Although I have been drinking coffee all my life this is the first time I’d seen the fruit responsible for my addiction, Coffea arabica

To my surprise the coffee fruit tasted sweet, almost like dates . There was not much flesh though with the two beans halves inside taking up most of the volume.

I chewed through the raw beans but they tasted nothing like the coffee I have come to enjoy which really highlighted the role roasting has on coffee flavor.

I’m not sure I can say I got a caffeine hit from the raw fruit but I did experience a buzzy tingling effect in my mouth for some time after.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 886, Arabica Addiction’ 1/200s f/2.8 ISO100 125mm