How Coffee is Grown

Coffee is grown all around the world, but only on a belt between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

The region where coffee is grown plays a big role in determining its taste – the native soil, climate and processing methods used in cultivation all impart a distinctive flavour to the beans. A French winemaker would call this “goût de terroir” – the “taste of the place.”

Geographically, there are three global coffee-growing regions: East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America.

The Hard-working Coffee Tree

Like many other fruits, coffee cherries grow on trees. The soil, climate, altitude, and surrounding plants that a coffee tree is exposed to during growth affect the flavour of the beans it produces.

Some coffee trees have the potential to grow to a height of 30 to 40 feet. However, most are kept much shorter for ease of harvest. The average coffee tree bears only enough cherries each season to produce about half a kilogram of roasted coffee. It takes a whole year for the tree to produce what most people can enjoy in a single week!

Arabicas and Robustas

There are two commercially important coffee species: coffea arabica and coffea canephora (robusta). Arabica coffee grows best at high altitudes, has a much more refined flavour than other species, and contains about 1% caffeine by weight. As the name indicates, robusta coffee is a robust species, resistant to disease, with a high yield per plant. It flourishes at lower elevations and produces coffee with harsher flavour characteristics. Starbucks buys only the highest quality arabica coffees available.

Here Comes the Harvest

At harvest time, coffee trees are laden with bright red coffee cherries. An unroasted coffee bean is simply the pit of the coffee cherry.

The skin of the coffee cherry is very thick, with a slightly bitter flavour. The fruit beneath the skin, however, is intensely sweet with a texture similar to grape. Beneath the fruit is the parchment, which serves as a protective pocket for the seed, much like the small pockets that protect the seeds of an apple. Remove the parchment and you'll generally find two green coffee beans, ready for washing and roasting.