A coffee bean is familiar to all of us in appearance and smell. But do you understand what the bean—if it even is a bean—really is? Are coffee beans considered to be nuts or legumes? Even some of the most ardent coffee drinkers are unaware of the correct classification of coffee, but we’re here to clear things up.
No, coffee is not a legume. The beans we call coffee are not legumes, despite what we call them. Since we actually obtain coffee from red cherry fruit, it is clearly not a legume. Coffee beans are the seeds of the cherry fruit from a coffee tree, neither of which are nuts or fruits.
What’s A Legume?
A member of the Fabaceae family of plants is said to be a legume.
Pulses are the dry grains produced by a plant called a legume. They are typically grown for both human and animal consumption.
Usually, a pod contains the plant’s fruit or seed. This is a hallmark of a legume; well-known examples include peas, beans, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, peanuts, tamarind, clover, lupins, cowpea, and more.
Nothing like that exists in a coffee bean. It appears as a seed inside a fruit rather than growing inside a pod. A rude shock to many novice coffee drinkers may be that the coffee bean also grows on trees.
We refer to it as the coffee bean, which causes confusion. But unlike the Adzuki or kidney bean, it is not a bean.
The Arabica and Robusta beans are the two most widely consumed coffee beans. Both of these bean varieties do not even remotely resemble legumes and grow on specific types of coffee trees.
Simply put, not all seeds are beans, but all beans are seeds.
What Exactly Is A Coffee Bean Then?
Is Coffee Bean A Nut?
Something with a tough shell and a seed inside is referred to as a nut.
Typically, we crack the tough outer shell and remove the seed, which we refer to as the nut. Nuts do not split once they have reached maturity, in contrast to legumes. To crack open the hard outer shell, you will need to use force (or a nutcracker).
Hazelnuts, pecans, and acorns are some well-known nuts.
Is Coffee Bean A Fruit?
The coffee plant or tree’s fruits are what make coffee. But that doesn’t make a coffee bean a fruit.
Coffee beans are present inside the fruits. Coffee beans are nothing more than the fruit’s seeds.
Despite the fact that the fruits are edible, we typically discard them after collecting the seeds because in this case, the coffee beans are the most valuable commodity.
When it is ripe, the part of the coffee fruit that holds the seeds turns red. In some cases, depending on a number of variables, varieties even turn yellow or purple.
Since the coffee bean has eaten the majority of the fruit, there isn’t much fruit left in this fruit. Even if you wanted to eat a coffee fruit, there wouldn’t be much left over due to the high bean-to-fruit ratio.
Is Coffee A Vegetable?
A coffee bean’s status as a vegetable only serves to further complicate matters.
Given that we refer to coffee seeds as beans and that other beans, such as lima beans and green beans, fall under the category of vegetables, coffee beans ought to fall under this category as well, right?
The answer, of course, is no, and this is the simplest no we can give without going into great detail.
Simply put, coffee beans aren’t plants. Only one thing it is: a fruit seed.
Is Coffee Bean A Berry?
No, a coffee bean is not a berry. A berry is a fleshy fruit that is produced without a pit in the middle.
Bananas, cucumbers, and eggplants are all wonderful examples of berries. Grapes and tomatoes come to mind as examples that are simpler to recall.
Coffee could be mistaken for a berry because small cherries-like fruits are frequently referred to as berries in everyday speech. But things actually work out differently.
Coffee Bean – What Is It?
While it’s possible to assume that a coffee bean is a nut, a fruit, a berry, a vegetable, or even a legume, the truth is far from that.
A coffee bean is a fruit seed.
Coffea Arabica and Coffea canephora are the two varieties of coffee plants. While the latter provides us with Arabica beans, the former provides us with Robusta beans.
The coffee plantation, which has its roots in Ethiopia, has spread to numerous other locations worldwide. Much more information is provided in the Coffee Belt post.
The height of coffee shrubs or trees can reach 5 meters. There are two pits in each coffee berry. A single pit only appears 5% to 10% of the time, which is very rare. The name for them is peaberries.
What Is A Seed?
Any organic structure that, with proper care, can develop into a new plant is called a seed. So, if you take good care of it, you could plant a single coffee bean (not roasted, of course) and grow it into a whole coffee tree in your garden.
It’s important to note that beans, which are members of the legume family, can also function as the bean plant’s seed. In actuality, all beans are seeds. This is just not the case with coffee “beans,” which are seeds but not true beans or legumes.
How Many Steps Does It Take To Harvest Coffee Beans?
It takes a long time to separate the roasted coffee beans from the cherries.
- Plant the coffee trees
- Harvest coffee cherries
- Process the cherries with a wet method
- Dry the beans
- Mill them to remove the endocarp and sort them
- Export them as green coffee
- Use taste tests to ensure the quality
- Roast and grind the beans
The majority of coffee drinkers purchase pre-roasted, ground coffee, but many also purchase green coffee that has already undergone milling and roasted at home in order to maintain freshness.
Conclusion: Seeds Of A Fruit
Many people are confused about what to believe because there are so many myths surrounding coffee.
This guide should have answered most of them and resolved many disagreements regarding coffee beans.
Do not forget that despite their name, beans are not legumes. The seed found in the coffee plant’s fruit is simply referred to as a “coffee bean.”