The coffee bean grows inside a fruit, called a cherry, on a tree. When the cherries are ripe, they turn red, and then are harvested. The farmer removes the skin & fruit, then puts the beans into a string bag and washes them. Then they are spread out in the sun to dry, and are taken inside at night or when it rains, because the value of the beans is directly proportional to the dryness thereof. When the beans are dry and shriveled, they loaded into large sacks and sold to the coffee buyers. The buyers then roast the beans, which is what causes them to swell up & look so nice. Then they are packaged & sold (or ground & packaged & sold).
My new friend gave me this instruction on coffee beans yesterday when she showed me around the gardens which belong to her mother, uncle, aunt, and herself.
She also taught me about banana trees. Did you know that each tree grows only one bunch of fruit and then it dies? And up from the stump grow multiple new shoots. Also, when the bananas are getting close to ripe, the farmers like to wrap the bunch in a bag (while it's still hanging on the tree) to cause them to grow larger.
She showed me avocado trees, guava trees, passionfruit trees (and I got to taste a bit of that!), mango trees, orange trees, pineapple plants, sweet potatoes & yams, beans & peas, corn, bok choy, peanuts, and more! It was very educational.
She also took me to see her yard & the outside of her house. It is round, and the walls are made of woven bamboo, and the roof is thatched. Her house is part of a community which is right next door to the collection of mission buildings where I am staying.
It was all very interesting, and I took lots of pictures, but you'll have to wait 'til later to see them! :)
2 comments:
Enjoy! Your garden here is under 2 feet of snow.
i bet all those fresh fruits and vegetables are delicious!
I watched a documentary the other day on growing coffee, so I actually knew what you were talking about as you told about that part.
love you, Jules!
Post a Comment