Coffee Beans - Full of surprises!
You drink coffee all the time, but do you really know what coffee beans are? Do you know where they come from? There is a lot that you can learn about these little beans that may enlighten you or just surprise you. Perhaps if you learn a little bit more about the beans you will enjoy that cup of coffee each morning or afternoon all the more.
Simple Information About Coffee Beans
You may not know it, but coffee beans are the actual seed of the coffee plant. The coffee bean is actually the pit that is found inside of the red or purple fruit found on the coffee plant. The fruit, which is often called coffee cherries or coffee berries and each piece of fruit usually has two beans that have one flat side each. Coffee beans are one of the most popular export products in the world, taking 2nd to petroleum.
Coffee beans are made of mostly endosperm, which is 0.8 to 2.5% caffeine, and it is the caffeine content that has a lot of people coming back for cup after cup of coffee. In fact, caffeine is said to be one of the main reasons that coffee was first consumed because it gave farmers more energy to tend to their crops and monks more energy to stay awake through their prayers.
The term coffee beans comes from the Arabic language, but what is funny about this is that the coffee bean is not actually a bean; it is a seed of a fruit, not a vegetable. The “bean” is taken from the coffee cherry, with the rest of the cherry being discarded in the process, though sometimes it is used as a fertilizer. This is something that a lot of people are not aware, even the most avid coffee drinkers. It will definitely make you think the next time you take a drink of coffee, won’t it? This tidbit of information will also be that odd knowledge that can share with friends and family at gatherings!
There are many different types of coffee beans for you to choose from, yet there are only two that are commercially cultivated. Arabica coffee is the most popular type of coffee, amounting for as much as 75% of the worlds coffee trade. Coffee Robusta is the other type of commercially cultivated coffee and is grown and thrives where Arabica coffee does not thrive. There are two other types of coffee beans that you may be able to get your hands on which are Coffee Liberica and Coffee Excelsa, though these coffees are grown in very limited areas and are therefore the coffee is not as common.
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