Coffee is a tropical tree that grows between the latitudes of 25°N and 25°S.

The fruit of the tree, referred to as the coffee cherry, usually contains two beans. The cherry pulp surrounding the bean is removed either by dry processing (where the cherry is left in the sun and the dried pulp removed by a hulling machine) or by washing (where the outer layer of the cherry is first removed by a pulping machine and the remaining mucilage surrounding the bean is then removed by soaking in fermentation tanks for 24-36 hours).

The processed beans are bagged and exported as green coffee by traders such as the Neumann Kaffee Gruppe.

Around 20% of green beans are sold to manufacturers who extract soluble solids from the beans to produce instant coffee.

The majority of green beans are roasted and ground by companies in the consuming countries to produce the branded packs of roast coffee used by you to make the world’s favourite beverage.