The Bean

Coffee beans are the seeds of the coffee "cherry"; two seeds normally grow within each cherry. On the tree, the beans are covered by the silverskin (a vestigial remainder of the fruit's development, also called the spermoderm). The silverskin is covered by a parchment skin (the endocarp), which is covered by a slimy layer (the parenchyma), surrounded by a thin layer of pulp (the mesocarp), all covered by an outer skin (the exocarp). These layers must be removed prior to roasting, though some silverskin often remains attached.