COFFEE SEED IS SPROUTING!

[applestar]

-- go back to the beginning of this thread -- you'll see

[applestar]

Found an interesting paper on coffee growth and fruit/berry development while looking for absolute minimum temp (it's going to be mid-40's tonight but I'm not ready to bring the plant inside)

This is the part that caught my eyes.

Ecophysiology of coffee growth and production
https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script= ... 7000400014

The slowed-down ripening process of coffee berries at higher elevations (lower air temperatures), or under shading, allows more time for complete bean filling (Vaast et al., 2006), yielding beans that are denser and far more intense in flavour than their neighbours grown at lower altitudes (or under full sunlight). The slower maturation process should therefore play a central role in determining high cup quality, possibly by guaranteeing the full manifestation of all biochemical steps required for the development of the beverage quality (Silva et al., 2005). Indeed, elevation, but not soil water availability (Silva et al., 2005), appears to have a significant effect on bean biochemical composition, with chlorogenic acid and fat concentrations increasing with increasing site elevation (Bertrand et al., 2006).

...Hopefully, since we're going into fall and winter, the slowed berry development will actually be good for them as long as they are not lost to too low temp. There are mentions about coffee harvest being lost to occasional frost in Brazil (not sure if that was in this paper though). I'm hoping this means they will NOT BE LOST as long as the temps remain above frost....

I have the coffee -along with some other tropicals- clustered outside the family room window. -- As long as we have the window open, they get wafted/blasted by the warmer indoor air that come out of the window, but of course it will be closed at night, so I did shroud the coffee with a floating cover... Hoping for the best. The forecast is even lower tomorrow night (Low 40's) so I'm going to have to do some serious plant moving tomorrow

[applestar]

I posted about coffee leaf tea the other day in the herbal tea thread, but realized I didn't mention it here --

Basically at this time of the year, I thin the interior leaves a little because of lower light levels indoors after bringing it inside. I have noticed it yellows and sheds those leaves the lights don't reach anyway. So now before they have chance to yellow, I clip off the green leaves and shoots growing upwards or crowding following typical pruning criteria. I dry them and crumble them for tea, or in this instance, scrunch up a fresh leaf and put whole in the mug. Very mildl level of caffein, or so I have read.

[Francesco Delvillani]

How much time does it need to ripen in "not tropical" region?

[applestar]

That's what I'll be finding out this year.

[applestar]

I wonder if these green coffee cherries are full size yet?
We are heading into colder temperatures of late fall and into winter -- outside, it will get down to negative single digit °F during the deep freeze ...while inside, the house temperature will also fall during the energy saving night thermostat setting -- so I suppose they will not ripen until spring, though I remember reading that in Brazil, coffee harvest occurs sometime around January....

[applestar]

...you know how some days, a little discovery in your (Winter indoor) garden just absolutely makes your day?

image.jpg (37.44 KiB) Viewed 21095 times

[imafan26]

Coffee cherries do not ripen all at once. It is why it is a labor intensive crop to grow. The cherries take months to mature so a lot of the farms hand pick the cherries as they ripen.
Congratulations by the way.

[applestar]

Two of these give slightly when held between thumb and forefinger.

[PunkRotten]

Really nice.

[applestar]

Thanks, @Punk!

I wish you could be in my kitchen right now. I took the dried coffee leaves, put them in the dehydrator to completely all the moisture out, then crumbled them and gently roasted in the toaster oven (350°F for 5 min at first, then in 3 min increments, stirring with a wooden spoon).

OMG! The aroma is WONDERFUL

They fragrance similar to freshly roasted Hoji-cha, and taste is somewhat similar, too -- a little bit earthy and astringent. I had orange peels in the dehydrator at the same time, so that might be part of the aromatic compounds

~~ yeah sorry, if I would sift my tea leaves before storing them, my tea would look less dusty-looking from the pulverized powdery bits

[j3707]

Very cool.. My daughter's coffee plant has some fruits on it now. We will roast them when the time comes. Should be fun. I also just repotted it. Hope we get an even bigger harvest next time!

