It's Said That Coffee Changes Lives
Passive voice — Present and Past Simple. The journey of coffee, from tropical farms to your cup at Café Colibri: grown, picked, washed, dried, roasted, brewed.
📖 Reading: Coffee — From Tree to Cup
Coffee is enjoyed by billions of people every day. But how is it made?
Coffee is grown primarily in tropical regions — Brazil, Ethiopia, Colombia, and Vietnam are among the largest producers. The coffee cherries are picked by hand or by machine, depending on the farm.
Once picked, the fruit is removed from the bean. The beans are washed, dried, and sorted. Defective beans are discarded.
The dried beans are then shipped to roasting facilities around the world. The beans are roasted at high temperatures — this is where the distinctive flavour is developed.
Roasted beans are ground, packaged, and sold to cafés and supermarkets. The ground coffee is brewed using a variety of methods: espresso machines, filter drippers, French presses.
"Every cup of coffee that is served at Café Colibri," Leo tells his customers, "represents a journey of thousands of kilometres."
"And it is made with love," adds Ana.
"That," says Leo, "is not a step that can be automated."
🔑 Vocabulary Box
Eight key words from this lesson.
| Word | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| primarily | For the most part; mainly | adv. — Coffee is grown primarily in tropical regions. |
| defective | Having a fault; not working correctly | adj. — Defective beans are discarded. |
| discard | To throw away something that is no longer useful | v. — Defective beans are discarded. |
| roast | To cook something using dry heat at high temperature | v. — The beans are roasted at high temperatures. |
| brew | To make coffee or tea by soaking in hot water | v. — The coffee is brewed using various methods. |
| automate | To make a process work automatically without human involvement | v. — That step can't be automated. |
| facility | A building or place where an industrial process happens | n. — Beans are shipped to roasting facilities. |
| distinctive | Characteristic and easy to recognise | adj. — The distinctive flavour is developed during roasting. |
📚 Key Verbs & Structures in This Lesson | |
is/are + past participle | Coffee is grown in Brazil. / The beans are roasted. |
was/were + past participle | The café was opened last year. / It was designed by Maya. |
is/are + being + past participle | The beans are being sorted right now. |
can be / must be + past participle | That step can't be automated. |
📚 Grammar Focus
📚 Passive Voice — Form | |
Present Simple | is/are + past participle: Coffee is grown in Brazil. |
Past Simple | was/were + past participle: The café was opened last year. |
With agent | The beans are roasted by specialist companies. |
Without agent | The beans are roasted at high temperatures. (agent unknown/unimportant) |
Negative | It is not sold here. / The beans weren't washed properly. |
When to Use the Passive
📚 When to Use the Passive | |
Focus on action/result | Coffee is grown in Brazil. (not who grows it) |
Agent unknown | My phone was stolen. (we don't know who) |
Formal/impersonal tone | It is said that coffee improves focus. |
Processes and instructions | The beans are dried and sorted. |
Active vs. Passive
📚 Active vs. Passive | |
Active | Farmers pick the coffee cherries by hand. |
Passive | The coffee cherries are picked by hand. |
Active | Maya designed the café logo. |
Passive | The café logo was designed by Maya. |
🎭 Dialogue: How Is It Made?
A customer asks Leo about the coffee. He walks them through the journey from Ethiopian farm to Toronto cup.
Leo, how is this coffee made? It tastes incredible.
These are Ethiopian single-origin beans. They're picked by hand and washed naturally.
Washed naturally? What does that mean?
The fruit is dried around the bean before it's removed. It gives a sweeter flavour.
And where are the beans roasted?
They're roasted by a specialist company here in Toronto. The roast was developed specifically for us.
So this coffee was designed just for this café?
Exactly. Every cup that's served here is unique.
Practice Exercises
3 questionsNew exercises to reinforce what you learned. Different from the lesson material.
Where is coffee primarily grown?
What happens to defective beans?
Where is the distinctive flavour of coffee developed?
Practice Exercises
3 questionsNew exercises to reinforce what you learned. Different from the lesson material.
Rewrite as Passive: 'Farmers grow coffee in tropical regions.'
Rewrite as Passive: 'Workers pick the cherries by hand.'
Rewrite as Passive: 'They roast the beans at high temperatures.'
🎭 Now It's Your Turn — Role Play
Practice with a partner. Use the dialogue as a model and extend it.
- Student A: Choose a product (chocolate, bread, paper, a smartphone). Explain how it is made using the Passive.
- Student B: Ask questions: Where is it grown / made? How is it processed? What is it used for?
- Use at least 6 Passive structures. Include: is/are made, was/were produced, can be used, is sold.