Have you ever wondered how those dry, flat coffee beans come to be? What exactly is their structure composed of?
Firstly, you must understand the difference between coffee beans and coffee fruit. In fact, what we commonly refer to as coffee beans are the seeds inside the coffee fruit. Initially, coffee beans are not the black, flat appearance you see, but they undergo many processing steps, including removing layers from the outer skin and pulp of the coffee fruit, to become the dried beans we see after roasting. What we are discussing today is the structure of the coffee fruit, not the coffee beans.
The coffee fruit is bright red and, due to its cherry-like appearance, it is also called "coffee cherry."
The coffee fruit seen in the image above goes through many processing steps to become the coffee beans shown in the image below.
Next, there's a crucial concept — coffee trees produce coffee fruit for reproduction, not for human consumption. Therefore, when we examine the structure of the coffee fruit, we need to consider it from the perspective of the coffee tree's reproductive cycle to understand its structure and function.
Coffee beans are grown within the coffee fruit for reproduction, and the fruit encases the seeds (coffee beans).
Depending on the texture of the skin, fruit can be classified into two main types: fleshy fruit and dry fruit. Fleshy fruit skin is soft, juicy, often brightly colored, attracting animals to consume it and thereby scatter the seeds. The outer layer of the seed often has a harder structure or is resistant to strong acids, protecting the seed from corrosion by digestive fluids when passing through an animal's digestive tract.
Coffee fruit is a type of fleshy fruit, bright red in appearance, quite vibrant, and juicy, attracting animals to consume it.
From the outside in, the coffee fruit consists of:
- Outer skin
- Pulp
- Pectin layer
- Inner skin
- Silver skin
- Seed (coffee bean)
The primary function of the outer skin and pulp is to attract animals for seed dispersal. To prevent the seed (coffee bean) from being corroded by strong acids in the animal's digestive tract, the pectin layer, inner skin, and silver skin protect the seed (coffee bean).
After coffee fruit is harvested, it undergoes many complex processing steps, all aimed at obtaining the coffee beans needed for human coffee production.
This article analyzes the structure and function of coffee fruit from a botanical perspective, hoping readers will gain a deeper understanding of coffee beans.
