Coffee and its cultivation

- coffee can be addictive
- has unique aroma and perks people up
- coffee is categorised into 3 major families: small Arabica coffee beans, medium-sized Robusta coffee beans and large Liberica coffee beans

- coffee is one of the 3 top beverages worldwide
- requires 3 yrs to plant and grow before it can be harvested
- gardeners have to chop off the upper portion regularly to allow the lower portion to grow robustly
- the coffee beans are red / black in colour when ripe and the green ones are unripe

- legend has it that a shepherd found his goats jumping around after eating the red fruit
- that led to the discovery of the invigorating beverage, coffee
- harvested coffee beans are sunned and shelled and will only be processed after their raw flavour dissipates
- coffee beans which are dried and shelled are ready to be roasted/processed with butter and sugar

- unroasted ones are greenish white in colour and doesn't have much fragrance
- 250kg of beans have to be roasted for 35 min at 200 deg C a day
- using rubber wood (which can regulate the fire better) to roast with strong fire instead of gas makes it more fragrant
- lower the fire when it's almost done
- 7-8 pieces of wood required to roast a wok of beans

- coffee is touted as a hip consumer product in the cites
- in Hainan, it's a regular and simple product
- the secret to good roast coffee is that the beans and ingredients must be good, and the fire shouldn't be too strong or too weak
- 30% of sugar and a wok of butter is mixed with a catty of coffee
- eyes have to withstand being stung by the smoke during the 15 min non-stop roasting (suffocating too)
- good coffee is produced through passion
- roasted coffee is left to cool for a few min

- 5 catties of harvested coffee can produce a catty of coffee beans
- every coffee bean is a gem
- after the coffee beans are ground into powder, every 27 catties are sold at 12 yuan (S$2.50)
- the fragrance of ground coffee is 10 times richer than our coffee at home
- freshly roasted coffee can be brewed instantly by stirring it vigorously in the coffee pot
- this way, the coffee grounds will sink to the bottom
- the water must be poured from a height so it has an impact
- speed is the key and stir vigorously
- the coffee is ready in 2 min after pouring hot water over the sprout and the opening to remove any coffee grounds