It's easy to forget that the beverage, grounds and beans that we sling and drink every day come from an agricultural commodity like any other. Well, not exactly like any other - it does hold the distinction of being the second-most traded commodity after oil.
Photos by Mimi Wysong, Gimme! Coffee.
These little seeds to your left are germinating. The same seed that produces a new plant is also known as a "green" - it's what is shipped to us in jute sacks or vacuum-packed mylar bags for roasting.
Here the seeds have begun to sprout new coffee trees.
These seedlings are being taken care of in a nursery. After they are strong enough, they are replanted on the farm.
The trees take three to five years to grow from bean to productive tree. That’s why coffee nurseries are important: they enable steady production by regenerating stock.
Every time it rains, parts of the coffee tree will flower. These groups of white blossoms are similar to jasmine in shape and scent.
After a few days, these blossoms are replaced by small, green cherries. They will ripen to yellow, then red (ripe for picking), and finally almost black, all within six to nine months.
For some coffee varietals, cherries do not turn red when they ripen. For example, these are fully ripe Yellow Bourbon cherries.
It takes approximately 2,000 cherries, with two beans each, to produce just one pound of coffee.
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