How tall is your plant?

[applestar]

J3707 -- please please post your results when you have your (first?) taste of the home grown coffee. If you've done this before, I'd love to hear how you go about processing the cherries and roasting the "beans"

I probably have about 1/2 dozen cherries that are getting very red -- I tried to feel them today and maybe three of them have a slightly soft feel to them which might mean they are completely ripe. More that are orange-red, and others that are starting to blush along the branches. I remember at least three distinct flushes of bloom, so I imagine the cherries will just continue to ripen from here on, but I believe am seeing the 2nd flush cherrie starting to ripen now.

My tree/shrub suffered some cold damage on the tips of the topmost branches in the autumn when we had a sudden temperature dip that I wasn't ready for -- New tender leaves wilted and blackened even though I had it shrouded in a heavy garden fleece. So I trimmed off the tips -- maybe 3 inches.

The tree/shrub is currently 42 inches tall from soil level to the tip of uppermost leaf.

also --

It's spans 42 inches from the leaf tip to leaf tip of the longest bottom branches.
The trunk caliper at base is just a smidgen wider than 1 inch.

I also measured the pot while I was at it -- 13 inches inside diameter at the top and 11 inches tall.

[applestar]

[j3707]

That is a really nice looking plant. You have more cherries that we do.. I'll get a picture of ours up here...it's been sitting on a windowsill since it was sprouted so it's pretty two dimensional! It's too tall to sit on the windowsill any more. At this last repot, I put it on a little roll around platform, hopefully I can get it to fill out a little better now. I may even try heading it back a few inches.

Oh, this will be our second bean harvest and first attempt at roasting...the first harvest was only a couple beans, not enough for a decent cup o' joe.

[applestar]

Thanks!

I'm finding the coffee plant to have similar environmental requirements as the rest of the family. It likes being in the upper half thermal layer of the Family Room where we keep the temperature to suit our own comfort level. It's getting supplemental light that is no more than diffuse -- bright enough to read by -- but not needing the lights to be super close up near the foliage. The supplemental lights and sun/natural light from two nearby windows only cover 2/3 around the plant, so I rotate the container once or twice a week. The indoor humidity levels have been plummeting, so I try to thoroughly mist at least every other morning.

It started to lose some leaves -- maybe a dozen in a week -- but it's also growing out new buds and shoots, so I think it's just part of the natural cycle. Mostly larger leaves from interior of the branches. I put some of the Lady Patrol at the base of the coffee trunk, and they climb up to the top, but they don't seem to stay, so I assume there are no pests on it for them to eat. (Avo and Mango trees usually have a few that stay on the uppermost new leaves)

---

I took more pictures today

I left those first cherries ripening until they turned dull and started to shrivel. I was wondering if they would fall off, but they didn't. THREE whole cherries harvested (I guess that means 6 coffee beans... )

[applestar]

I found out the skin of these fruits slip right off

image.jpg (29 KiB) Viewed 20891 times

...mucilaginous juice was really sweet (yes, I licked my fingers ) and then after about 3-5 minutes, a spot on my tongue puckered up from an astringent/drying after taste. I think that's likely to be the undesirable flavor component that you are trying to eliminate by cleaning the seeds naked.

I might dehydrate these skins and see what they taste like brewed as "tea". Still trying to decide if I want to plant these seeds. If planting, I don't think I have to do anything else but to plant them within a month before they lose vitality.

I should be able to harvest more in the next batch to fully ripen, THEN I can ferment, dry, and roast those.....

[applestar]

Out of (overwhelming ) curiosity, I just measured out a coffee measure spoon of roasted beans, counted them, then ground them. 50 commercial beans for approximately level scoop, which when ground, made a slightly mounded scoop of ground coffee.

So I would realistically need at least 50 cherries for two scoops of coffee to brew a single cup....

[j3707]

Yikes. Well I might have enough for half a cup if all goes well with the current crop. I like your pictures!

