WAIT, DID SOMEONE SAY GREEN BEANS?

When one thinks of green beans, especially in the South, thoughts may turn to the delightful Southern cooking-style green bean. But did you know that coffee also originates from green beans?

While not the same as the green beans found on Thanksgiving dinner tables,

coffee beans are indeed green!

Before delving into the green bean that gives us coffee, let's discuss their origin. The Coffea plant, typically native to tropical regions such as Africa, Asia, and South America, bears a fruit known as the coffee cherry, or Frangula Californica in Latin. The pit of these cherries is the coffee bean used to produce espresso and coffee. Upon harvest, these beans are bright green in color. They are then bagged in large burlap bags to allow them to breathe, as they are technically a fruit.

Subsequently, they are shipped worldwide to various coffee suppliers. At this stage, they undergo a process called roasting, where the beans are essentially baked until they achieve different levels of roast. The longer they are roasted, the darker and richer their taste profile becomes.

So, the next time you savor your morning cup of coffee, consider that you're enjoying the essence of a roasted green bean.