Skip to content

La Vita Caffé
WORLD OF COFFEE

La Vita Caffé coffee blends are mixed with attention paid to their resulting aroma and flavour. As opposed to industrial roasting, we stir the Arabica coffee beans before roasting, during which different kinds of coffee are exchanged and blended with their own aroma. We rely on the traditional craftsmanship of roasting, using state-of-the-art technologies to guarantee the stable taste of each batch of coffee blend.

FROM A SEED TO THE ROASTING PLANT

The types of coffee and their varieties, along with the geographical location of the plantation, its soil and climate, influence the different coffee flavour profiles. The quality of coffee beans is also affected by the care of farmers. A perfectly prepared cup of coffee will reveal what was happening on the coffee plantation and how the coffee was processed.

COFFEE TREE

This evergreen tree grows in about 70 countries around the world. The trees are carefully cultivated for 3-5 years before they first blossom and have fruits called coffee cherries. The most popular coffee types include Arabica and Robusta.

ARABICA

It has a deep aroma and a light yet intense flavour, exuding its acidity. It contains a minimum amount of caffeine. We classify Arabica as a better variety of coffee with a higher quality; it is more demanding to cultivate.

ROBUSTA

It is an energetic variety with a strong and full taste. Chemically, it has a completely different structure than Arabica, which affects the difference in taste. Robusta is grown at lower altitudes, and its coffee cherries ripen much faster than those of Arabica. It often has a pronounced bitter taste and leaves a special flavour "tail" on the tongue.

COLLECTION

A healthy Arabica tree yields 1-5 kg of cherries during the season. During manual harvest, the collectors either take all the fruits at a time, or later return to unripe fruits. Another method of harvesting is strippaggio (stripping), during which the collectors collect all fruits of the coffee trees at once. The fastest but less careful method of harvesting is machine harvesting, which strips off the leaves along with fruit.

TREATMENT AND PROCESSING

Coffee beans must be freed from pulp and separated from impurities. This is done using two alternative methods: dry or damp. During the drying process, the fruits are dried under the sun or in a dryer. The damp process is more expensive, but it produces so-called lavados, or "washed" coffee, which is more prestigious. That's why you can sometimes hear Arabica referred to as "washed" coffee. Coffee cherries are washed in special water baths. This creates a gentle way of selecting really good grains.

PEELING

Before export, coffee undergoes a peeling process in special peeling machines to remove the parchment coating from the beans. The beans are then subject to a 1-2 month break when they have to breathe after processing. Arabica is exported as soon as possible while Robusta must wait a little bit longer before going on sale.

EXPORT

Before export, green coffee is packaged into balle jute fibre sacks that hold up to 60kg of coffee. Next, the sacks travel in containers on ships directly to the harbour, where they are then picked up by the buyers and roasters.