From Bean to Coffee Cup
Coffee goes through a lot before it becomes the delicious Boomi instant coffee crystals lying in the bottom of your cup. Hundreds of things have to happen along the way. Each one of these processes affects the flavor of the coffee.
Planting
The coffee bean is actually the coffee seed. Boomi coffee starts by choosing the best arabica seeds for planting. When the seeds germinate into seedlings, they are given time to get strong. Then they are planted in their permanent locations. Then it takes another three or four years before they start producing beans.
Temperature and Rainfall
Temperature and rainfall are very important to how well the coffee grows and how good it tastes. Temperatures need to be around 70 to 80 degrees. Humidity needs to be approximately 80%. Rainfall needs to be about 60-80 inches per year. To put that into perspective, average rainfall in the midwestern part of our country rarely goes over 40 inches per year. After the rainy season, there needs to be a dry period of about 2 or 3 months.
Bloom
Just like with every other plant in the world, coffee trees bloom before they set their fruit. This period lasts about three or four days. Imagine how lovely a blooming coffee tree smells. Then imagine hundreds of them blooming. Coffee likes to take its time. Even though the bloom lasts a short time, the amount of time between the bloom and the mature fruit is anywhere from seven to nine months.
Processing
There are two ways that the beans are processed—either dry or wet. Dry processing means the beans are spread out to dry in the sun, which protects their fruity flavor. Wet processing means the beans are fermented and washed. Big companies prefer wet processing because it improves yield.
In the last step, the beans are roasted. Then the consumer chooses whether they want to buy whole beans or ground beans, or instant coffee crystals.
Rare Coffee
About 20 accredited certification agencies in India certify whether or not coffee beans have been produced under organic regulations. Boomi coffee is fully certified.
Organic Boomi instant coffee is indeed a rare breed. Only about 6,400 acres of Indian soil are planted with organic arabica beans. These soils are deeply fertile as they have never been treated with synthetic fertilizers. The soil where organic coffee is grown is fertilized by the leaves that fall from the shade canopy. These leaves are left to decay and create a thick layer of protective mulch.
If weeds appear, they are removed by hand. Harmful insects are controlled by the birds and lizards that grow in the forest canopy. Farmland and water are protected from toxic pesticide runoff because no pesticides are used.