Coffee beans are first harvested by hand picking they are then washed and then soaked in water to ferment them. Depending on the taste that is sought, coffee beans can be picked as green coffee bean or the red coffee bean. The red coffee bean is more mature than the green. After the soaking and fermenting they are then dried and then the roasting can start. The roasting is also done in different ways depending on the strength and taste sought. A dark roast will produce very dark and full-bodied coffee. The beans will then pass through the coffee bean grinder, which can also produce different kinds of grind from fine to coarse. Different companies have different brand names for their coffees like Maxwell house coffee. It is also possible to buy whole bean coffee and to do the grinding yourself at home, which many connoisseurs of coffee prefer because they can get the freshest taste of coffee.

Coffee growing, processing and marketing is big business and some countries like Kenya, Ethiopia and Costa Rica are big producers. Costa Rica coffee is one of the best quality coffees around. Issues surrounding inadequate compensation for coffee farmers have led to the marketing of coffee through fair trade organization. Fair trade coffee is of the same quality as regularly marketed coffee if not more, except that it supports grass roots development and fair compensation for the coffee farmer. So next time you will buy coffee bean whichtch one you will choose?