A coffee bean is actually the pit of a cherry. Before it ends up in your cup, it travels a long way, from a coffee plantation somewhere far away to your own kitchen. In seven steps, we take you along that journey. You can find every step reflected in the taste.

The journey in seven steps

1. Picking

Coffee grows on a bush. The fruits look like cherries and turn red when they are ripe. In specialty coffee, they are often picked by hand, so that only the ripe cherries are included.

2. Processing

After picking, the fruit pulp is removed from the bean. This can be done in different ways, such as washed, natural, or honey. The method determines much of the flavor. You can read how that works in natural, washed, anaerobic.

3. Drying

After that, the beans are dried, often in the sun, until they have about 10 to 12 percent moisture. This keeps them well preserved until the next step.

4. Shipping

The dry, green beans travel in bags to the roaster, often by ship. At that point, they do not yet smell or taste like the coffee you know.

5. Roasting

The roaster heats the green beans. They turn brown and develop aroma and flavor. This takes about 8 to 15 minutes, at temperatures around 200 degrees. How long and how hot determines the roast level.

6. Grinding

Ground coffee loses aroma faster than whole beans. Therefore, grind just before brewing. How fine you need to grind, you can read in How fine should I grind?

7. Brewing

Now water and coffee come together. You choose the method that suits you, such as a V60, an AeroPress, or an espresso machine. For example, read how to brew a V60 in five steps.

Where you can taste this

Every step leaves traces in your cup. The place where the coffee grows, the processing, and the roasting together determine whether you taste fruit, chocolate, or nuts. The roast date is on the bag, so you know when step 5 took place. How fresh coffee needs to be, you can read in coffee freshness and roast date explained.

Ready to taste?

• View our specialty coffee and choose by origin, flavor, and roast level.
• Taste multiple origins with a sample pack.
• Read more: How to read a coffee bag