The coffee tree:

The coffee, an evergreen tree, is classified in the family of the Rubiacee and grows only in the area included between the two Tropics. There are approximately 60 types of coffee trees, but the most famous ones are the undisputed Coffea Arabica and the Coffea Robusta. The Coffea Arabica produces the best quality fruits and the taste that characterizes the finished product is intense and gentle at the same time. The Coffea Robusta, on the contrary, is characterized by strong taste and density, and by a higher quantity of caffeine in it. Coffee trees grow in well watered hilly areas and the plantations are located at different altitudes, from 200 to 2,200 meters above sea level, depending on the species.

The tree requires careful attention, as it is very delicate; the production of up to 3 kilos of good quality beans requires continuous care to maintain its conditions adamant. It can grow up to 12 meters in height, but (photograph) it is pruned to 3 meters in plantations in order to facilitate the picking of ripe fruits, called coffee cherries. The white flowers, whose scent is similar to the Jasmine ones, can bloom more than once a year, depending on how high the plant is grown, on soil quality and on air moisture. One flower produces one cherry, which changes its colour from green to red. Each cherry, except the one at the end of the tree branch, normally contains two seeds, covered by a thin silver film. Those beans are protected by an inner membrane called the parchment. The color of the beans after curing varies according to the quality and the place where they are picked, ranging from green, to yellow to brownish.