The Ultimate Guide: 15 Steps to Coffee from Beans to Cup

Are you a coffee lover who is fascinated by the journey of your favorite morning brew from beans to cup? If so, you're in the right place! In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the 15 essential steps involved in the coffee-making process, from the moment the beans are harvested to the final delicious sip.

Step 1: Planting The Seed

A few green coffee beans are kept to be used as seeds for the next crop of coffee trees.

Step 2: Harvesting And Picking

The process starts with the careful hand-picking of ripe coffee cherries from the trees. This labor-intensive step is crucial to ensure only the best quality beans make it into your cup.

Step 3-5: Sorting, Selecting, Pulping The Cherries, & Fermenting is a Process

After harvesting, the coffee cherries are processed to remove the outer layers and extract the beans inside. This can be done using either the dry or wet method, depending on the desired flavor profile. Pulping the cherries is getting rid of the skin and the pulped fruit (mucilage) that surrounds the beans. Fermenting breaks down the sugars in the mucilage to produce acids that are responsible for the depth and complexity of the coffee.

Step 6: Drying

The extracted beans are then spread out to dry under the sun, allowing them to reach the optimal moisture content for roasting.

Step 7: Hulling

Once dried, the beans go through a hulling process to remove the parchment layer surrounding them, revealing the green coffee beans within.

Step 8: Sorting

The beans are meticulously sorted to remove any defects or impurities, ensuring only the highest quality beans move on to the next stage.

Step 9: Milling

All other layers still surrounding the beans are being removed. The two steps in the milling process are hulling and polishing

Step 10: Grading/ Cupping

Professional coffee graders classify the coffee bean quality by their "primary and secondary defects"

Step 11: Distributing

Coffee is being shipped to where it's needed Direct trade and fair trade to support farmers and consumers.

Step 12: Roasting

This is where the magic happens! The green coffee beans are roasted to perfection, unlocking their unique flavors and aromas.

Step 13: Grinding

The roasted beans are then ground to the desired consistency, ready to be brewed into a delicious cup of coffee.

Step 14: Brewing

There are various methods for brewing coffee, including drip brewing, espresso, French press, and more. Each method extracts different flavors from the beans, offering a diverse range of coffee experiences.

Step 15: Drinking

The next time you're enjoying your coffee, cold brew, or cortado, spare a thought for the amount of hard work that went into getting it to you.