Coffee Farming/Cheatsheet
Dealing with coffee includes some calculations and approximations. We aim to collect all the relevant numbers for that here.
Weight and value conversions
[edit | edit source]| Step | From | To | Weight change | Value change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural processing ("dry" / "unwashed" processing) | ||||
| 1 | fresh cherry | dry cherry | ~0.33 (1/3)
0.3397[1] |
~3
2.9441[1] |
| 2 | dry cherry | green beans ("clean coffee") | 0.5 (ICO)[2]
0.4781[1] |
2 (ICO)[2]
2.0917[1] |
| 1+2 | fresh cherry | green beans | ~0.17 (1/6)
0.1624[3] |
~6
6.1572[3] |
| Wet processsing ("washed" processing) | ||||
| 1 | fresh cherry | parchment (dry beans with parchment) | ~0.2
0.1974[1] |
~5
5.0648[1] |
| 2 | parchment | green beans ("clean coffee") | 0.8 (ICO)[2]
0.8055[1] |
1.25 (ICO)[2]
1.2414[1] |
| 1+2 | fresh cherry | green beans | ~0.17 (1/6)
0.1590[3] |
~6
6.2893[3] |
| Roasting and Brewing | ||||
| 1 | green beans | roasted beans | 0.84 (ICO)[2] | 1.19 (ICO)[2] |
| 2 | roasted beans | soluble coffee | 0.4579 (ICO)[2] | 2.1841 (ICO)[2] |
| 1+2 | green beans | soluble coffee | 0.3846 (ICO)[2] | 2.6 (ICO)[2] |
| Roasting and Brewing (Decaffeinated) | ||||
| 1 | green beans | decaf green beans | 0.9524 (ICO)[2] | 1.05 (ICO)[2] |
| 2 | decaf green beans | decaf roasted beans | 0.8400 (ICO)[2][4] | 1.1905 (ICO)[2] |
| 3 | decaf roasted beans | decaf soluble coffee | 0.4579 (ICO)[2][5] | 2.1840 (ICO)[2] |
| 1+2 | green beans | decaf roasted beans | 0.80 (ICO)[2] | 1.25 (ICO)[2] |
| 1+2+3 | green beans | decaf soluble coffee | 0.3663 (ICO)[2] | 2.73 (ICO)[2] |
Notes:
- "ICO": refers to an agreed standardized value of the International Coffee Organization.
- Soluble coffee = dissolved solids. The factors for (decaf) soluble coffee can also be used for liquid coffee, specifically for the amount of dissolved solids in it (after drying).
- Weight change factor: the difference in weight, when you keep the value constant (that is, you compare the weight of one lot of coffee at two stages of processing).
- Value change factor: the difference in value, when you keep the weight constant (that is, you compare the value of one kilogram of coffee at two stages of processing). This only accounts for the value change due to the weight change (not due to additional value changes due to the labor input into the processing). For this reason, the value change factor is always the inverse of the weight change factor.
Example: 1 kg of parchment coffee changes into 0.8 kg of green beans (weight change factor 0.8). And 1 kg of green beans is 25% more valuable than 1 kg of parchment coffee due to the weight loss in processing.
Useful numbers
[edit | edit source]| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| yield per plant | 900 g of dry green beans |
| coffee per cup | 7±0.5 g per 25±2.5 ml "certified Italian" espresso shot[6] |
| space per plant | 1 m² excl. spacing
3.3 m² incl. spacing |
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Abrar Sualeh, Jafer Dawid: Relationship of Fruit and Bean Sizes and Processing Methods on the Conversion Ratios of Arabica Coffee (Coffea arabica) Cultivars. Time Journals of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, Vol. 2(2):70-74, February 2014. p. 4 Table 3. (accessed 2016-10-03). Weight change factor averaged from the seven Arabica cultivars in the paper. Value change factor is its inverse.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 International Trade Centre: The Coffee Exporter’s Guide. Third Edition 2011. p. 4. "Conversions to Green Bean Equivalent" (accessed 2016-10-03) (The publication contains the value change factors, the weight change factor was calculated as its inverse.)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Abrar Sualeh, Jafer Dawid: Relationship of Fruit and Bean Sizes and Processing Methods on the Conversion Ratios of Arabica Coffee (Coffea arabica) Cultivars. Time Journals of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, Vol. 2(2):70-74, February 2014. p. 3 Table 2. (accessed 2016-10-03). Value change factor calculated as inverse of weight change factor. Weight change factor also obtained by chaining the factors of the two previous processing steps.
- ↑ Calculated from factors for steps "1" and "1+2": 0.80/0.9524
- ↑ Calculated from factors for steps "1+2" and "1+2+3": 0.3663/0.8
- ↑ Espresso Italiano Certificato. Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano. (accessed 2013-02-15). As quoted in: English Wikipedia on Espresso: Brewing.
- ↑ Quora: How many cups of coffee can be brewed from a pound of coffee beans?: Answer by Peter Baskerville. (accessed 2016-10-03)
- ↑ Coffee Info: Amount of water for espresso’s [sic!] (accessed 2016-10-03)