You’ve heard of coffee beans, but did you know that coffee is actually the seed of a fruit?
Coffee is a small tree or shrub, growing about 8-15 feet tall depending on growing conditions. As a tropical plant, it grows naturally in an area commonly called The Bean Belt which includes Central American, parts of South America, most of Africa, and parts of Asia.
Growing
As an understory plant (shorter than tall trees), coffee generally prefers to growing in partial shade and moist soil. Some coffee is Certified Shade Grown. This means that the coffee industry does not destroy the local ecosystem to make a coffee plantation. Coffee can also be Certified Bird Friendly which means that larger trees that the birds depend on for habitat remain on the land and coffee professionals grow the coffee in their shade. Coffee produces white flowers that after pollination turn into berries that ripen on the tree.
Harvesting
Different varietals grow better at different altitudes. At higher altitudes the sugars in the fruit oxidize less, and the coffee develops a sweeter flavor.
Coffee cherries on the same tree ripen at different times. For this reason, it’s not realistic to harvest it with machines. Instead, coffee farmers pick each cherry by hand, and harvest the same tree several times as more cherries become ripe. Coffee harvesting is labor intensive and takes a great deal of care and attention to detail.
After harvesting, coffee is processed. You’ll remember from earlier that coffee processing is simply the way producers remove the fruit from the pit, and that different processing methods bring out different flavors in the cup.
Coffee can also make a fun houseplant in colder regions. It’s unlikely to flower and produce fruit unless you have a greenhouse, but it still makes a beautiful addition.
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