The process | Caffè Cellini

Coffee beans are actually the seeds of an evergreen plant from the Rubiaceae family, genus Coffea.

There are around eighty different species comprising the Coffea genus, but two are particularly important on a commercial level: Coffea Arabica, known as ‘Arabica’, and Coffea Canephora, known as 'Robusta'.
If allowed to grow naturally, the plant is a small tree that can reach up to 8-9 metres height. In cultivations, it is normally pruned so that it does not exceed 2-3 metres.

Carefully selected beans are sown in specifically prepared seed beds, containing forest earth and placed in a shady location. The earth is kept cool and clear from other plants. After approximately 6-7 months, or when the plants have reached heights of around 15 cm, they are carefully removed and transplanted into the plant nursery, where they are kept in the shade, free of weeds, and watered often.

If not to be destined to shady plantations, the new plants are gradually exposed to direct sunlight. After 2-3 years, they are brought to their ‘final residence’, the plantations, after the land has been ploughed and freed from any residual vegetation. Generally speaking, about 1000 plants are reared per hectare. Roots are taproots, which are only shallow in the Robusta species, but deep in the Arabica.

Leaves face each other with short petioles, the lamina is lanceolate with a pointed apex and slightly wavy sides, very similar to that of laurel. The flowers are white, grow in axillary bunches, and have an intense aroma similar to that of jasmine. The flowers of the Arabica species have five petals and can self-pollinate, whilst in the Robusta species, they have six petals, but require insect assistance for pollination.

The fruit, commonly also referred to as the ‘cherry’, is an ovoid drupe that after 6-7 months, matures from green to red. It comprises an external film (exocarp) that encloses the pulp (mesocarp) mainly made up of sugar substances. The pulp contains two nuts (rarely, three), of a plane-convex form, the flat faces of which, crossed by the characteristic longitudinal dip, are laid out parallel one before the other. Each nut contains a seed, wrapped in a very thin integument, known as the ‘silver skin’, and more externally wrapped by the ‘parchment’, a golden yellow film.

The Arabica bean is green or greenish-blue and oval in shape, whilst the Robusta bean is rounder and a yellow or brownish-yellow colour. Robusta can withstand higher temperatures and heavier rainfall than the Arabica, as well as being more resistant to disease.

Harvest can take place by hand, removing the fruits from the plants one by one, with a delicate procedure that requires a great deal of time, or alternatively by using specific automatic vibrating blade harvesters. Preparation of the coffee beans begins immediately after harvest of the fruits, in order to avoid the pulp from fermenting, thereby deteriorating the product.

There are two ways by which the product is commonly prepared.

Dry method

This procedure, already in use in ancient times by the Arabs, leaves the cherries to dry in the sun for approximately 20 days (2 or 3 in specific drying areas) until pericarp and mesocarp have contracted, and the thus dried berries are then put through shelling machines for hulling, thereby freeing the seeds. Coffee obtained with the dry method is called ‘natural’.

Wet method

This method, perfected by the Dutch in 1740, is preferable to the dry method, in that it is quicker and gives better results. The fruits are washed and stripped with specific machines, before being left to ferment in water for about 36 hours. After a further, thorough wash, the beans are dried in the sun and then put through the hulling machines, which, by removing the parchment membrane, transform the 'parchment coffee' into 'bare coffee'. The coffee obtained with this treatment is known as ‘washed’.

Generally speaking, most Robusta coffees are ‘natural’, whilst Arabica coffee is usually ‘washed’, with the exception of Brazilian coffee that is always processed with the ‘dry method’.

At this point, processing continues with the drying, cleaning and filtering of seeds, using sieves with differing diameters, to clean the coffee of any other impurities and to divide it up into lots of equally sized beans.
The coffee is now ready to be shipped to the ports of destination all over the world.

The production cycle

All the production processes are managed by a computerized system that ensures constant quality control and makes it possible to take steps to adjust production and packaging at any time, in accordance with the high quality standards applied.

In addition, the computerized production, packaging, warehousing, sales, and accounting systems are integrated in order to ensure immediate traceability of each product thanks to an internal coding and labeling method using alphanumeric codes and the use of the EAN Code system.

These systems are tested quarterly in order to assure their reliability and proper management.

