Three to four years after the coffee is planted, sweetly smelling flowers grow in clusters in the axils of the coffee leaves. Fruit is produced only in the new tissue. The Coffea Arabica coffee plant is self-pollinating, whereas the Robusta coffee plant depends on cross pollination.

About 6-8 weeks after each coffee flower is fertilized, cell division occurs and the coffee fruit remains as a pin head for a period that is dependent upon the climate. The ovaries will then develop into drupes in a rapid growth period that takes about 15 weeks after flowering. During this time the integument takes on the shape of the final coffee bean. After the rapid growth period the integument and parchment are fully grown and will not increase in size.

The endosperm remains small until about 12 weeks after flowering. At this time it will suppress, consume, and replace the integument. The remnants of the integument are what make up the silverskin. The endosperm will have completely filled the cavity made by the integument nineteen weeks after flowing. The endosperm is now white and moist, but will gain dry matter during the next several months.

During this time the endosperm attracts more than seventy percent of the total photsynthesates produced by the tree. The mesocarps will expand to form the sweet pulp that surrounds the coffee bean. The coffee cherry will change color from green to red about thirty to thirty-five weeks after flowing.

Click here to see a video of the development of the coffee bean from www.coffeeresearch.org.

Information Source: Coffee Research

The Plant
The Plant Overview | Arabica vs. Robusta | Arabica Coffee | Robusta Coffee
Arabica Varietals | Growing Coffee at Home