Passive voice — all tenses — Unit 32, Pre-intermediate to Intermediate English
Vocabulary for describing processes and services where the action matters more than the doer.
Reading: From Bean to Cup — How Our Coffee is Made
Every cup of coffee you enjoy at our café is the result of a long and careful journey. Our beans **have been grown** at high altitudes in Colombia for more than fifty years. The region **was discovered** by our founder in the nineteen seventies when he was travelling across South America. Since then, a partnership **has been established** with local farming families who harvest the crop by hand each autumn.
After harvesting, the beans **are sorted** carefully by hand to remove any damaged or unripe ones. Only the finest quality beans **are selected** for export. They **are then packed** in sealed sacks and **are shipped** to our roasting facility in Edinburgh, where they **will be received** within three weeks of leaving the farm.
At the roastery, the beans **are roasted** at a precise temperature for exactly twelve minutes. This process **was developed** by our head roaster after years of careful experimentation. Once cooled, the beans **are ground** to the correct coarseness for each brewing method. Every single batch **is tested** by trained tasters before it leaves the building.
The finished coffee **is packaged** in sealed bags fitted with a one-way valve, which allows gas to escape without letting air in. Each bag **is labelled** clearly with the origin, roast date, and flavour notes. Orders **are processed** the same day they **are received**, and your coffee **will be dispatched** within twenty-four hours of your purchase.
Our quality processes **have been refined** over many decades of learning and improvement. Every step — from the moment the seed **is planted** in Colombian soil to the moment the espresso **is served** in your cup — **is carried out** with great care and dedication. We believe that excellent coffee **is made** not by chance but by consistent attention to detail at every single stage of production.
**What is not done**
We are often asked why our prices are higher than supermarket coffee, so it is worth saying what **is avoided** here.
Our beans **are never blended** with cheaper crops after roasting, a practice that **is used** widely across the industry and **is not required** to be declared on the packet. Nothing **is roasted** more than three weeks before it **is sold**. Bags that **have not been sold** within that period **are donated** to two local shelters rather than being kept on the shelf.
**One change we have made**
Until last year the farms **were paid** on delivery. Since March they **have been paid** in two parts, with the first payment made before the harvest begins. This **was requested** by the growers themselves, because the cost of the harvest **is carried** by the farm months before any money arrives.
It costs us nothing. It **had simply never been asked** about, which is the more uncomfortable half of the story.
Vocabulary from this unit
| Word / phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| process | a series of steps | The refund process takes three days. |
| deliver | bring to a place | Meals are delivered to the room. |
| prepare | get ready | Breakfast is prepared early. |
| complete | finish | The order has been completed. |
| handle | deal with | Complaints are handled by the manager. |
| process (verb) | deal with officially | Your refund will be processed on Friday. |
| Word / phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| serve | give food/drink | Breakfast is served at seven. |
| clean | make clean | Rooms are cleaned every morning. |
| book | reserve | The table was booked online. |
| cancel | stop an arrangement | The meeting was cancelled. |
| send | cause to go | The CV will be sent tomorrow. |
| by (agent) | who does the action | It was written by the manager. |
This is the free sample from this unit. The full unit adds 1 more reading passage, comprehension questions with an answer key, the listening exercises, flashcards for the vocabulary above, and a speaking task — with your progress tracked so the next unit unlocks when you are ready for it.
Common questions
What level is this unit?
Pre-intermediate to Intermediate — roughly CEFR A2–B1. If you are not sure of your level, the course places you with a short diagnostic before you start rather than making you guess.
Do I need to pay to use this?
The reading passage and vocabulary on this page are free to read. The rest of the unit — the remaining passages, the exercises, the listening, the answer key and the progress tracking — is part of the paid General English course.
Is this British or American English?
British English spelling and vocabulary, which is what most learners in Azerbaijan are taught and what IELTS expects, though both are accepted in the exam.