Is coffee a fruit?

Every morning the ritual is the same: start the day with a cup of your favorite coffee. Unless you arrive at work, during the 10am break, or why not with friends to enjoy the sun’s rays on the terrace?

But behind this drink, as delicious as it is familiar, you will surely have already asked yourself the question: Is coffee a fruit?

Sometimes we forget, like coffee it is anchored in our habits, but before becoming one of the French’s favorite drinks, coffee began its story on a tree: the coffee.

Café Méo takes you to origins of the coffee bean : a flower, a fruitlots of passion and unique know-how.

Everything you need to know about the coffee fruit

THE coffee that we enjoy every day comes from a fruit very particular: coffee cherry. She pushes on coffeea shrub that can climb several meters (up to 12 meters). Known by the scientific name of Coffeeit offers fruits that appear after flowering in the form of small ones green berries. Over the course of weeks these fruits slowly ripen until they reach a red color intense, sometimes yellow depending on the variety. If there are hundreds of varieties of coffee plants, the best known are Arabica and Robusta.

Inside each one cherry red hides the essential: the coffee beans. In most cases the fruit contains two flat seeds, placed opposite each other. More rarely, a single seed develops, forming a «caracoli» grain, with a more rounded shape.

The role of the different layers of the coffee bean

The coffee bean is surrounded by multiple layers natural, each with a precise role in the construction of aromas.

As with other fruits, it all begins at the moment culture. THE climatethealtitudethe quality of sol and the attention given to the coffee plants plays a decisive role. It is this intimate bond between the fruit, his environment and the human know-how that gives coffee all its richness.

The coffee plant and its different species

The different varieties of coffee are at the origin of its unique taste.

Among the best known, the Coffea arabica and the Coffea canephora (robusta) dominate the market. The others specieswilder, they are rarely exploited commercially due to their low yield or excessive bitterness.

Arabica

The coffee arabica it is the most widespread species and represents a large part of the coffee consumed in the world.

• Grown in altitudein the regions temperate climateArabica is appreciated for its finesse and aromatic complexity.
• Its coffee beans often deliver fruity notessometimes floral, with a delicate acidity.
• The Arabica coffee plant is more fragile and requires specific growing conditions and constant attention, which directly affect the quality of the coffee beans.

Robust

Coffea canefora it is more resistant, hence its name”robust”.

• Pushes lower altitudes and tolerates climate variations better.
• Its grains contain more caffeinefor an extra drink full-bodiedwith a bitterness more marked.

Robusta is often used in assemblies to give body and strength to the cup of coffee.

How are coffee fruits harvested?

Before arriving at our cupsTHE coffee fruit goes through several phases.

The harvest

• Harvesting coffee cherries occurs when the fruits are full expiration.
• In many coffee-producing countries the harvest is over by hand (harvesting) to select only the ripe cherries and ensure better quality.
• It requires patience and precise knowledge, but it is essential to preserve the aromas of the coffee.
• Destemming (striping) allows you to harvest the fruit more quickly but with the risk of harvesting fruit that is not sufficiently ripe and affecting the yield. Mechanical harvesting it’s very simple and quick, but there is no cherry sorting, therefore a risk for quality.

Grain sorting

Sorting cherries of coffee, immediately after the harvestacts as a quality filter. This is a decisive step: the foundations are laid for all subsequent work (washing, drying, toasting, etc.). Not all cherries are the same and this sorting allows us to eliminate those that could alter their flavor aromas. Exists 3 main sorting methods:

1. Sorting by flotation (in water): good (dense) cherries sink, empty, damaged or dry cherries float and are removed.

2. The three-manual: operators visually remove cherries that are too green and those with visible defects (a common step for specialty coffees).

3. Mechanical sorting (more industrial): machines are sorted by size, by density

From fruit to tasting: what steps?

Between the fruit of the coffee plant and the cup of coffee we know, there are different ones transformations take place. Everything is fine stage influences the taste, aroma and consistency of the drink.

Phase 1: transformation

After sorting, coffee cherries are processed deposit extract the grains. There are several methods but they all aim to eliminate the pulp from the fruit:

• The washed method (washed): pulp removed quickly, fermentation and washing.
• The natural method (dried): whole dried cherries (without pulping).
• The semi-washed method (honey): the pulp is removed, but part of the mucilage is retained.

Once extracted, the cereals they are dried until a certain humidity level is reached. At this point let’s talk about green coffee.

Phase 2: transportation

Green coffee is then transported by producing countries towards the consuming countries. The beans must be protected from humidity and temperature changes to maintain their quality.

Step 3: Roasting

Roasting it is a fundamental step. This is the time when the coffee beans develop their aromas.

Under the influence of Heatthe beans change color, going from green to brown. The sugars caramelize, the aromas reveal themselves and the coffee takes on its full dimension.

The degree of roasting directly influences the taste. A light roast will bring out the fruity notes, while a deeper roast will bring more intense flavors. When theAnd roasting know-how has done its job, the coffee can be consumed in beans or ground, depending on the method chosen.

FAQ – the coffee fruit