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Interpreting the Evidence

Hauling Bags of Coffee Berries, Brazil, 1900

  • Documents in this Activity:
  • Historical Eras:

    Turn of the Century and WWI (1890 - 1930)

  • Thinking Skill:

    Historical Analysis & Interpretation

  • Grade Level:

    Lower Elementary
    Upper Elementary
    Middle School
    High School
    College University

  • Topics:

    Agriculture
    Global History and Geography
    Industry
    Labor

  • Primary Source Types:

    Photograph

  • Regions:

    Global

  • Creator:

    NYS Archives Partnership Trust Education Team

  1. Load Hauling Bags of Coffee Berries, Brazil, 1900 in Main Image Viewer

Suggested Teaching Instructions

Document Description
Brazilian plantation workers load bags of coffee berries onto carts pulled by mules, 1900.
Historical Context
All coffee is grown between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn – perfect for Brazil.  Since the second half of the nineteenth century, coffee has been Brazil’s major export.  With over 3 billion coffee plants, Brazil produces 30% to 40% of the world’s coffee.  

Coffee beans are the seeds of berries that grow on coffee trees.  As the green berries ripen, they turn a dark red and look like a cherry.  Inside the coffee berry are two seeds (or beans) covered with a thin skin.

Brazilians use a dry method of removing the seeds, and they emphasize quantity over quality.  Coffee berries are picked by machine, so sometimes the unripe ones get picked along with the ripe ones.  The berries are then spread out to dry on big tarps.  Each day they need to be turned, and at night they need to be picked up to protect them from the dew.  The next day, they have to be spread out again.  When the skins are hard, machines are used to remove the seeds.  

There are about 4,000 beans (2,000 coffee berries) in a pound of coffee.  One coffee tree yields about a pound of coffee every season. 
 
Essential Question
How does geography impact human settlement and economy?
 
Check for Understanding
Describe the scene in the photograph and discuss the impact of geography on the local economy.
Historical Challenges
Find out about the differences between the wet and dry methods of producing coffee. Compare the end results, especially the quality of the coffee and the final costs of the coffee.
 
Interdisciplinary Connections
Math: Using whole beans and a coffee grinder, find out the average number of beans it takes to make a cup of coffee. Calculate how many coffee beans would be necessary to make enough coffee for all the teachers in the school.
Science: Examine different types of coffee beans. Make observations based on sight, smell, etc.
English Language Arts: Create a poster based on different coffee beans. Write short explanations of how the beans are classified.