Processing and roasting

Much processing and human labour is required before coffee berries and
its seed can be processed into the roasted coffee with which most
Western consumers are familiar.
Coffee berries must be picked, defruited, dried, sorted, and also aged.

Coffee is usually sold in a roasted state, and the roasting process has a considerable degree of influence on the taste of the final product.
All coffee is roasted before being consumed.
When coffee beans are roasted, they turn much darker
because their sucrose caramelizes.
Coffee can be sold roasted by the supplier; alternatively it can be home roasted.

Coffee roasting is a complicated chemical process that creates
the distinctive flavour of coffee from a bland bean.
Unroasted beans contain all of
coffee’s acids, protein, and caffeine but none of its taste.
It takes heat to spark the chemical reactions that turn carbohydrates and fats into aromatic oils, burn off moisture and carbon dioxide, and alternately break down and build up acids, unlocking the characteristic coffee flavour.
One of these aromatic oils is caffeol,
which is largely responsible for coffee's aroma and flavour.

Decaffeination is often done by processing companies, and the extracted caffeine is sold to the pharmaceutical industry.

Preparation

The processing of coffee typically designates the agricultural and industrial processes needed to deliver whole roasted coffee beans to the consumer. Grinding the roasted coffee beans is done at a roastery,
in a grocery store, in a coffee shop or at home.
It is most commonly ground at the roastery and sold to the consumer ground and packaged, though "whole-bean" coffee that is ground at home is becoming more popular, despite the extra effort required.

A grind is referred to by its brewing method.
"Turkish" grind, the finest, is meant for mixing straight with water,
while the coarsest grinds, such as coffee percolator or French press,
are at the other extreme.
Midway between the extremes are the most common: "drip" and "paper filter" grinds, which are used in the most common home coffee brewing machines.
The "drip" machines operate with near-boiling water passed in a slow stream through the ground coffee in a filter.
The espresso method uses more advanced technology to force very hot (not boiling) water, through the ground coffee, resulting in a stronger flavor and chemical changes with more coffee bean matter in the drink.
Once brewed, it may be presented in a variety of ways: on its own, with sugar, with milk or cream, hot or cold, and so on.
Roasted arabica beans are also eaten plain and covered with chocolate.

A number of products are sold for the convenience of consumers who do not want to prepare their own coffee.
Instant coffee has been dried into soluble powder or freeze dried into granules, which can be quickly dissolved in hot water for consumption.
Canned coffee is a beverage that has been popular in Asian countries for many years, particularly in Japan and South Korea.
Vending machines typically sell a number of varieties of
canned coffee, available both hot and cold.
To match the often busy life of Korean city dwellers, companies mostly have canned coffee with a wide variety of tastes.
Japanese convenience stores and groceries
also have a wide availability of plastic-bottled coffee drinks,
which are typically lightly sweetened and pre-blended with milk.
Lastly, liquid coffee concentrate is sometimes used
in large institutional situations where coffee
needs to be produced for thousands of people at the same time.
It is described as having a flavour about as good as low-grade robusta coffee, and costs about 10 cents a cup to produce.
The machines used to process it can handle
up to 500 cups an hour, or 1,000 if the water is preheated.

Caffeine content

Depending on the type of coffee and method of preparation the caffeine content of a cup of coffee can vary greatly.
However, on average the following amounts of
caffeine can be expected in a single serving.
A serving is about 200 milliliters except for espresso (one shot).

• drip coffee: 115–175 mg
• espresso: 100 mg
• brewed: 80–135 mg
• instant: 65–100 mg
• decaf, brewed: 3–4 mg
• decaf, instant: 2–3 mg

Tasting

Coffee tasting, also known as coffee cupping,
is the practice of experiencing the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee.
Although it is a professional practice, it can be done by anyone.
The taster deeply sniffs the coffee, and then loudly slurps it
so that it spreads to the back of the tongue.
Then he attempts to measure aspects of the coffee's taste,
specifically the body (the texture or mouthfeel, such as oiliness),
acidity (a sharp and tangy feeling, like when biting into an orange),
and balance (the harmony of flavours working together).
Since coffee beans embody telltale flavours of the region in which they were grown, tasters may attempt to determine the coffee's origin.

Coffee with food

Coffee is generally served alongside an informal meal or as a part of breakfast. In a more formal setting, such as a restaurant,
coffee usually is offered during the dessert course, after the main course.

Coffee is sometimes served as a refreshment between meals, often accompanied with a selection of cold, sweet foods.
Popular choices include pastries, shortbread, cookies and muffins.