Unroasted Coffee Beans

Wholesale Green Coffee Beans

When looking for coffee brands that are acid free, you ought to try out the different options in the wholesale green coffee beans market. Some coffee blends that are marketed as having no acid usually actually do contain some acid level. It is important to check the different green coffee beans available so that you can find the best variety for your needs.

There are some nice organic coffee blends that have a great taste for coffee roasts (including organic decaffeinated coffee). This will appeal greatly to those who think that interfering with the acid content can affect the taste thus starting with the most natural raw coffee is best. However, in the event you buy the right brand of the many different types of coffee, you can still enjoy your brewed coffee without the acid with the correct roasting and preparation.

About raw coffee & green coffee beans

You can learn how to brew different types of raw coffee in a way that reduces the acid content by following a the many simple recipes that are available online. Iced coffee is usually a nice option for those looking for acid free or low acid coffee options. There's also some organic coffee varieties that are acid free and available caffeine free. With a little looking around you will find there's many coffee roasters who are specialized in roasting acid free coffee from either organic coffee beans or standard raw coffee beans.

Nothing beats the smell of fresh roasted coffee beans and home brewing coffee has now become affordable for everyone. As researchers continue to come up with knowledge about the benefits of drinking coffee, now everyone can enjoy the delicious beverage without suffering from the side effects. The latest studies show that drinking a cup of coffee everyday can go a long way in stopping Alzheimer's. This is of an incentive to continue drinking coffee every day! Start with a great raw coffee, end with an amazingly refined taste experience....

DIY Home-Grown Coffee

By Phillip Richards, Yandina, Qld.

If you have ever been tempted by the idea of growing and processing your own coffee beans, Phillip shares his low-cost process.

Making coffee from scratch is a long but rewarding business. The bushes are lovely with sweet-smelling white flowers followed by branches laden with bright red berries.

When I am about to deal with coffee berries, I haul out a battered copy of GR 85, which has an excellent article on coffee processing at home. Here is how I have set up some of my coffee-making operations for ease of processing.

CARE OF BUSHES

Although coffee bushes grow in full sun, they seem to prefer partial shade and being protected by larger trees and shrubs around them. We prune ours back hard each year and keep them to a manageable size.

They seem to be more prolific this way. Left to themselves they grow tall and straggly. Coffee can be a weed so be careful with all the seedlings that come up.

PICKING COFFEE BEANS

The coffee beans go a beautiful bright scarlet red - tempting, but don’t pick them just yet. They will go crimson, a deeper, darker red. At this stage they are fully mature and easier to pick (they come away more easily) and are easier to pulp.

PULPING OR HULLING THE RED COFFEE BEAN

Getting the red flesh off can be a long process. Quite often, I simply squeeze each berry as it is picked, leaving the flesh as mulch on the ground. When there are too many I resort to the bucket method.

I put them in a bucket with a flat bottom and pound with a lump of wood and then float the flesh away. Alternatively, I put them in a square tub and stomp on them.

FERMENTING AND WASHING

After hulling, the beans must be fermented to rid them of the mucilage layer. This means leaving them in a bucket for 24-48 hours before washing. Usually they need three washes and feel quite gritty when finished.

DRYING THE BEANS

Thoroughly dry the beans in the sun. Sometimes I spread them out on a fly­ wire screen. But now I use a homemade solar dryer. If they are very dry, they will be easier to husk and the very hard seeds grind better.

HUSKING THE DRIED COFFEE BEANS

Husking can be a time-consuming task. I have found that the simplest and quickest way for me, without using expensive machinery, is to put a pile on a concrete slab and twist the beans with my foot. Some pairs of shoes work much better than others do. For me, Dunlop Volleys seem to have the right tread pattern.

Stand on the berries and do the twist, if you are old enough to remem­ber, or slide your foot back and forward, grinding the berries under the sole. Sometimes I use a food-processor using the plastic blades.

Quite often now I give them a burst in the proces­ sor and then finish off with the Volleys. A small concrete block can be used to rub the beans on the concrete floor.

WINNOWING

I put the husked beans and husks into a very big plastic tub and then, using a hairdrier I picked up for $3, blow the husks away. There is one final layer, the silver skin, forget it!

ROASTING THE BEANS

Small roasters are available. The usual home method is to place the beans in a heavy pan, I used a cast iron one, and cook on the stovetop. You need to stir constantly to keep them moving.

Most coffee roasters have a rotating drum. It is possible to do them in the oven, but they need stirring so this doesn’t really work.

In addition, the roasting coffee has very strong smell and I have been banished from the kitchen.

A very acceptable alternative is to use a popcorn maker. I bought one from the op shop for $4 and find that it roasts the coffee more evenly than in the pan and, even better, the odd bits of husk and silver skin still adhering to the beans are blown off.

The popcorn maker should be the type that blows streams of hot air into the container. The debris will be blown upwards and float away and eventually the coffee beans become light and bounce around jumping out of the container.

Don’t use the plastic chute that comes with the popcorn maker, it is better to make a funnel to go over the top of the coffee machine. I make one from a 500g instant coffee tin cut in half. This means the debris can get away, but the beans fall back into the container. Only fill the popcorn maker to about half way.

LISTENING FOR THE CRACK

Roasting takes about 7-10 minutes. There are two distinct ‘cracks’; listen for the second. At this stage the coffee may be lightly roasted, another minute or two after the second crack it should be dark roasted.

SWEET AND STICKY

I noticed while picking the fresh beans that my hands became very sticky. The flesh is very sweet and refreshing to eat. I thought that I should be able to use it and decided to make some wine.

COFFEE WINE

I collected about three-quarters of a bucket of good fruit and by hand separated bean from flesh. This gave me a container of berries that were easier to process because they were clean, and made about 2kg of fruit.

This was the basis of my wine. I tipped boiling water onto the fruit and topped it up until the fruit was covered. I let it sit for about a week. When I came back to it, I found that I had reddish-orange liquid with a strong cof­fee aroma. When measured with a hydrometer I found it had a specific gravity of 1.040.

Here is the recipe.

• 2kg pulp
• 1 sachet general wine yeast
• peptic enzyme
• yeast nutrient
• 1 level tbsp citric acid
• 1kg sugar

The wine fermented very vigorously and threw a thick grey scum that needed clearing out, I would have done better leaving it in a covered bucket for a week. Finally, it settled down and eventually stopped fermenting. I racked off into bottles.

The wine is a clear light yellow-orange; it is bone dry (the way I like it) and has a noticeable but not unpleasant coffee taste. After a week it was quite drinkable, smooth and palatable, and after a year it is an excellent wine.

The pulp contains quite a bit of caf­feine so for me, it’s a bit like having your cake and eating it too. Wine and coffee in one neat glass - it’s the break­ fast of champions!