Black Fuel Trading Co.

It may be hard to imagine that the roasted, warm, chocolaty, caramel, coffee comes from a berry seed, but it’s true! The coffee plants produce red berries or cherries that contain seeds. These seeds are what we know as whole coffee beans.

Coffee plants come from the Rubiaceae family. Other plants that are part of the Rubiaceae family are used for medicinal purposes, dyes or timber. Plants that are used specifically for coffee are apart of the Coffea genus, and there are 25 different species within this genus.

The different types of coffee species range in shape, size and color but they are all woody evergreens. Coffea Arabica and Coffea Canephora or robusta coffee, account for almost all of commercial whole bean coffee production. Although, there are some smaller commercially produced Coffea species that are difficult to find.

The coffee plant is native to the Kaffa region in Ethiopia but are now cultivated in over 70 countries today, typically in tropical regions. Arabica grows in the shade at higher elevations, and therefore, grow in cooler regions where temperatures are around 59 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. They are thought to produce higher-quality whole coffee beans and make up for 60 percent of coffee production. Arabica plants are typically grown in Colombia, Ethiopia, Jamaica and other parts of Central America. Roubusta makes up for the other 40 percent. Most of them are grown in Vietnam and Brazil. These whole coffee beans are grown in lower elevations and require more rainfall.