can’t love the coffee!
We roast our beans gently with hot air. This beautiful method of roasting ensures the beans retain their unique characteristics and the oils are not disturbed so the coffee is healthy and easily digestible.
So when you next have your coffee think of the hundreds of hands that each batch has passed through before it hits your cup.