PlantFiles Pictures: Coffee (Coffea arabica), 1 by WalterT

WalterT wrote:
Coffee grown in my garden in San Diego. Closely related to gardenias, the flower is small, single and fragrant and lasts from one day to the next. The fruit is like a small plum, sweet and juicy when ripe and quite delicious. It turns from green to red to burgundy when ripe. The seeds are in pairs and the hard outer shell shd be removed before planting. Tropical, so keep warm and moist. Takes up to a month to sprout. I have taken them from the tree to the cup in one day, but it is a lot of work to prepare enough "beans" for even one good cup of coffee. I roasted them in a skillet, ground them in a blender and boiled and strained the coffee into a mug with sugar to taste. Delicious, but too much trouble......
WalterT. 6-23-2004.