Discover The Truth About Coffee Trees And Coffee!

OK, so what is the truth about coffee trees and coffee? Well, coffee really does not grow on a tree as you might think, but rather a bush classified as an "evergreen." Now that does not mean it looks anything like a Christmas tree, although when it blooms, it could certainly look like one then! The white blooms that look much the same as Jasmine or Orange blossoms cover the tree, and a sweet aroma fills the air.

But the coffee tree or plant, as it could be called, has no resemblance to a tree like an orange tree, or even an apple or cherry tree. I could resemble a Crepe Myrtle tree or bush as much as any other. Of course, that would be where the resemblance ends, as the Crepe Myrtle only produces beautiful blooms and no coffee!

The coffee tree, as it will be referred to here, because of the tropical climate that makes up it's environment, produces blooms and cherries year round. In some countries there are actually two harvests because of this. Getting a double harvest normally requires a great deal of rainfall, which also interferes with a harvest as trees grown on the slopes on mountains. Many are not terraced to provide stable footing, so the wet and muddy surface makes harvest difficult.

Oh, and coffee beans come from cherries that are deep red when mature, similar to those on a cherry tree in appearance, but with a thick outer husk, unlike a good Michigan Cherry. Still, these cherries are sweet with a pulp surrounding two coffee beans as a rule. The coffee beans themselves are not sweet, but they don't taste like coffee either at this point. That might be a fact that would be considered strange for many.

In fact, the primary reason a green coffee bean turns brown when it is being roasted, is because the heat from the roaster is causing the sugars in the coffee bean to caramelize, turning the coffee bean various shades of brown from light or Rubio, to dark or French Roast, or perhaps for Espresso.

So, a coffee bean grows inside a cherry that turns red when mature, which is filled with a sweet pulp surrounding the coffee beans, and the dried and cleaned coffee bean is green, which then turns brown when roasted! Got it? You now have some great trivia to stump your friends, or impress the Barista at your local coffee shop!