Coffee (Coffea arabica)

What a great photo of how the beans grow. Are they ripe?

It's almost ripe. IT starts green, turns red and when it's ripe to pluck, it begins to yellow.

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.

But worth every bit of it, isn't it, Walter? We don't brew it at home but we get it done when the quantity is sufficient.

Right you are, Dinu. Let me add that the reddish tint in the image is misleading. The leaves are quite green and the flowers snowy white. FYI, I have also grown mango, papaya (pawpaw) and banana here in San Diego, so you can see that our climate is mild and sub-tropical, altho rather dry. Hibiscus, bougainvillea, jacaranda and other tropical trees abound. Cheers! WalterT Next day. I reimaged the photo using corrected white balance & the color is more accurate. I don't know where the image will show up....

This message was edited Friday, Jun 25th 1:53 AM

Walter, we seem to be in near similar climatic conditions. The names you mention there are all found here. There is a mango tree in our property, banana, hib, bougan, jacaranda (not with me)....

Hi! Any info where to purchase beans (obviously for planting) or small plants to raise as houseplants?

contact:beaubleu@webtv.net

Dino, so glad I found you and Walter, I am fairly new to DG and was looking for postings from semi-tropical to tropical growers in my area or there abouts [apparantly your climate is similar]...
Started growing the fruit trees etc., about 12 yrs ago..unfortuately due to ill health 5 yrs ago had not been able to continue..I only restarted my plantings again this year...I live in San Diego County..El Cajon which is hotter/drier in the summertime and colder in the winter than San Diego..
great to see your postings too....marion b

Thanks Marion.

Great photos. We have about 200 trees, harvest, pulp and dry our own coffee....but let a friend parch it and roast it. Best in the world! When the trees bloom it is called Kona Snow...wonderfully fragrant! This is a great tree.....

Aloha

Yes indeed! Those who have it will know its true worth!