Gotta Have My Java

Oh how we all depend on our first cup of coffee in the morning, an addiction shared the world over. Coffee is the third most popular drink in the world behind water and tea. The energizing effect of the coffee bean plant is thought to have been discovered in the northeast region of Ethiopia, and the cultivation of coffee in the Arab world as early as the 15th century. From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia, and then to the Americas. Today coffee is the top agricultural export for twelve countries and the world’s seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value.

Coffee is also of geo-political importance equivalent to that of gold and oil. During the 50’s some South American coffee plantations were taken over by communist rebels. The CIA sponsored coups to take back these coffee producing countries. Then in order to stem communist revolutions in South America, the United States entered into an International Coffee Agreement establishing a quota system that limits the amount countries import and export in order to keep the price stable and sustainable. But there was constant disagreement between countries on how much they should be allowed to import. In 1989 the system ended causing a dramatic drop in prices. Brazil responded by modernizing and automating its coffee production; allowing for profitability even when prices drop. Vietnam increased their coffee production dramatically which caused prices to drop further and destabilized many South American and Central American countries that had not modernized their coffee plantations.

With so many variations of coffee products it’s hard to believe that there is only two bean types, Arabica and Robusta. What differentiates them is where they are grown and how they are roasted. Most coffees are blends of grades to achieve a specific taste.

Coffee aficionados are a discriminate group each with their own taste preferences. A custom coffee blender, who caters to the discriminating taste, contacted me with a problem he was having with static electricity. The static was on the outside of the jars he was filling and attracting coffee dust and particles to the jar. Being a premium blend, appearance plays an important part in their presentation. The fix was simple. He installed two of EXAIR’s Ion air knives opposing one another. Then as the filled jars passed between them, the hard-hitting air stream blew off any debris and all static charges neutralized. Having a static free surface also prevented packaging dust during shipment from adhering to the jars.