About Coffee

The coffee plant, indigenous to Ethiopia, is grown in approximately 50 countries in the world that are located between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. There are two main varieties of coffee plants – Robusta and Arabica. The Arabica is a significantly higher quality variety than the Robusta, having better flavour attributes and lower caffeine levels. The coffee beans are extracted from the pulp of a cherry-like fruit grown on the coffee trees.

The best coffees are of the Arabica variety and are grown at very high altitudes in the shade of other trees located in the growing regions. For this reason, the coffee cherries are hand-picked by local farmers, not mechanically harvested like the beans grown at very low altitudes in deforested fields. Harvesting by hand, which is a labour intensive method, allows the farmers to only harvest the ripe fruit, leaving the unripe fruit time to fully develop. This results in a better tasting coffee in your cup.