Narrator:
ACCORDING TO LEGEND,
A GOAT HERDER IN ETHIOPIA
DISCOVERED COFFEE
AROUND 850 A.D.
EVENTUALLY, THE BEVERAGE
REACHED ITALY,
WHERE THE FIRST EUROPEAN
COFFEEHOUSE OPENED IN 1645.
TODAY, ABOUT 2 BILLION CUPS
OF COFFEE ARE DRUNK EACH DAY
AROUND THE WORLD,
MAKING COFFEE THE SECOND-MOST
VALUABLE TRADING COMMODITY
AFTER OIL.
COFFEE'S FLAVOR DEPENDS
ON THE REGION WHERE IT GROWS
AND THE WAY COFFEE MAKERS
ROAST AND BLEND THE BEANS.
HERE IN COSTA RICA,
THEY GROW COFFEE PLANTS
FROM SPROUTED SEEDS
KEPT IN CONTAINERS
FOR A FULL YEAR
BEFORE THEY TRANSPLANT THEM
INTO THE FIELD.
FROM SEED TO FIRST HARVEST
TAKES ABOUT TWO YEARS.
COFFEE PLANTS FLOWER
OVER THE COURSE OF THREE DAYS,
COVERING THE FIELDS WITH
FRAGRANT JASMINE-LIKE BLOOMS.
OVER SIX MONTHS' TIME,
THE BUDS GROW AND RIPEN
INTO RED CHERRIES
THAT CONTAIN THE COFFEE BEAN.
PICKERS HARVEST
THE RED CHERRIES,
LEAVING THE GREEN ONES TO RIPEN.
THEY'LL RETURN TO PICK
THE CHERRIES FROM THE SAME PLANT
FIVE TIMES IN THREE MONTHS
AS THEY RIPEN.
PICKERS DO THEIR BEST
TO HAVE NO MORE THAN 2 GREEN
FOR EVERY 100 RED CHERRIES
THEY HARVEST.
THEY EMPTY THEIR BINS INTO BAGS
AND LOAD THEM INTO TRUCKS.
EACH BIN PRODUCES ABOUT
4 1/2 POUNDS OF COFFEE BEANS,
ENOUGH TO MAKE
ABOUT 200 CUPS OF COFFEE.
THE FRESHER THE BERRY,
THE BETTER THE FLAVOR.
CHERRIES PICKED IN THE MORNING
ARE AT THE WET MILL,
READY FOR PROCESSING
THAT AFTERNOON.
AT THE WET MILL,
WATER CHANNELS WASH THE CHERRIES
AND DROP THEM OFF
AT A WORM SCREW.
IT LOADS THEM
INTO A PULPING MACHINE
TO REMOVE THE OUTER SKIN
AND FRUIT.
A ROTATING DRUM
PRESSES THE CHERRIES
AGAINST THE WALL OF THE PULPER
AND SQUEEZES OUT THE BEAN.
FROM THE PULPING MACHINE,
THE BEANS FLOW IN WATER TO
TWO LARGE ROTATING CYLINDERS.
THEY SIFT THE BEANS
TO SEPARATE THEM
FROM ANY OF THE HARD
GREEN CHERRIES
THAT PASS THROUGH
THE PULPING MACHINE.
NEXT, THE BEANS BATHE
IN MORE WATER,
WHICH DRAWS OUT A THICK SUGARY
SUBSTANCE KNOWN AS MIEL,
"HONEY" IN SPANISH.
THE COFFEE MAKER
THEN FEEDS THE WASHED BEANS
TO MAKE SURE
THEY'RE NO LONGER STICKY.
THE BEANS THEN DROP
INTO THE DRYING BIN BELOW.
WORKERS NOW LAY OUT THE BEANS
TO DRY IN THE TRADITIONAL WAY --
OUTDOORS ON A CEMENT PATIO.
