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Coffee From Botanical Point of View
Coffee beans are the seeds of the ripe fruit from the coffee plant which is a member of the family Rubiaceae, genus Coffea. It is classified as a perennial evergreen dicotyledon, which means that it is always green and has two seeds per cherry. The coffee plant is a large bush or shrub with oval, waxy leaves.
The plant is commonly referred to as a tree and can grow up to a height of forty feet.(Most trees are kept shorter for easier harvest.) At three to four years the plant produces its first flowers, which give way to clusters of oval berries, which are green and gradually ripen to a bright red over a period of about six months. At this point the cherries are ready for harvesting and processing.
There are two primary species of coffee: Arabica and Robusta. Arabica grows best between altitudes of 4000 and 6000 feet, in areas where the temperature stays between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. High grown coffees produce a much more dense and flavorful bean. Arabica accounts for 70% of the world's coffee production. Most specialty coffee and all of Intelligentsia's coffee is Arabica.
Typica and Bourbon are the oldest and best-known varieties of Arabica Coffee, but many strains have been developed, including Caturra, Mundo Novo, Tico, San Ramon and Jamaica Blue Mountain.
Robusta grows at lower elevations, can tolerate greater swings in temperature, is more resistant to disease, and yields a higher amount of fruit. We feel that Robusta produces a harsher flavor in the cup. Most canned, instant, or cheap supermarket coffees use Robusta.
The cherry itself has four layers. The fleshy, grape-like outer red skin (exocarp), the slimy pulp (mesocarp), the outer layer (parenchyma) and a parchment-like covering of the bean. (endocarp)
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