All About the Coffee Beans

The tempting taste we crave in winter is in everyone’s favorite beverage, coffee. The secret of this taste is for sure in its beans. These beans are obtained after some great efforts.

Shape and Structure

The coffee plant grows small red berries known as drupes. These drupes look much like cherries and are composed of several layers: the,as follows.

1. The exocarp layer is the external skin of the berry.

2. Then comes the mesocarp, or pulp.

3. The parchment is the first layer of the coffee bean.

4. The second layer makes the silver skin of the bean.

5. Beneath all these layers, a coffee bean is found.

Shape and Color

There is an excellent variety of these drupes, so the colors and shapes may vary according to the kind of variety, yet the structure of the beans is almost always the same. For example, the Arabica beans are more extended and oval, whereas the Robusta beans are round.

Harvesting the Coffee Beans

The initial step to harvest the berries is a sensitive phase: it is essential to take care not to harvest any green berries. This is because the green berries are the unripe ones. Following the harvesting, drupes are immersed in water so that the pulp can be separated from the stone inside: this manifests the coffee beans that are still green and relatively small. As they are roasted, they will later take on their primary brown color and become more extensive, all because of the heat.

Characteristics

The drupes in which the beans are found have different characteristics. These characteristics vary depending on the climate and temperature of the area. Mainly the coffee beans distributor obtains the drupes from the tropical belt. Brazil and Guatemala are considered the largest coffee-beans-producing countries.