Coffee beans have more uses than just being the ingredients in a good cup of Joe.
A coffee bean is the seed of the coffee plant, and contains a small amount of caffeine, which is why it is used in the production of coffee beverages.
Coffee plants actually have red and purple fruits attached to the plant, and the coffee bean is inside those fruits.
Once the beans are removed from the fruits, the fruits are usually used as either fertilizer, or just tossed in the trash.
Coffee plants are abundant in subtropical Africa and parts of Asia, and the beans are then shipped out across the globe to meet coffee demands and productions.
There are two main varieties of the coffee plant that are cultivated for their beans: coffea canephora and coffea arabica.
Some retailers sell coffee beans coated with chocolate, or other confectionaries, so the marketability of the coffee bean is more than just an ingredient in a beverage.
One aspect of the production of coffee beans that is important is that it takes approximately 140 liters of water to help grow the coffee beans needed for just one cup of coffee, so the issue of water use is one that potential coffee bean producers must take into consideration.
Coffee is generally available to consumers in caffeinated or decaffeinated form; the excess caffeine removed from coffee beans is usually sent to the pharmaceutical industry, probably to be used with caffeine products such as pills and other over-the-counter stimulants.
