In general, coffee is a beverage obtained from the infusion (at very high temperatures) of powder obtained by grinding coffee seeds already roasted.
In reality, coffee is the name of the shrub belonging to the genus Coffea, which differs in various species such as the arabica, the canephora, the liberica etc.
The commercially most interesting portion of this plant is therefore the seed of the drupe, while the fleshy portion is discarded or used for secondary purposes.
In Italy, coffee means black, or toasted; in reality, these are taken from the drupe, which are green, with a cartilaginous consistency and a very delicate (almost anonymous) taste / flavor.
What is the difference between green coffee and black coffee? Black coffee is subjected to a roasting (roasting) treatment that positively enhances certain organoleptic and taste characteristics. On the other hand, raw coffee keeps its physical and chemical, and therefore also nutritional, characteristics intact.
Do you get similar or different drinks from green coffee and black coffee? The two products made from it are extremely different. Dark liquids are obtained from the black coffee (by dust removal at high temperatures), with an aroma and an intense, penetrating, basically bitter taste and with rather strong “cooked” hints. On the contrary, from the green one (by infusion of the powder) a real herbal tea is obtained, sober, light, greenish but transparent, with a taste and taste that is difficult to characterize.
What is the nutritional gap between roasted coffee and green coffee? The difference between black coffee and raw coffee is, in-depth analysis, quite relevant. As can be easily deduced from what has been explained so far, green coffee, in addition to not being subjected to thermal treatments, is aimed at the production of a drink obtained by infusion at about 70 ° C; such a system guarantees the maintenance of most of the nutrients it contains, that is exactly the opposite of what can be obtained from roasted coffee.
Roasting black coffee is a thermal process that allows the beans to reach up to 220 ° C (in some processes, the forced air reaches 400 ° C); moreover, the beverage production systems involve the passage of water at about 90 ° C. Having said that, a question naturally arises: what are the molecules that could be damaged in the application of similar temperatures? We proceed with order:
Glucides, lipids and proteins: although the energy macronutrients of coffee are not quantitatively very significant (<5% of the mass), their physical alterations following roasting play an essential role. In roasted coffee, but not in raw coffee, the release of hydrogen sulphide, hydrogen sulfide, lipid peroxides, acrylamide, etc., all molecules harmful to the organism (even in almost irrelevant doses) begins.
Phenolic substances: they represent a large part of the nutritional "baggage" of green coffee; the main one is chlorogenic acid (CGA, but also tannic acid and ferulic acid). The GCP has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and stimulant powers (caffeine derives from this). It is formed from quinic acid and caffeic acid, but the biologically active portion consists of the latter. In roasted coffee, chlorogenic acid is structurally compromised, which is why its interaction with the organism is totally different. The biologically active portion enters the bloodstream more quickly but also has a reduced half-life; on the contrary, in raw coffee, it is absorbed little by little and metabolized just as slowly.
Compared to the roasted one, raw green coffee "should" not have side effects, which is why it is considered a phytotherapeutic product in all respects, unlike the drink made from roasted beans which, for its part, is labeled as a "vice" of which it would be better not to abuse.
