The coffee bean is not a bean at all, it's a seed! What we refer to as the coffee bean is actually the coffee seed, while the bright red fleshy part that encases the seeds is the fruit of the coffee plant.
The coffee bean is small but its power to inspire and energize humanity transcends cultures and ages. Biologists know this tiny caffeine powerhouse as Coffea arabica, a plant indigenous to northeastern Africa. The bean itself is a mere half inch long while the shrubby plant stands between two and four feet in height. The coffee plant is a flowering shrub and the small white flowers are said to smell like jasmine. The coffee fruit, when ripe, is a brilliant red.
The fruit of the coffee plant is said to be sweet and taste very similar to grapes, but the real treasure, the coffee bean, lies within the fruit. Each fruit contains two coffee beans. Each coffee plant can produce from one to 11 pounds of ripe beans in a single season, depending on size and growing conditions.
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