Raw Coffee Beans

Colombian Coffee Beans - Facts You Should Know About It

Coffee beans can form part of every household's staple food. Imagine a home without a coffee inside its kitchen? Whilst not all homes do not have the same brand of coffee, it is with no doubt that everybody loves to have a sip of a cup of either the brewed or decaf versions. Well, if you are one in the league of these individuals, perhaps you will be interested to know more facts about coffee beans.

To start with, coffee beans are seeds found inside the coffee plant. It is the kernel of the coffee cherries, the red-coloured or purple-coloured fruit. Commonly, one coffee cherry contains two beans inside it. But there are cases when the cherry has only one bean. This one is called as the pea berry.

Popularity of coffee beans

The popularity of coffee is seen not only in homes. It is also popular in offices. In fact, many business establishments around the world have popularised a term called "coffee-break" in recognition of this crop. With its popularity, coffee beans are considered major cash crops all over the world.

There are a lot of major exporters of coffee all over the world. Amongst the list of countries producing coffee, Colombia is on the top spot. It is followed by other countries like Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia and Indonesia. The United States is also included in the list.

Different types of coffee beans

Originating in Ethiopia during 850 AD, the coffee began spreading all over the world. The influence first spread to Arabia in 900 AD. After that, the Dutch started smuggling the guarded coffee plants in Arabia and brought some home to Netherlands.

Whilst there are many species for these coffee plants, there are only two popular types of coffee beans that can be produced out of them. One of which is the Coffee Arabica or more plainly known as Arabica. Arabica species or varieties are favoured all over the world because of the high quality coffees that they can produce. The second type known as Coffee Canephora or Robusta are said to be favoured for many economies because of their vigour.

In most instances though, the type of beans for the coffee plant is identified not by their flavour. They can be identified better with their geographic location. Basing on current statistics though, 90% of the coffee bean total sales belong to the Arabica and Robusta varieties.

Processing the coffee beans