Coffee Plant Garden Nursery Landscaping Guide

Coffee Plant For A Premium Quality Coffee

By Joel F Morningstar

Coffee plant is popularly grown all around the world. It is grown in countries in the Middle East, Africa, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Not many people know what a coffee plant looks like. All the buyer sees when they buy their regular coffee from the store, is the end product.

A lot of people would not know or have seen a coffee plant even if they tripped over it on their next holiday to the Caribbean.

Do you know what the coffee plant looks like? Do you imagine coffee beans bristling off the branches? Just how does it end up as the tasty beverage we all love? The story of the coffee plant is interesting indeed.

Origins in Africa

The coffee plant originated in Africa’s tropical forests. Some say the first coffee drinker was an Ethiopian goat herder, who upon noticing his herds’ frisky behavior following consumption of the coffee berries, decided to try some for himself. The rest is history.

Although there are about 25 species of the genus Coffea, only two are grown commercially and destined for our coffee cups. These two are the Arabica and Robusta coffee plants.

Of the other species, some are available as indoor plants, more as a conversation piece than anything else.

Arabica Coffee Plant

The Arabica coffee plant grows in a tree-like fashion, with a single trunk, with branches growing outward from the central trunk. The smaller of the two plants, the Arabica produces a superior bean, richer in flavor and complexity of taste.

Robusta Coffee Plant

The Robusta coffee plant is more shrub-like in its appearance, with many minor trunks. The beans of the Robusta coffee plant lack the fine complex taste of the Arabica.

While the Robusta coffee bean contains more caffeine, it tends to have bitter flavor notes which are generally undesirable.

If left unchecked, coffee plants grow well over 30 feet high. To enable manageable harvesting, commercial growers prune the plants to a height of just eight to fifteen feet.

Large, Dark Green Leaves

Coffee plants, grown in ideal conditions, have large, dark green leaves, with a waxy surface, about four to six inches long and about half as wide. The flowers are white, fragrant and are produced in thick clusters along the branches.

It takes more than eight months from flowering to produce a ripe coffee “cherry” suitable for harvest. The cherries usually contain two beans.

Bright Red Hue

The cherry is ripe for picking when the cherry attains a bright red hue. Coffee beans do not ripen all at once, so great attention and several harvests are required to pick one tree’s bounty at a state of perfection. This accounts, in great part,for the high cost of the finished product.

This may be the reason why you don’t see many coffee plants growing in the suburban backyard. They are difficult to grow and maintain and then to get the coffee beans to the stage where you can place them in a coffee grinder for your morning coffee, requires quite a bit of effort.

You may find all the effort was not really worth it, as the whole bean coffee you bought from the store tastes so much better.

Leave it to the experts, who have hundreds of years experience in growing their coffee plants and making premium quality coffee beans from their best range of coffee plant.

About the Author:
Joel F Morningstar has written a number of articles on gardening including Miniature Fruit Trees, Pepper Plant, Stone Walkway, Lawn Swing, Backyard Landscaping, Front Yard Landscape, Fast Growing Trees, Big Backyard, Decorate A House, Deck Ideas, Asphalt Paving, Swing Set Backyard, Backyard Fountain, Home Decor Furnishings, Outdoor Decor, Patio Garden, Furniture, Lawn And Garden, Design Landscaping, Lawn Care, The Landscape, The Lawn, Lawn Garden.
Keep a lookout for more of his articles on this website.

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