what is coffee

When you think about a cup of coffee you are probably not thinking about fruit, but that is the starting point for the black brew. Coffee trees produce berries, called coffee cherries, that turn bright red when they are ripe and ready to pick. The seeds of these fruits are the coffee beans, which are roasted and then used to prepare coffee.

The coffee plant is believed to have first been discovered in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia. From there slowly spreading around the globe

There are many species of coffee, all indigenous to tropical Africa and some islands in the Indian Ocean, notably Madagascar. The 3 most commonly used being Coffea arabica, Coffea canephora, and Coffea liberica.

Coffee requires very specific environmental conditions for commercial cultivation. Temperature, rainfall, sunlight, wind and soils are all important, but requirements vary according to the varieties grown, an ideal average temperature for arabica ranging between 15 – 24º C. Arabica coffee is easily damaged by frost, a danger either in southern Brazil or, closer to the Equator, at altitudes around 2000 metres.

Optimal growing conditions for coffee occur between the latitudes of 23.5º N. and 23.5º S. The Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn where the warm year round temperature and abundat rainfall create perfect conditions for the cultivation. We call this the coffee belt

In general, coffee needs an annual rainfall of 1500 to 3000 mm, arabica needing less than other species, the pattern of rainy and dry periods is critical for growth, budding and flowering. Rainfall requirements depend on the retention properties of the soil, atmospheric humidity and cloud cover, as well as cultivation practices.

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds of coffee cherries. Coffee trees grow in over 70 countries. Green (unroasted) coffee is the second most valuable exported legal commodity after oil and the worlds most taken psychoactive drug.

Explore the links below to learn more about the journey your daily coffee takes