Coffee comes from a tall, bushy evergreen plant often categorised as a shrub. This plant produces red, cherry-like berries that contain the coffee bean.
When grown in the wild, these coffee plants can grow up to 10 feet tall. After 3-5 years of growth, the plant begins to bloom.
The blooms of the coffee plant are small, white flowers that smell remarkably like jasmine. After six months of producing pollen from the blooms to stimulate reproduction, the coffee plant begins to grow cherries instead of flowers.
Depending on the variety of coffee plant, these berries can be red, pink, orange, or yellow. Each coffee cherry starts as an unripened green color and matures to contain two seeds. These seeds are what we know as coffee beans.
During the harvesting of the coffee cherries, their skin and pulp are removed to separate the seeds, which are then dried and roasted. Coffee cherries do not ripen simultaneously, so several harvesting periods are required to pick them all.
Although they are technically edible, the coffee cherry has thick skin and hardly any meat. This makes it unsuitable for eating raw. The coffee cherry contains little to no nutritional value, although it tastes pleasantly sweet.
The soil, elevation, and variety of coffee plants are all factors that determine the flavour of the final brew of coffee. Because of this, there are hundreds of variations, blends and brews to choose from.