1. Coffee’s a fruit not a bean.
It’s a member of the Rubiaceae family, a large and diverse group of plants, which also includes gardenia, jasmine, and rhododendron. Coffee plants are local to tropical Africa and Asia, but they’re also grown in more than 70 countries around the globe.
The Rubiaceae family is a member of the order Gentianales, which also includes plants such as gentian, columbine, and coffee. The order Gentianales is a member of the class Magnoliopsida, which also includes plants such as flowering plants, ferns, and conifers.
2. Coffee plants are perennials.
So they can live for for up to 50 years, and it can keep producing beans for many years.
Having a woody stem that can store water and nutrients is what makes them perennials because the can survive drought and other harsh weather. They can also reproduce from cuttings which hardens them against by increasing their chances of regrowing afer bush fire event.s
3. Coffee plants can literally grow to at least 15 feet tall.
But agriculturally they are pruned heavily making the beans easier to harvest.
The pruning process improves yield while making it easier and safer for harvesters who don’t have to use special equipment to raise themselve high into the trees canopy.
4. Coffee plants produce beautiful white flowers that only last for a few weeks of the year.
Bees and other insects pollinate these sweet smelling flowers ensuring that they produce the fruit which is of course the coffee bean.
5. The fruit of the coffee tree is actually a berry that contains two coffee beans.
These berries are green at first ripening, then they turn yellow as they ripen further. The berries are also referred to as ‘drupes’ which are fruits with a hard pitted centre.
6. The longer the roast, the richer the flavour.
Basically, it’s a sliding scale. More extended roasts will create a darker bean with a stronger flavour and it’s this roasting process that allows us to craft the final profile to suite different tastes. A shorter roast will produce a more delicate flavour so an expert roaster will have tremendous control, especially by blending beans from different parts of the world.