Coffee production years after planting for a coffee plant to produce coffee beans that are ripe enough to harvest. The plant eventually grows small white blossoms that drop and are replaced by green berries. These green berries will become a deep red color as they ripen. It takes about 9 months for the green cherries to reach their deepest red color. Because this kind of harvest is labor-intensive, and thus more costly, it is used primarily to harvest the finer arabica beans. The laborers who pick coffee by hand receive payment by the basketful. , payment per basket is between US$2.00 to
Coffee bean beans are a major cash crop and an important export product, counting for over 50% of some developing nations' foreign exchange earnings. According to popular legend, the coffee plant was discovered in Ethiopia by a goatherd named Kaldi. South America is now responsible for about 45% of the world's total coffee exports. Most of this coffee is grown in Brazil. The United States imports more coffee than any other nation. The per capita consumption of coffee in the United States in 2011 was 4.24 kg (9 lbs), and the value of coffee imported exceeded $8 billion. As of 2015, Americans