Nature Field Guide
Coffee
- Spanish name
- Café
- Scientific name
- Coffea arabica
What Do Pico & Tati Think?
Pico: “The coffee bean starts inside a fruit!”
Tati: “Let's find the cherry before we think about the bean.”
Species overview
About the Coffee
Coffee is a shrub or small tree with shiny leaves and small fruits called cherries. The familiar coffee beans are seeds inside those fruits; they become brown during roasting.
Costa Rica's Arabica coffee connects farms, mountain landscapes and family livelihoods. This card is about the living plant and the steps from cherry to bean, rather than a drink for children.
Identification
Key Features of the Coffee
Glossy leaves arranged in pairs
Small fruits clustered along branches
Ripe cherries are often red, though some varieties ripen yellow
Small white flowers when flowering
Habitat & range
Cultivated farms in several Costa Rican coffee zones, including the Central and Western Valleys, Los Santos, Turrialba, Orosi, Tres Rios, Guanacaste and Brunca. ICAFE also documents production in San Carlos and Sarapiqui, mapped here to Northern Plains. Coffee requires suitable elevation and local growing conditions; a regional tag does not mean all climates within that region are suitable.
Local observations
ICAFE identifies eight coffee-producing regions. These are translated into the site's broader Region tags: Central Valley, Central Highlands, Guanacaste and South Pacific. Coffee regions and website regions have different boundaries.
When to observe
Harvest timing varies by coffee region. Ask the farm which stage is visible: flowers, green cherries, ripe fruit or processing.
Conservation & care
Visit farms only with permission and follow the host's instructions. Stay clear of machinery, chemical applications and working areas. Do not pick or taste plants without a responsible adult and the host's approval.
Observation activity
Sketch a branch with leaves and cherries. Ask a guide to show how a cherry differs from an unroasted bean.
Explore by location
Central Highlands · Central Valley · Guanacaste · Northern Plains · South Pacific