Coffee is the second most consumed beverage in the world to date. Many people don’t know what coffee really is or where it comes from.
The #1 rule people must know is that coffee is a fruit that grows on trees in tropical weather countries. The top-producing countries in the world are Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, and Ethiopia. The beverage we commonly refer to as “coffee” is an extract that comes from the seed of the fruit after it has been roasted and ground with the use of water.
Coffee cherries start as flowers and when rains come, the flowers bloom and the cherries start forming on the base of the flower stem. After 3-5 days, the flowers drop and the cherries slowly begin to grow over time. It takes 9 months from the flowering until the coffee cherries reach optimum ripeness for picking. The coffee cherries start off in a green color and depending on the varietal start changing colors during the ripening process. Red colored varietals start green, then turn to yellow, to pink, to red, and finally reach a burgundy color. Yellow colored varietals start green, then turn yellow, then into a deep mustardy colored yellow and brown spots appear on the skin of the cherries. Orange colored varietals start green, then turn yellow, then into a light orange, and finally turn into a deep bright orange color with brown spots or veins on the skin of the cherries.
During the color change phases (ripening process) a slimy substance starts growing inside the coffee cherries. This slimy substance is called Mucilage and is what provides the coffee with its sugar content and gives the coffee its sweetness. Being a fruit, if the coffee cherries are picked at their optimum ripeness, the extracted beverage should be sweet.
The entire coffee industry is a chain. It starts in the production stage at the farms, is then processed at a mill or processing station, it is then roasted, ground, and finally the beverage is extracted. If all these steps are done to perfection, the final black coffee product should be sweet and no sugar, additives, or artificial flavors should be needed to enjoy the final drink.
