What is Coffee?

Everybody easily recognizes a roasted coffee bean, yet you may not know what an actual coffee plant looks like. Coffee trees may reach more than 30 feet (9 meters), but they are often cut short to save energy and make harvesting easier. Each tree is coated in glossy, dark green leaves that grow in pairs, opposite one another on the tree. Coffee cherries will sprout along the limbs of the tree. Because its growth occurs in a continuous cycle, it is not uncommon to have blossoms, immature fruit, and mature fruit coexisting on the same tree simultaneously. After the first blossoming, it takes almost a whole year for a cherry to fully develop, and the tree needs around five years to attain its maximum fruit-bearing potential.

Although coffee plants may live up to 100 years, their most productive years are often between the ages of 7 and 20, even though they can live that long. Depending on the type, giving them the appropriate care may keep their products consistent throughout the years and even cause them to rise. The typical coffee tree produces ten pounds of coffee cherries each year, which may be processed into two pounds of green beans.