A coffee bean is a seed of the coffee plant, and is the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a cherry. Even though they are seeds, they are referred to as 'beans' because of their resemblance to true beans. The fruits - coffee cherries or coffee berries - most commonly contain two stones with their flat sides together. 

​Proteins account for 8% to 12% of dried green coffee beans. A majority of the proteins are of the green beans, most of which are degraded to free amino acids during their maturation. 

 

Carbohydrates make up about 50% of the dry weight of green coffee beans. The carbohydrate fraction of green coffee is dominated by ATP (energy).