The seeds of a coffee plant (which are the pit of the coffee plant fruit) are known as coffee beans. Even though coffee beans are seeds, they are called beans because of their similarities.
Coffee beans consist mostly of an endosperm that contains a specific amount of caffeine, which is one of the major reasons why coffee is grown and cultivated.
Coffee is one the world’s favourite consumables and so coffee beans are in high demand and a major export commodity for many countries.
Cultivation of coffee beans originated in Ethiopia in approximately 850 C.E and farming of coffee beans then spread to Arabia where it was first mentioned in writings around the 900 C.E.
The Americas were first introduced to the coffee plant in 1723 and now South America is responsible for the production of over 50% of the world’s coffee beans.
Species or varieties of coffee beans include:Coffea arabica, Coffea benghalensis, Coffea canephora, Coffea congensis, Coffea excelsa, Coffea gallienii, Coffea bonnieri, Coffea mogeneti, Coffea liberica, and Coffea stenophylla.
Different types of coffee bean varieties produce coffee with slightly different characteristics.