Coffee

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. They are seeds of coffee cherries that grow on trees in over 70 countries. Green unroasted coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Due to its caffeine content, coffee can have a stimulating effect in humans. Today, coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide.

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. They are seeds of coffee cherries that grow on trees in over 70 countries. Green unroasted coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Due to its caffeine content, coffee can have a stimulating effect in humans. Today, coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide.

Coffee berries, which contain the coffee seed, or “bean”, are produced by several species of small evergreen bush of the genus Coffea. The two most commonly grown are the highly regarded Coffea arabica, and the ‘robusta’ form of the hardier Coffea canephora. The latter is resistant to the devastating coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix). Both are cultivated primarily in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor. They are then ground and brewed to create coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways.

An important export commodity, coffee was the top agricultural export for twelve countries in 2004, and it was the world’s seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value in 2005. Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Many studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and certain medical conditions; whether the overall effects of coffee are ultimately positive or negative has been widely disputed. The method of brewing coffee has been found to be important to its health effects.

Illustration of Coffea arabica plant and seeds

2007 Top twenty green coffee producers
Country – Tonnes – Bags thousands
Brazil – 2,249,010 – 36,070
Vietnam – 961,200 – 16,467
Colombia – 697,377 – 12,504
Indonesia – 676,475 – 7,751
Ethiopia – 325,800 – 4,906
India – 288,000 – 4,148
Mexico – 268,565 – 4,150
Guatemala – 252,000 – 4,100
Peru – 225,992 – 2,953
Honduras – 217,951 – 3,842
Côte d’Ivoire – 170,849 – 2,150
Uganda – 168,000 3,250
Costa Rica – 124,055 – 1,791
Philippines – 97,877 – 431
El Salvador – 95,456 – 1,626
Nicaragua – 90,909 – 1,700
Papua New Guinea – 75,400 – 968
Venezuela – 70,311 – 897
Madagascar – 62,000 -604
Thailand – 55,660 – 653
World – 7,742,675 – 117,319

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee