Each coffee cherry usually contains two coffee beans with their flat sides nestling against each other.

The coffee beans inside the cherry are green in colour, their natural state as a seed.

Some coffee cherries, around 5%, contain only one coffee bean, this bean is referred to as a Peaberry.

As this Peaberry doesn’t have another coffee bean to push against it is round in shape instead of having one flat side.

The coffee beans contain between 0.8% and 2.5% caffeine, a natural stimulant which makes coffee a very popular drink and the green coffee beans the world’s second valuable traded commodity, behind only petroleum.

Coffee Bean (Roasted)

The brown coffee bean we are all used to seening in our local coffee shop is actually the final product from the coffee roasting process.

The green beans are roasted in a large heated drum for between 8-15 minutes until brown in colour and are ready to send to coffee shops, supermarkets and our homes.

The beans are then spun around in the cylinder to ensure they are heated evenly.

Through out the process the person roasting keeps a very close eye on the beans by checking their temperature, time, smell, appearance and the sound they make.
The sound and appearance is checked by taking a small sample from the drum by means of a tryer.

Commercial Coffee Roaster

The whole process usually takes between 10-15 minutes dependant on the type of taste require.

• A quicker roast, around 8 minutes,  gives a light more acid taste and is referred to as a cinnamon roast
• A medium roast, 9 to 11 minutes, gives a light brown slightly sweeter taste with more balanced acidity and is known as full city.
• A longer roast, 12-14 minutes, give a much darker beam with a sweet chocolaty taste though still holding some of the acidity. This is referred to as a Vienna roast and is highly popular.
• Finally a very long roast, 15+ minutes, give a very dark, almost black bean. The sugars have carbonised giving a smoky intense flavour, though its has now lost the subtle coffee flavour. The is know as a French roast.

Once ready the roaster door is open and the coffee beans tumble onto a cooling tray below.
The beans are spread evenly over a screen which has small holes allowing air to be drawn over then beans helping to cool them.

When the coffee beans have cooled they are ready to be packaged for sale or made into a cup of coffee.