Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans, which are the seeds of berries from the Coffea plant. The genus Coffea is native to tropical Africa, and Madagascar, the Comoros, Mauritius, and Réunion in the Indian Ocean. The plant was exported from Africa to countries around the world and coffee plants are now cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in the equatorial regions of the Americas, Southeast Asia, India, and Africa. The two most commonly grown coffee species are Coffea canephora (predominantly a form known as 'robusta') and Coffea arabica. Coffee plants are cultivated in rows several meters wide, with plantings typically spaced 1.5 to 2 m (5 to 6 ft) apart. The plants grow to a height of 2–3 m (6–10 ft) and produce white flowers. The flowers bloom in axillary clusters and yield a fruit known as coffee berry, which is about the size of a pea. The coffee berry contains the coffee bean, which is surrounded by a thin layer of parchment. The bean is then surrounded by a thin layer of silverskin.The coffee plant is a woody perennial of the genus Coffea, family Rubiaceae. It grows as a bush or tree and can reach a height of 10 m (33 ft). The leaves are opposite, simple, evergreen, and lanceolate, with a length of 7–25 cm (2.8–9.8 in) and a width of 3–15 cm (1.2–5.9 in). The flowers are white, with a diameter of 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in). The fruit is called coffee berry, which is about the size of a pea. The coffee berry contains the coffee bean, which is surrounded by a thin layer of parchment. The bean is then surrounded by a thin layer of silverskin.The coffee plant is thought to have originated in Ethiopia. It is unknown how coffee first spread to the Middle East and then to Europe. The first coffee house in Europe was opened in Venice in 1683. The first coffee house in England was opened in Oxford in 1650. Coffeehouses were initially banned in England, but they were eventually allowed to operate under certain conditions.