Have you ever wondered where coffee beans come from? Do they grow on bushes? Are they picked from the ground? Actually, they come from a fruit! Coffee “beans” are actually the seeds of a fruit commonly known as coffee cherries. Ironically, neither coffee beans nor coffee cherries are true beans and cherries but are referred to as such simply due to their resemblance to the actual things.

Coffee cherries grow from coffee trees, or shrubs, and are harvested every year. For the best tasting coffee, coffee producers will wait until the cherries are at their peak ripeness before picking them. This ensures the beans will have the richest flavor possible.

After picking, the cherries are taken to a mill to be processed and to separate the beans from the fruit. While there are several types of coffee processing, such as washed and natural, the end result yields raw, or green, coffee beans that are ready to be packaged, shipped, and roasted.