The coffee bean we all know and love comes from a coffee cherry. Like most fruit, the ideal time to pick the coffee cherry is when it is ripe on the tree. Mature coffee cherries can manifest themselves in red, yellow and even orange pigmentation, i.e. orange bourbon. The cherries are then processed to remove the coffee bean, a time consuming process, and then prepared for shipment. Coffee beans are then roasted at their destination for somewhat immediate consumption.

Structure of a coffee cherry:

1: center

2: bean

3: silver skin

4: parchment

5: pectin layer

6: pulp

7: outer skin