Coffee Beans: Fruit Legume or Seed?
When we think of coffee beans, we think of dark brown beans with a rich, robust aroma. But actually, coffee beans are red or purple fruits on flowering shrubs.
These shrubs are native to Africa. They grow only in frost-free tropical climates, thriving best at high elevations. This small tree-like shrub begins producing fruits after it reaches maturity, at about three to five years old; it grows to be 10 to 12 feet tall. It continues producing until it is 50 to 60 years old, though some have been known to continue producing coffee beans for 100 years. The coffee berries take nine months to ripen. The fruits are called drupes, or coffee berries. The coffee beans are enveloped within the coffee berries. The drupes contain two coffee beans, or coffee seeds. Although coffee beans aren’t technically legumes, the seeds are called beans.
Ninety to 95 percent of all coffee berries contain two coffee beans. The other small percentage of coffee berries only contain a single coffee bean, which is called a peaberry. Peaberries are considerably smaller than regular coffee beans, so their acidity is concentrated; therefore, they’re discarded or sold separately.
Once the coffee beans are harvested, a mechanical pulper removes the flesh of the coffee berries. Then the coffee beans are fermented, usually in water, for 10 to 36 hours. They are then washed and dried in the sun. This produces what is called milled coffee beans; these raw beans are green.
Coffee beans aren’t roasted until they reach their destination country. The roasting process alters their chemistry, which causes them to become dark brown and highly aromatic. Coffee beans are more perishable at this stage.
Once the coffee beans are roasted, they’re ready to make coffee! They are ground and sold to coffee manufacturers, ready for coffee makers. Of course, you can also buy the beans whole, and grind them yourself in a grinder at the grocery store or in a coffee grinder at home; this is the preferred method of true coffee aficionados, as the whole coffee beans are fresher than ground coffee and impart more flavor.
Another truly delightful way to enjoy coffee beans is to purchase them covered in chocolate! Pop them into your mouth and enjoy a little chocolate-infused pick-me-up!
“….Coffee beans aren’t roasted until they reach their destination country. “…..not true, people can roast thier own beans
“aren’t roasted until they reach their destination country” which implies if the coffee beans are shipped to the U.S. most of the time the coffee is roasted here(whether that be in a home or somewhere else), not in the country where they were grown
Okay, I agree with that–thanks for clarifying