Coffee grows in a narrow subtropical belt around the world between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer.

White coffee blossoms mature slowly into bright red coffee cherries. This development time takes from three to four months. Two seeds hide within each ripe cherry, covered with parchment and a thick gelatin-like substance. Coffee cherries ripen at different times, so they are usually picked by hand. Coffee beans are washed, then allowed to ferment to separate the parchment and meat from the beans.

A surprisingly flavorful coffee is produced by one of the simplest and most unique methods. Unwashed coffee cherries are laid out on drying patios and allowed to dry in the sun. The sugars ferment naturally inside the skin while the coffee bean dries. Ethiopian Harrar is an heirloom coffee processed in such a manner, so highly prized that Ethiopian farmers carefully safeguard its quality. http://www.fairtradecoffee.org/articles/allure-of-the-organic-ethiopian-harrar.shtml

Coffee trees produce one crop per year, taking as long as five years to reach maturity at high elevation. Since 4,000 green beans are needed to produce just one pound of coffee, the average tree will supply only one or two pounds of roasted coffee each year.

Coffee Facts:

Espresso has 1/3 of the caffeine of a regular cup of coffee.

Dark roasted coffees actually have less caffeine than medium roasts. The longer the roast, the more the caffeine burns off.

Coffee is the second most traded commodity after oil.

Small family farmers grow over half of the world's coffee.

In one year, a two cup-a-day coffee drinker will consume the annual harvest of 18 coffee trees.

108 million people in the United States drank coffee yesterday

Americans comsume 2.3 billion pounds of coffee each year, more than any other nation.

For every daily coffee drinker in the U.S., there is one worker elsewhere in the world who depends on coffee for his or her livelihood.