A good cup of coffee

      This morning I had a great visit with a good friend and enjoyed a great cup of coffee.  I enjoy coffee.  I have been a coffee drinker for a long time and enjoy all brands of coffee.  I believe my favorite coffee is Cafe Britt from Costa Rica.  This coffee is grown in the volcanic mountains of Costa Rica, which people say provides the richest coffee.  However, the coffee we enjoy so much is not an easy process to make.

      The processing of coffee requires a lot of labor and long hours.  The majority of people are probably not even aware of the process.  Coffee starts out as what is called the cherry.  The coffee bean is actually concealed inside a red cherry fruit.  No, you can't eat the cherry!  Most coffee is hand picked by harvesters who make anywhere from $2 to $10 a basket.  An average cherry picker and pick about 6 baskets a day. 

     Once the cherries are picked, they are placed in a vat for washing.  The ripe cherries sink to the bottom and the bad cherries float to the top and are discarded.  The purpose of the washing is to remove the outer red shell from the coffee bean.  After the initial washing stage there will still be remnants of the shell remaining on the bean, for which an additional stage of washing is required.

     After this second washing, the beans must be dried, which enables the remaining pulp to be removed by raking or by machine.  The next process is calling hulling where the fine parchment is removed from the bean to reveal what is called the silver skin.  The silver skin is then removed from the bean in the polishing phase.

      Most of this process takes place over days and requires constant care to get to the actual bean.  After the beans have been through the process, they must be sorted and allowed to age.  Most coffee makers agree that beans begin to lose there flavor after 1 year.  However, the process is not through, because a coffee bean by itself is not much use.  You can put chocolate on a coffee bean and it is pretty good, but that is not the intent of a coffee bean.  The beans are at their best when they have been ground together and mixed with other beans so that they can be enjoyed.

     I know you are probably asking, "what is the point?"  There is a point if you will hang with me a little longer.  I am talking about coffee.  Who was the first person to ever discover the process for coffee?  How did they know that if they would go through this entire process they could enjoy a great cup of coffee?   It is kind of like the mushroom.  Who determined that one mushroom would be great to eat and the another one would kill you?  Probably some guys brother figured that out!  But that is another post.

      The point is that many of the things we enjoy in life happen over a long process.  A cup of coffee does not just happen.  There is a process that takes place so that we can enjoy a good cup of coffee.  It is much like the spiritual life.  We do not just wake up one day and discover that we are dynamic followers of Jesus Christ.  Most believers have been shaped through a long process called life.  Our experiences help shape who we are today.  We have been washed and we have had old habits peeled away from our lives.  We have been processed through many different stages of life.  Some of the processes have hurt and have been difficult, but they were necessary to refine us.  God used these processes to shape us into His image.

      One other thing that needs to be mentioned in this process.  Just as a coffee bean is of little use by itself, the Christian is of little use by himself.  The Christian was intentionally designed to be placed with other Christians to produce a sweet aroma to God.  It is only as we have been through the grinder and mixed with other believers that we give off a wonderful aroma that is pleasing to God.  I once preached a sermon entitled How to Survive the Daily Grind of Life.  Life is a grind, but if you will join with others who are going through the grind as well, you will be a blessing to others who will then enjoy the wonderful aroma that comes from you.  I really enjoy coffee!   But what I really enjoy is the aroma of believers worshipping, serving and fellowshipping together.   Paul said "for we are to God the aroma of Christ."  What a great thought!  Here's to you my fellow coffee bean!