Coffee Beans

Coffee is widely used as a flavouring, as in ice cream, pastries, candies and liqueurs. Coffee is made from roasted coffee beans, the seeds of berries from different coffee species. Coffee is a tropical plant Which belongs to the genus of Coffea. The coffee bean is oval, similar in size and shape to a small olive and turns red from green during ripening. The coffee bean is a fleshy berry, in which two seeds are imbedded. Blossoming and fruit setting occurs mainly 2 to 3 times a year. About 6 to 7 months are required to ripen the coffee beans. The interim period between the flowering and ripening of the beans varies, being determined by a number of factors (climate, latitude and altitude). 

Drying of coffee beans can be done by either sun drying or mechanical hot air drying, and preferably on shade netting. The dry, green, hulled coffee beans are graded according to size and shape by means of a rotating sieve. Dried seeds “beans” are roasted, grounded and brewed to make one of the two most important beverages.