FOR FOUR DAYS,
THEY RAKE OVER THE BEANS
AS THEY DRY IN THE HOT SUN.
AT NIGHT, THEY LET THE BEANS
REST TO EXTRACT THE MOST FLAVOR.
ONCE THE BEANS ARE DRY,
THEY GO INTO A MILLING MACHINE.
INSIDE, LARGE STONES GRIND AWAY
THE PARCHMENT-LIKE HULL
FROM THE BEAN.
DRYING METHODS
VARY AMONG COFFEE MAKERS.
THEY'RE A CLOSELY GUARDED
SECRET.
THE BEANS
CAN ALSO DRY MECHANICALLY
IN ROTATING DRUMS
THAT PUMP IN HEATED AIR.
WORKERS CLOSELY MONITOR
THE PROCESS
AND EMPTY THE DRUMS
WHEN THE BEANS ARE DRY.
A SUPERVISOR SMELLS THEM TO
CHECK FOR A VINEGAR-LIKE ODOR.
THAT WOULD MEAN THE BEANS
ARE FERMENTING,
A RESULT OF IMPROPER DRYING.
THE DRY BEANS
HAVE THEIR HUSKS REMOVED,
THEN GO ON
TO AN OSCILLATING TABLE
THAT SEPARATES THEM BY WEIGHT
INTO THREE GRADES,
THE HEAVIEST BEING
THE FIRST-GRADE BEANS.
WORKERS POUR OUT EACH GRADE
INTO BURLAP BAGS.
THEIR CONTENTS MUST WEIGH IN
AT 152 POUNDS PER BAG.
FINALLY, THEY STITCH THEM UP
AND STACK THEM FOR SHIPPING.
NEXT, WE'LL SEE
THE WHOLE PROCESS
THAT TURNS
THESE GREEN COFFEE BEANS
INTO A STEAMING CUP
OF GOURMET COFFEE.
Narrator: COFFEE BOASTS MORE
THAN 800 FLAVOR CHARACTERISTICS,
AT LEAST DOUBLE THOSE OF WINE.
ROASTING REDUCES THE AMOUNT
OF CAFFEINE IN THE BEAN.
TO ACHIEVE
A DARK-ESPRESSO ROAST,
THE BEANS REMAIN
IN THE ROASTER THE LONGEST,
SO THEY HAVE THE LEAST CAFFEINE.
IT'S THE CONCENTRATED BREW
THAT PACKS ESPRESSO'S PUNCH.
THESE GREEN COFFEE BEANS HAVE
JUST ARRIVED FROM THE WET MILL.
WORKERS POUR THEM OUT
INTO A BLENDING BIN
THAT FEEDS A ROASTING MACHINE
HEATED TO 356 DEGREES
FAHRENHEIT.
AT THAT TEMPERATURE,
THE OILS IN THE BEANS COMBUST,
AND THE BEANS ROAST
IN LESS THAN 20 MINUTES.
THE MASTER ROASTER MUST
REGULARLY CHECK THEIR PROGRESS.
WHEN HE DETERMINES
THEY'RE READY,
HE SETS OFF A LIGHT SPRAY
OF WATER IN THE ROASTER
TO EXTINGUISH THE BEANS.
THEN THEY POUR INTO A BIN WHERE
THEY'RE COOLED BY FORCED AIR.
AS THEY ROAST,
THE BEANS GO FROM GREEN
TO GOLDEN BROWN, THEN BLACK.
BEFORE ROASTING
AN ENTIRE SHIPMENT OF BEANS,
COFFEE MAKERS
FIRST TEST A SMALL BATCH.
THEY FOLLOW
A STANDARDIZED PROCEDURE
AT THE PLANT'S
TESTING LABORATORY.
FIRST, THEY ROAST
A HALF-POUND OF BEANS
IN A SMALL GAS OVEN
FOR A FEW MINUTES.
THEN A PROFESSIONAL TASTER
MEASURES OUT THE BEANS
AND FEEDS THEM
INTO AN ELECTRIC GRINDER.