Green coffee is delivered to our facility almost daily, arriving directly from the central warehouses of the shipping agents in the exact amounts of each source type needed to properly supply the production programs.

When the green coffee arrives, generally packed into sacks of 600/1000 kg, it is placed in a special area set aside for ensilage, near the raw coffee silos tower, where the sacks of the individual coffee sources are physically emptied.

After passing through the cleaners, sieves, and ferrous-material removal device (crucial tools for eliminating any impurities), the green coffee is put directly into special silos from which it will later be removed, by individual source, in the correct quantities for preparing the blend to be roasted.

The green coffee is roasted using special roasting machines in which the coffee, at a temperature of approximately 210°- 220°C, completes the process in 14-16 min. This process is done following constant roasting curves that are specially designed for each blend and are monitored using a sophisticated process method. Cellini has chosen to use the traditional slow-roasting process, ideal for achieving precise, high-quality blends and for celebrating the full sensory profile of the product.

The various steps in roasting are:

50° begin modifying the internal tissue of the bean

60°/70° begin evaporation

150°/180° begin "light roast" stage

210°/220° optimal roasting level

A lighter roast tends to reduce the "overly bitter" problem in coffee, and in some cases can highlight the values of acidity and sweetness; in a darker roast the flavors in the cup tend to flatten.

What's more, in a visual inspection of the various blends currently on the market, shoppers should also distrust blends that are too dark in color - in this case the producer has evidently decided to favor evening out defects rather than highlighting its good qualities (which almost certainly don't exist).

After roasting, each coffee blend is sorted into the appropriate silos, where they will rest for a pre-established period (degassing/stabilization stage). The blends that will be packaged as whole beans will be sent as quickly as possible for packaging, while the product intended for grinding will be sent to the grinding units.

It's worth keeping in mind that during the roasting process the substances that compose the coffee undergo chemical transformations. These include the change in color linked to the carmelization of the sugars, the carbonization of cellulose, and the formation of the volatile compounds that are responsible for the special aroma of roasted coffee.

During cooking, the overall loss in weight from the coffee can range from 15-16% up to 20-21% depending on the roasting level, and is due to the elimination of the water from the green coffee. On the other hand, the volume of roasted beans can increase up to 50% compared to that of green coffee, and the specific weight is noticeably decreased.

Roasted coffee has a characteristically bitter flavor and is more soluble in water; it thus becomes more friable and easier to reduce to a powder and is thus better suited for infusing.

Immediately after roasting, the color level of the blend is measured with a special laboratory instrument. This information, in order to ensure excellent qualitative standards, is carefully compared with the parameters set by the quality laboratory. When the specifications have been met, the blend is sent on for the subsequent phases of processing.

Then, after cooling, the freshly roasted blend undergoes an additional cleaning phase to remove any foreign bodies that may remain. Thanks to their different specific weight, the roasted beans are sucked up and sent to the resting silos, while any remaining foreign bodies fall into special recovery bins. The roasted blend is taken from the resting silos and sent on for packaging.

The product that will be packaged as whole beans takes an additional trip over table separators and screens before it is packaged.

The coffee to be packaged ground, however, is sent along to the grinding units. This phase is very delicate, and is monitored constantly using two laboratory instruments. The predetermined granulometry standard is monitored constantly by a laser tool, and then a volumetric analysis is run on the freshly ground product. These operations are run in real time during the active grinding phase. This is the only way to achieve products with an even, consistent grind that fully satisfies the declared standards.

The ground blend is then stored in special resting silos for a stabilization period, which ranges from 18 to 24 hours. This interval (degassing/stabilization period) is crucial before the product can be sent on for packaging in order to reduce as much as possible the chance of "deflated" bags.

The whole-bean roasted coffee and the ground coffee in tins are packaged in a modified atmosphere, with automatic machines that ensure maximum duration in terms of conservation, aroma, and quality of the product. A one-way "aroma saver" valve is also installed on every package of whole-bean coffee.

The finished product is placed on pallets in cartons or in bundles shrink-wrapped in polyethylene. They are then wrapped by a robotic roller that automatically sends the pallets of finished product to the automatic storage warehouse.

The warehouse is strictly organized according to FIFO methodology in (first in first out). This ensures the proper rotation of finished product.

Products are distributed to the various sales channels using both our direct sales network and with the help of leading national and international transport companies.