Coffee Extraction

1. Coffee Extraction Sara Ortiz, Janki Parekh, and Pinar Oguz

2. Where it Comes From • The coffee is extracted from the coffee seed which is also known as the coffee bean. Coffee beans comes from plants in the Coffea genus • The species is generally an evergreen tree or bush that can grow as high as 16 to 30 feet • After removal of the pulp, the green coffee beans are dried, cleaned, packed stored and transported around the world for further treatment like decaffeination. • Some locations where coffee is found are Costa Rica, Columbia, Brazil, and Hawaii • Coffee is farmed throughout the world and is very important to the survival of many countries. It can be farmed on plantations or farms. http://www.coffeebeans.ie/stg/userupload/site2030/where_coffee_is_grown.jpg

3. Uses • Some of the uses for coffee are • Sprinkling wet coffee grounds over ashes from a fireplace before you remove them. This way the ash and dust won't pollute the atmosphere around the fireplace • You can also dye fabric by soaking it in black coffee • coffee grounds will anything greasy • They will also get rid of rotten food smell from freezers • Millions of people also drink coffee on a daily basis because it gives you energy and stimulates the body http://www.funkystock.eu/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Coffee-Beans-Cup.jpg

4. Environmental Issues • Growing coffee involves cutting down tress and putting chemical fertilizers in our soil that can run into our water and pollute it. • Companies are preventing this problem by installing special pipes that collects all the waste. • Discharges from coffee beneficios, processing plants, are a major source of river pollution in northern Latin America. The process of separating the beans from the coffee cherries puts large amounts of waste material in the form of pulp, residual water, and parchment. • The Guatemala-based Instituto Centroamericano de Investigación y Tecnología Industrial estimated that over a six month period during 1988, the processing of 547,000 tons of coffee in Central America generated 1.1 million tons of pulp and polluted 110,000 cubic meters of water per day. This resulted in discharges to the region's waterways equivalent to sewage dumping from a city of four million people • Some impacts from the discharge of pollutants from beneficios to waterways are killing aquatic plants and wildlife of essential oxygen. The Costa Rican government estimates that coffee processing residues about two-thirds of the total biochemical oxygen demand •  The companies are substantially reducing the volume of water polluted by using "wet" processing of coffee. This reduces the amount of water requiring treatment before being discharged from the processing facilities. People are also composting coffee husks mixed with farm animal manure to use as organic fertilizer on crops http://www.treepicturesonline.com/coffeetree-292.jpg http://www.danheller.com/images/LatinAmerica/Cuba/Scenics/coffee-plants-big.jpg

5. Cultural Consequences • Hawaii’s $30 million Kona coffee industry is in danger. The coffee borer beetle is quickly infesting Hawaiian farms and has destroyed a big percentage of the coffee at multiple locations. • About 4,000 acres of coffee are grown on the island itself. • If the issue does not get resolved then the state will lose a lot of profit and the company will go under. • Another issue is that more than 15 million Americans are hooked on coffee, and a majority of the people aren’t even aware of it. This is America's number one drug problem. • Some symptoms of caffeine withdrawal are headaches, irritability, inability to work effectively, nervousness, restlessness, and lethargy. A steady user of caffeine may, at times, experience tight headaches in the back of the neck area and be quick to anger or irritation. • Coffee can cause an increase in blood sugar, but it can quickly be followed by an instant decrease. It stimulates the release of adrenaline and this causes the body tissues to be broken down into sugar and fat.  http://sgourisrinidhi.weebly.com/uploads/5/6/1/4/5614250/4267514_orig.jpg

6. Solutions • Beauveria bassiana fungus produces white mustarding disease naturally when it comes in contact with the coffee borer and kills the insect. • State Ag has given approval to test this insecticide to keep the infestation under control. The fungus grows in soils around the world and naturally acts as a parasite. • No industry is working to keep the coffee consumption under control. Wall Street, most stock exchanges, and the cultures of many South American and Mediterranean countries would probably come to a halt if people stopped or even lessened the amount of coffee they drink. • However students think that people should drink other beverages besides coffee to keep energized. • Some drinks are black tea, green tea, cocoa and certain types of herbal teas. • People can also drink organic coffee to reduce caffeine consumption and pesticide intake http://certifiedgoodinside.jp/index.php?pageID=141&subID=10592

7. Works Cited • Chamberlin, Katy. "America's Number One Drug Problem—Coffee ." (2009): n.pag. Web. 24 Sep 2012. <http://amazingdiscoveries.org/H-deception-health-coffee-drinking-caffeine-risk>. • "Hawaii Coffee At Risk." n.pag. Web. 24 Sep 2012. <http://beatofhawaii.com/hawaii-coffee-at-risk/>. • "What else can coffee be used for?." Coffee Coffee Coffee(2007): n.pag. Web. 24 Sep 2012. <http://coffeeshopresearch.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-else-can-coffee-be-used-for.html>. • Falsetto, Sharon. "Where Does Coffee Come From?."Origin of Coffee - Botanical and Historical Profile (2010): n.pag. Web. 24 Sep 2012. <http://suite101.com/article/where-does-coffee-come-from-a205529>. • "Coffee, Conservation, and Commerce in the Western Hemisphere ." ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: HEALTH n.pag. Web. 27 Sep 2012. <http://www.nrdc.org/health/farming/ccc/chap4.asp>. • Butler, Graham. "The Truth About Coffee." Health n.pag. Web. 27 Sep 2012. <http://www.alive.com/articles/view/17781/the_truth_about_coffee>.