SHE PREPARES FOUR SEPARATE CUPS
OF COFFEE
WITH THE SAME COARSE GRIND.
IT TAKES 4 TASTES
TO MAKE SURE ALL IS WELL,
20 TO DETECT THE SOURCE
OF A PROBLEM ROAST.
SHE BEGINS BY PUSHING ASIDE
THE FOAM AT THE SURFACE
TO RELEASE THE INTENSE AROMAS,
A TECHNIQUE
KNOWN AS BREAKING THE CUP.
SHE SMELLS EACH CUP IN TURN,
A SURE WAY TO KNOW IF SOMETHING
IS WRONG WITH THE ROAST.
NEXT, SHE SKIMS THE SURFACE
TO REMOVE THE GROUNDS.
SHE TAKES A SIP, SLIPPING
THE COFFEE OVER HER TONGUE
TO GET THE FULL FLAVOR
BEFORE SPITTING IT OUT.
NOW SHE CAN DETERMINE HOW SHE
WILL BALANCE THE BLEND OF BEANS
TO CREATE A RECIPE
FOR THE PERFECT CUP OF COFFEE.
BACK ON THE FACTORY FLOOR,
THE VARIOUS BEANS FOR THE BLEND
GO INTO A GRINDER.
IT WILL PRODUCE
THE DESIRED GRIND --
COARSE, MEDIUM,
OR A FINE ESPRESSO LIKE THIS.
NOW THE COFFEE
IS READY FOR PACKAGING.
IT'S A FULLY-AUTOMATED PROCESS
THANKS TO THIS MACHINE
THAT FORMS, FILLS,
AND SEALS THE BAGS.
GOURMET COFFEE MUST GO
PIPING HOT FROM THE GRINDER
TO THE BAG TO ENSURE FRESHNESS.
AS THE MACHINE SEALS EACH BAG,
IT PUMPS IN NITROGEN
TO REPLACE THE OXYGEN
THAT MAKES COFFEE STALE.
THE MACHINE SEPARATES THE BAGS,
AND THEY FALL ONTO A
CUSTOM-DESIGNED CONVEYOR BELT
THAT WEIGHS EACH ONE
AS IT PASSES THROUGH.
OVER AT THE ESPRESSO MACHINE,
THE BARISTA DEMONSTRATES
THE TECHNIQUE REQUIRED
FOR A PERFECT ESPRESSO.
SHE PUTS A QUARTER-OUNCE OF
GROUND COFFEE INTO THE HOLDER,
TAMPS IT DOWN FIRMLY,
THEN WEDGES IT IN PLACE.
THE MACHINE
APPLIES WATER PRESSURE
TO EXTRACT THE ESPRESSO.
THE DISTINCTIVE FOAM IS A SIGN
THIS COFFEE'S FIRST-RATE.
THE BARISTA ALSO DEMONSTRATES
HOW TO USE A FRENCH PRESS
OR CAFETIèRE.
SHE ADDS BOILING WATER
TO THE COFFEE GROUNDS,
THEN PUSHES THEM DOWN
TO THE BASE.
AGAIN, SHE APPLIES PRESSURE,
MANUALLY THIS TIME,
TO EXTRACT THE COFFEE'S AROMA.
FINALLY, SHE DEMONSTRATES
HOW COSTA RICANS MAKE
A TRADITIONAL CUP OF COFFEE.
SHE PLACES A CHORREADOR, A FINE
COTTON SIEVE, OVER THE CUP,
PRESSING ON THE GROUND COFFEE
WITH A SPOON
AS SHE POURS IN BOILING WATER.
NO MATTER WHICH ONE YOU CHOOSE,
WITH THE RIGHT GOURMET ROAST,
ALL THREE METHODS WILL PRODUCE
AN OUTSTANDING CUP
OF RICH, FLAVORFUL COFFEE.
