The growth process of coffee beans
- Vela Ethan
- Mar 13
- 2 min read
Drinking a cup of coffee every day has become our routine. But do you know how the coffee in your hand turns into a cup of drinkable coffee？
We may know that coffee is a plant, or most of us think that coffee beans are black and come from a bright red coffee fruit, but what are the stages of growth? How long does it take to become a high-quality coffee bean? Today, let's explore the growth process of the coffee we drink every day!
The flavor and quality of coffee beans are largely determined by their growing environment. In the case of Peru, the high altitude of the Andes Mountains, the vast 60% Amazon region, the average temperature variation, and the tropical rainforest climate allow the coffee fruit to grow in a favorable environment, resulting in the exceptional flavor of Peruvian specialty coffee.
The coffee fruit, also known as coffee cherries, is a small, round drupe produced by the coffee plant. Its growth and development process takes about 10 months, and it is divided into four stages:
Dormant Stage
After pollination, the coffee plant will produce very small fruits. During this stage, the fruit enters a dormant state, and depending on the amount of water absorbed by the plant, this phase typically lasts for 6 to 10 weeks.
Fruit Enlargement Stage
After absorbing the necessary amount of water, the coffee plant will enter the second stage, which lasts about 8 to 10 weeks. During this period, the size and volume of the coffee cherries will rapidly increase, including both the fruit and the outer shell. The size of the shell is closely related to the future formation of the coffee bean, so this stage is crucial for the size of the beans.
Phase of nutrient and composition transformation
In this stage, the coffee beans begin to form. The weight of the beans changes due to the transformation of moisture within the beans, and nutrients such as chlorogenic acid and minerals significantly increase during this period. However, the size of the coffee cherry shell hardly changes. The yield and quality of the coffee beans mainly depend on this stage. This phase lasts about 14 to 16 weeks, making it the longest but also the most important period.
The fruit ripening stage
After the stages of flowering and pollination, 36 to 39 weeks later, the coffee fruit begins to ripen. This marks the final fourth stage: the fruit ripening stage, which lasts about 4 to 5 weeks. During this period, the development of the coffee cherry contrasts with the third stage, as the size of the coffee fruit shell begins to increase. In this maturation stage, the metabolism of substances within the coffee beans is aimed at perfecting the flavor and quality of the beans. At the end of this period, the hardness and color of the coffee beans will undergo significant changes.
We can see that a high-value coffee fruit must have the right climate, sunlight, latitude, and other conditions. These are exactly the aspects Vela Ethan focuses on when selecting origins, farms, and beans, simply because we care that you care.
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