The coffee plant is an evergreen
shrub belonging to the Rubiaceae family
of the genus Coffea, with shiny, dark-green,
pointed leaves and white blossoms that have an intense perfume reminiscent of jasmine.
The green, cherry-shaped fruit turn red when they have fully ripened. There are two beans inside every drupe; these are flat on the interior side where the beans touch, have a groove and convex exteriors. In some cases, when the fruit grows at the end of the branch, only a single round bean, called a peaberry or caracoli, develops inside the drupe.