Chapter 1
The secret life of the coffee bush
Chapter 2
Bizarre bans and historical hysterics
Chapter 3
Animal assistants and ecological allies
Chapter 4
From bean to brain
Ch 1 · The secret life of the coffee bush
futura The woody evergreen coffee shrub produces red or yellow cherries containing two seeds, which we now roast and brew as beans.
futura Self-pollinating Coffee Plants
I can grow my seeds alone, but I have a clever trick: My caffeinated blossoms keep the bees returning quick!
futura Dropped leaves also poison the surrounding soil to prevent rival plants from growing.
Fun Fact
Coffee plant height: Wild coffee plants can grow up to 30 feet tall, but farmers prune them to around 6 feet to make harvesting the cherries easier.
Glossary
coffee cherry (noun)
The fleshy red fruit of the coffee plant, which typically contains two seeds. Yemenis traditionally brew the dried husks of this fruit with spices to make a tea called qishr.
The fleshy red fruit of the coffee plant, which typically contains two seeds. Yemenis traditionally brew the dried husks of this fruit with spices to make a tea called qishr.
Quiz
Before people learned to brew coffee as a drink, how did early humans in Ethiopia consume coffee cherries?
Quiz
What did the monk in the Ethiopian legend do when Kaldi first brought him the mysterious coffee berries?
Quiz
According to historical legend, which animal is credited with first discovering the stimulating effects of the coffee plant?
Quiz
Why is the Robusta coffee plant generally much easier to grow than the delicate Arabica plant?