Its roots go all the way back to 850 CE , when coffee beans were first cultivated in the Arabian colony of Harar near present-day Ethiopia. Here’s a guide to the journey that a coffee bean takes to go from a simple root to your morning latte. The more you roast a coffee bean, the more the acidic compounds will break down. Once coffee beans are roasted, it’s best to give them a little break before diving straight into preparation. Bags of imported coffee beans from various countries around the world on display in a supermarket in Queens, New York.