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The Coffee Berry and the Coffee Cherry
Coffee trees produces berries clustered along the branches of the coffee plant. The green berries turn into a bright red to almost purple when they are ripe, usually six to nine months after the blossoming. An easy way to tell if the cherry is ripe is to squeeze it between thumb and forefinger. If it is ripe, the seed will easily slide out of the cherry. When cherries are ripe, they must be harvested very quickly, because they become overripe and begin to ferment in a matter of just a few days.
There are four layers to the ripe fruit:
- The outer skin of a coffee cherry, also known as the penicarp or exocarp, is thick and bitter.
- The pulp or flesh surrounding the beans, the mesocarp, which is sweet.
- The parchement which protects the bean
- The silver skin a membrane that also protects the beans.
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