Biology

The Coffea plant is native to subtropical Africa and southern Asia.^[23] It belongs to a genus of ten species of flowering plants of the family Rubiaceae. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree that may grow 5 meters tall when unpruned. The leaves are dark green and glossy, usually 100–150 milimeters long and 60 milimeters wide. It produces clusters of fragrant white flowers that bloom simultaneously. The fruit berry is oval, about 15 milimeters long,^[24] and green when immature, but ripens to yellow, then crimson, becoming black on drying. Each berry usually contains two seeds, but 5–10% of the berries^[25] have only one; these are called peaberries.^[26] Berries ripen in seven to nine months