subject: From Coffee Beans to Coffee Powder [print this page] Have you ever stopped to think where coffee comes from or what it looks like before it gets to the store? You might be surprised to know that coffee comes in the form of green coffee beans and they grow on the coffee plant. From the coffee plant fields, these beans are collected and sent to a different location to be roasted and crushed. Then it finally looks like what you buy at your local market. Here are the steps that a coffee bean goes through to get to the store: The beans are picked by hand by laborers who most often get paid by the basket. The beans have a fruity flesh on them and this needs to be removed right away. So the beans are soaked and then the flesh is removed mechanically. After the flesh has been removed, the coffee bean is cleaned with water to remove any last pieces of fruity flesh that is sticking to it and also to get rid of any additional sugars. Then the beans are spread out over a large piece of concrete or rock to dry by a combination of sunlight and air. Once they are dried out, the coffee beans are categorized by their color and size. If a bean is discolored or damaged in any way, it is discarded. Finally it is time for them to be roasted. The process of roasting coffee beans is important for developing that smell that we love in the morning. After roasting, the bean grows to nearly twice its original size and changes to a light cinnamon brown color. They will then start to crack. This final product is crushed and coffee powder is made.
