Ever wondered where your morning cup of coffee comes from? Well, it all starts with a coffee plant, a few thousand red berries and an infinite amount of hard labour. Here’s how it works…

A coffee tree starts producing berries about four to five years after being planted.It then takes another six to nine months for the berries to fully ripen.As they ripen, they change in colour from green to bright red.
Harvesting is done either by hand or by machine. Hand picking is more effective and most of the world’s Arabica coffee berries are hand picked. Harvesting coffee by hand is very labour intensive and expensive.

Once the berries have been harvested, the seeds of the berries (or the beans) need to be removed and prepared for roasting.There are two main processing methods commonly used around the world; the “dry method” and the “wet method”. The cheapest and most traditional way is the dry method, which is often used for lower grade beans. Higher grade beans (usually Arabica) are generally processed using the wet method.

After the beans have been processed, they are graded by size, quality and density. This is a painstaking process which requires great skill from the sorters. The green beans are now ready to be bagged and exported.
Before being roasted, green beans don’t taste or smell like coffee at all.During roasting, the heat causes numerous chemical reactions to take place, releasing the rich aromatic oils that are contained inside the bean.It is during the roasting process that the full flavour and aroma of the bean is achieved.

The beans are now ready to be ground. The preparation or brewing method used will ultimately determine the type of grind required. Espresso coffee will, for example, require a much finer grind compared to that of filter coffee. It is always best to consume coffee as soon as possible after roasting and grinding in order to ensure optimal freshness and flavour.

Finally, there are various methods of brewing coffee. However, in most leading coffee shops and restaurants around the world, you will generally find espresso based drinks such as cappuccino and café latte on the menu.
Order a cup, sit back and enjoy the amount of skill and dedication that was involved; from the berry all the way to your cup.