The cherry

The cherry of the coffee treeThe cherry is the name usually given to the fruit of the coffee tree. Botanists prefer to call it the "drupe". Green to begin with, the berries ripen over several months, becoming successively yellow, then red, garnet red, and finally almost black.

The ideal time for harvesting is when the berries are red. Inside the drupe, protected by the "mesocarp" or pulp, lie two small beans separated by a groove. These must be extracted and roasted before they can be used for consumption. Coffee is a member of the Rubiaceous family (Gardenias, Quinquina, Garence), it has a lot in common with Jasmine. The plant was first classified in 1753 and there are now about 60 different species, each having different varieties. However, there are two main types: Arabica and Robusta

http://www.justaboutcoffee.com/?file=coffeetree

HowStuffWorks "How Coffee Works"
science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/coffee4.htm‎
What we call a coffee bean is actually the seeds of a cherry-like fruit. Coffee trees produce berries, called coffee cherries, that turn bright red when they are ripe

coffee plants at different stages of their development. “When they are producing fruit, you must treat them with more respect, just as if they were a mother,” he said.

http://factsanddetails.com/world.php?itemid=1567&

coffee plant at the cherry-producing stage / at the fruit-producing stage

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Note added at 2 horas (2013-10-27 00:56:31 GMT)
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about kona coffee - Moki's Farm Pure Kona Coffee
mokisfarm.com/coffee.htm‎
Not all the coffee, known as “cherry” at this stage of its development, ripens at once. An individual tree continues to produce ripe cherry through out the fall and .