It is necessary to Know different parts of the coffee cherry is important for understanding the stages of

coffee production and processing. The coffee fruit is often called a ‘coffee cherry’ and is comprised of
several layers: the green coffee bean, silver skin, parchment, pulp/mucilage[3], and skin. The layers
surrounding the bean provide protection, and as the coffee fruit matures, the mucilage softens which
helps to release the seed during pulping. The bean is the most valuable part of the coffee fruit because it
is the product sold to coffee buyers. A freshly harvested coffee cherry has as moisture content of
approximately 65% and the coffee bean has a 10-12% moisture content when exported as green coffee.

Figure 1: Anatomy of a coffee fruit [coffeelabs.com]

Pericap is including the three outer layers of the cherry: the skin, mucilage and parchment. The skin
(exocarp) is the outermost layer and is green due to chloroplast found within the cells. As the cherry
matures, the skin will turn red or yellow depending on the coffee variety. Mucilage: The mucilage layer is
the fruit or pulp of the coffee cherry. As the coffee cherry ripens, enzymes break down the pectic chains
into sugar and pectin. This part is removed during the wet processing method but left intact in the dry
processing method. Parchment: This is the innermost layer that forms a hull around the coffee bean. It is
made of thick fibrous cells that harden as the coffee fruit matures.

Coffee seed or bean includes the silver skin, endosperm and an embryo. The silver skin is the outermost
layer around the seed. Some of the silver skin remains on the bean before roasting but comes off during
coffee roasting as chaff. The skin can be polished off the seed but this can diminish the flavor. A large
amount of skin on milled coffee can indicate cherries picked before ripeness. The endosperm is the main
tissue of the seed that contains varieties of compounds, including caffeine. The endosperm’s content is
an important factor since its properties greatly affect the flavor and aroma of coffee.

During the initial stages of washed processing, the skin, pulp, and mucilage are removed to leave the
coffee bean surrounded by a silver skin and parchment layer. This is called parchment coffee and is
carefully dried, stored, and transported to the dry mill for milling.

History of coffee

In a commonly repeated legend, Kaldi, a 9th-century Ethiopian goatherd, first observed the

coffee plant after seeing his flock energized by chewing on the plant.[8] From Ethiopia, coffee
could have been introduced to Yemen via trade across the Red Sea. [14] One account credits
Muhammad Ibn Sa'd for bringing the beverage to Aden from the African coast.[15] Other early
accounts say Ali ben Omar of the Shadhili Sufi order was the first to introduce coffee to Arabia.
Coffee was first exported from Ethiopia to Yemen by Somali merchants from Berbera and Zeila in
modern-day Somaliland, which was procured from Harar and the Abyssinian interior. According to
Captain Haines, who was the colonial administrator of Aden (1839–1854), Mocha historically
imported up to two-thirds of their coffee from Berbera-based merchants before the coffee trade of
Mocha was captured by British-controlled Aden in the 19th century. Thereafter, much of the
Ethiopian coffee was exported to Aden via Berbera. [17]
By the 16th century, coffee had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia, Turkey, and North
Africa.[18] The first coffee seeds were smuggled out of the Middle East by Sufi Baba Budan from
Yemen to India during the time. Before then, all exported coffee was boiled or otherwise sterilized.
Portraits of Baba Budan depict him as having smuggled seven coffee seeds by strapping them to his
chest. The first plants grown from these smuggled seeds were planted in Mysore.
Coffee had spread to Italy by 1600, and then to the rest of Europe, Indonesia, and the Americas.[19]

The two main species commercially cultivated are Coffea canephora (predominantly a form known
as 'robusta') and C. arabica.[41] C. arabica, the most highly regarded species, is native to the
southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and the Boma Plateau in southeastern Sudan and Mount
Marsabit in northern Kenya.[42] C. canephora is native to western and central Subsaharan Africa,
from Guinea to Uganda and southern Sudan.[43] Less popular species
are C. liberica, C. stenophylla, C. mauritiana, and C. racemosa. [W]

Coffee Processing