The Anatomy of a Coffee Cherry

The coffee cherry - an anatomy lesson...

I’ve mentioned in this newsletter that coffee beans aren’t technically beans but the seeds of a fruit, the coffee cherry.  The main reason I’ve referred to this is because the process by which the seed is released from the cherry itself can have a significant impact on the flavour of the roasted coffee.  I thought you might be interested in the anatomy of the coffee cherry and bean.
 
There are three outer layers of a coffee cherry:

• Exocarp – the outermost layer, this layer gives the coffee cherry its distinctive colouring, initially green and then turning to red as it ripens.  This colour change signals when to pick the cherries;
• Mesocarp – the layer of sweet and edible pulp just beneath the exocarp;
• Endocarp – this layer surrounds the coffee seed and the cells which make up this layer harden as the coffee bean matures.

• Silver skin – also called the spermoderm, this layer comes off as chaff when the coffee bean is roasted
• Endosperm – this layer is the largest component of the coffee seed and provides nutrients to the embryo within.  The endosperm is largely responsible for the flavour profile of the coffee bean;
• Embryo – the innermost layer of the coffee seed.