Coffee beans: raw or cooked?

Coffee beans are seeds from the coffee tree. They go through a series of processing and roasting processes to become the coffee we know as coffee. Before discussing raw beans and roasted beans, let's first understand the basic characteristics of coffee beans.

First of all, green beans refer to the seeds contained in the original state of the coffee fruit that has been harvested without any treatment or processing. These seeds are usually light yellow or dark green, and the surface is smooth without obvious deformation. In contrast, roasted beans refer to coffee beans that have matured and have been carefully handled and processed.

Secondly, in the entire growth cycle, it takes about 9 months from flower to fruit. When the fruit begins to turn red, it means they have entered the mature stage. At this time, they are picked and the outer peel, pulp and other impurities are removed to obtain green beans.

However, to transform these green beans into delicious, fragrant coffee, complex and delicate processing steps are required. One of the most important and influential steps is roasting. During the roasting process, the green beans are subjected to high temperatures, which will gradually evaporate the moisture inside them and produce chemical reactions. At the same time, the color of the beans will change from light yellow or light green to dark brown.

Coffee beans can present different tastes and flavors through different degrees of roasting. Light roasting usually retains more of the original coffee fruit's sourness and fresh taste; while medium to deep roasting produces more complex and rich aromas inside the coffee beans, and gives it a certain degree of bitterness or chocolate-like sweetness.

In summary, coffee beans are divided into raw beans and cooked beans. The former refers to those that have not been processed in any way, have a smooth appearance and are lighter in color; the latter is the finished product obtained through careful processing and high-temperature treatment, which is different from raw beans in appearance, aroma and taste. No matter which type of coffee beans we choose to brew our favorite drinks, we need to choose according to our personal taste and preferences.