A coffee bean is a seed of the coffee plant, and is the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a cherry. Even though they are seeds, they are incorrectly referred to as 'beans' because of their resemblance to true beans., A coffee tree is covered with dark-green, waxy leaves growing opposite each other in pairs. 

Coffee cherries grow along the tree's branches.  It takes nearly a year for a cherry to mature after the flowering of the fragrant, white blossoms.  Because it grows in a continuous cycle, it is not unusual to see flowers, green fruit and ripe fruit simultaneously on a single tree.

The trees can live as long as 20 - 30 years and are capable of growing in a wide range of climates, as long as there is no harsh fluctuation in temperature. 

Optimally, they prefer a rich soil and mild temperatures, with frequent rain and shaded sun. 

Coffee is the world’s most widely traded tropical agricultural commodity, accounting for exports worth an estimated US$ 15.4 billion in 2009/10, when some 93.4 million bags were shipped. Some 70 countries produce coffee, of which the Exporting Members of the International Coffee Organization are responsible for over 97 percent of world output.  In 2010 total coffee sector employment was estimated at about 26 million people in 52 producing countries (see ICC 105-5).

Consumption in the five leading importing countries (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States) bounced to about 37.3 million bags during the period January to September 2010, as compared to with 36.5 million bags for the same period the previous year.

While traditionally viewed as an export crop, coffee consumption in coffee producing countries in on the rise, increasing by 3.9% between 2004-2008. Many experts predict that Brazil will displace the United States as the single largest coffee consuming market in the world within the next few years, somewhere between 2014-16. Emerging markets (considered those outside of the EU, US, and Japan) are another source of growth, with consumption increasing 4.7% between 2004-2008.

The United States imported more than 21.5 million bags during the 2008/09 coffee year, accounting for more than one quarter of global coffee (un-roasted) imports, making it the world’s largest single buyer. Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam account for 21%, 19%, and 11% of those imports, respectively.