How it's Made: coffee

Coffee starts as a seed that grows into a tropical shrub. Farmers harvest the ripe red fruit, called coffee cherries. They remove the fruit to get the green seeds inside, dry them, and roast them until brown. Finally, workers grind the roasted beans and brew them with hot water.

▶ Watch the video. coffee processing

1. Growing and Harvesting

Planting: Seeds go into the soil and grow into small trees.

Flowering: Trees grow white flowers.

Cherries: Green berries appear and turn bright red when ripe.

Picking: Workers pick the red cherries by hand or machine. 

Processing the Beans

Washing or Drying: The outer fruit is removed using water (wet method) or left to dry in the sun (dry method).
Milling: Machines remove any leftover dry skin or parchment layer to reveal clean green beans. 

Roasting: Heat turns green beans into brown, aromatic beans in a large roaster.

Grinding: Mills crush the solid beans into small grains.

Brewing: Hot water flows through the grounds to extract the rich flavor.