OK, so now I have two dozen red coffee berries, and I want to get a cup of homegrown coffee (isn't it something that every gardener wants to be... self sufficient :)? )
What do I do next? Has anybody tried it?
I was thinking of roasting the berries in the oven, but for how long, and at what temperature?
This line http://www.thegardenhelper.com/coffee.html is among hundreds of results if you search google. Just type in "roast coffee berries" or some derivation of the phrase and I'm sure you will find lots of information. The site I listed above states how they are to be roasted, but I'm sure there're many more sites out there with specific information. Keep in mind that note about your house filling with that smoke smell for quite some time...
Thanks for the info. I'll get on it right away. If that smoke smells like coffee, I'll be in heaven for a couple of days :)
For me the difficulty was in removing the fruit skins after drying them. That's best done before drying and roasting. It left a strange, fruity taste not removing them.
The fruit needs to be squeezed off of the seed. The seed is then dried and the parchment removed from the green coffee (about two weeks of drying). Then the beans can be roasted.
Over low heat on the stove top is the easiest way to do it. They should be roasted till they are shiny (oils expressed).
Two dozen coffee cherries will make about one large cup of coffee.
The coffee cherry or fruit, that is removed from the coffee beans, can be dried and made into a tea. It has a pleasant sweet flavor.
Do you mean I can have a cup of coffee AND a cup of tea from the same berries by using the dried flesh for tea? It's like I can have my cake and eat it too!!
Coffee can be a very successful greenhouse crop. How much space do you have? To be self sufficient with coffee is very time and space consuming. It is very enjoyable to make homemade coffee though. And that smell goes away too soon!
The Tea plant, Camellia sinensis is also easy to cultivate, and may make more product for the space.
Metrosideros, I am envious! I would love to be self sufficient with coffee, but it is only a dream in the Mid Atlantic states. We still have a foot of snow from two weeks ago, and more in the forecast! But I remember seing a coffee tree at the Longwood Gardens conservatory and loving the perfume of those flowers.
I am determined to drink coffee from my own tree, even if it tastes terrible.
I have a Camelia Japonica in bloom right now, but of course that is not what is used for tea.
That must be wonderful to be able to grow anything on your islands rich volcanic soil and that great climate!
I tried tea years ago; I believe it was killed by phytophera.
