Coffee Botany: A different kind of cherry

Almost no one who celebrates a moment with a cup of gourmet coffee realizes the brown juice he is drinking actually is derived from the stone of a cherry. Not from a regular cherry as we know it, but from a coffee cherry. The red fruit of the COFFEA PLANT is also known as a "cherry" ,,, inside any coffee cherry are two seeds of the coffee tree, commonly (and incorrectly) called "beans." The milling and roasting processes, followed by brewing, make their essence drinkable, yielding the flavor and bouquet you find irresistible in your cup.

The coffee plant can produce ripe and unripe fruit and flowers simultaneously, multiple times throughout the year. But, in Costa Rica we harvest only once a year, from December through February.

Flowers, green and red ripe coffee cherries at the same moment

Yellow Catuaí, a variety of Coffea Arabica

The coffee plant is a tree that belongs to the gender Coffea. There are more than 60 different varieties of coffee, but for trade purposes the Coffea arabica (commonly abbreviated to Arabica) and Coffea canephora (Robusta) are the most important. Some varieties of Arabica coffee plants like "Catuai-Amarillo," bear ripe cherries that are not red, but yellow.

Coffee-Cherry

Pulp (mesocarp)

coffee bean

Silver skin

Parchment (hull)

Outer skin

Stalk

Coffee belongs to the botanical family Rubiaceae, comprising more than 500 genera and 6,000 tropical trees and shrubs. However, Coffea is far more economically important than any other member of this botanical family. The two most important species of coffee are Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee). It accounts for over 70% of world production, along with Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee). Two other species which are grown on a much smaller scale are Coffea liberica (Liberica coffee) and Coffea dewevrei (Excelsa coffee).

Coffea arabica is the highest quality coffee. It grows best at higher altitudes ... 3,000 to 6,500 feet elevation. Because it grows slowly, its flavors are more concentrated. As you may have guessed, Arabica Coffee gets its name from Arabia, and was named by the botanist Carolus Linnaeus. Arabica coffee contains less caffeine than any other commercially cultivated species of coffee, and is distinctly milder and more aromatic than others. These are some reasons why Arabica coffee is more valued and popular than Robusta coffee.

Coffee-Flower

Pistil

Petal

Style

Ovule

Stamina

Style

Ovary

Stem

Arabica trees are generally considered more delicate than other species of coffee trees, especially Robusta. The ideal temperature range for an Arabica tree is from 60 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit (15 to 24E Celsius). After three or four years, a coffee tree will begin to produce a harvestable crop, but they do not reach full production until six to eight years later.

Coffee tree with ripe cherries

The Arabica plant is an evergreen, typically a large bush with dark green and shiny oval shaped leaves. It can reach a fully-grown height of 14 to 20 feet. On plantations, the plants are kept at a height of about 6 to 10 feet, to facilitate harvesting and fertilizing the heavy bearing of cherries. The white, star-shaped blossoms resemble the flowers of the Jasmine tree in fragrance, color and appearance. The coffee fruit (cherry) is oval, maturing in 7 to 9 months; it usually contains two flat seeds (the "beans"). When only one bean develops, it is called a "peaberry." The cherries are very sweet, with a texture somewhat like a grape.

On our farm we grow only the finest Arabica coffee trees. Our trees are selected from a lineage of proven quality stock from our farm, and are grown in our nursery for a year before planting. Many factors determine the quality of the end product, the most important being the growing location: the soil, climate and elevation, all of which give it basic characteristics. The method of harvesting, processing and roasting of the mature beans is equally critical. However, it is indisputable that one of the finest coffees in the world comes from Costa Rica's Arabica coffee plants, grown in perfect soil and clime.