[applestar]

I couldn't help it -- I sowed three of the "beans"/seeds today (yesterday).

[j3707]

Ha ha, that's great. I was just at Lowes and they had small arabica coffee plants for about 4 bucks. I was tempted to get one.

[Francesco Delvillani]

Get it

[applestar]

More coffee cherries - red ripe and slight give to touch ::)

There are more that are red but firm. I may pick them anyway, or maybe I'll wait a day or two....

...in the top right photo, I'm seeing new flowerbuds starting to develop

[applestar]

Remember this?

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 42#p375742

I found out the skin of these fruits slip right off

...mucilaginous juice was really sweet (yes, I licked my fingers ) and then after about 3-5 minutes, a spot on my tongue puckered up from an astringent/drying after taste. I think that's likely to be the undesirable flavor component that you are trying to eliminate by cleaning the seeds naked.

I might dehydrate these skins and see what they taste like brewed as "tea".

I tried tasting the newly harvested ripe cherries. These soft ones taste sweet -- there's minimal flesh, but a definite sweet layer between skin and hard seed shell that you could roll around on the tongue. About 5 minutes later, there's a sort of astringent puckering in the mouth but not unpleasant.

There's actually an entry for coffee cherry tea in wiki.

Coffee cherry tea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_cherry_tea

Coffee cherry tea

Coffee cherry tea is an herbal tea made from the dried berries (or "cherries") of the coffee plant. It is also known as cascara, from the Spanish cáscara, meaning "husk". It is different from cascara sagrada tea, a powerful plant-based laxative.

Coffee cherry tea is rarely produced for export, but is commonly drunk in some coffee-growing nations, notably Bolivia and, as the variant Qishr, in Yemen.

It is commonly consumed in Bolivia, where it is referred to as Sultana, and is made of sun-dried and lightly toasted coffee cherries. It may also be mixed with sticks of cinnamon. It is also called "the poor man's coffee", and "the coffee of the Army".[1]

Coffee cherries contain caffeine, as does the tea, though while the tea is popularly understood to have a high level of caffeine,[2] it actually only has about a quarter the caffeine levels of coffee.[3] The taste of coffee cherry tea is different from coffee, and has been described as somewhat sweet and cherry flavored, surprisingly pleasant.[4]


Brewing

Brewing guidelines are not standardized, but 20 grams per liter of water,[5] or approximately 5 grams per cup (8 qz, 240 ml)[4]is suggested. When the coffee cherry tea is ground and classified to loose tea industry standard size, one teaspoon per 6 ounces of water, steeped for 5 minutes are the standard brewing instructions.

Proper brewing yields a dark red tea; brew time guidelines range from 4 minutes[5] to 7 or 8 minutes.[4]

[Rose bloom]

That sounds so cool. I wish I had a coffee tree........

[applestar]

It IS a lot of fun! ...especially when there's white stuff on the ground outside again.

I decided I had enough dried "beans" to shell. When they have dried enough, the inside bean/seed shrinks and outer shell becomes brittle (think garlic clove). These are fascinating seeds -- they feel like tumbled pebbles. I can't imagine what possessed anyone to think they can be eaten or ground up to steep/brew into a beverage. (I think I'm going to go read up on history of coffee later... )


TL : Coffee cherries. I decided to pick them only after they start feeling rubbery on the outside with a slight give to pressure. Commercially harvested coffee, even though hand picked, appear to be often picked just blushed or even only partially red and mostly green. But "red ripe berries/cherrie" are considered premium. I came across what appears to be a video intended to educate coffee growers in Africa. I attached the video link at the end of this post FYI. ...and after all, THIS is the whole point of growing anything yourself -- that you can pick tree/bush/vine ripened fruits. I need all the advantage I can manage to overcome the inferior/non-optimum growing conditions.

TR : Shelled green coffee beans/seeds with some commercial roasted coffee beans for comparison. I was convinced that my little beans must be pitifully smaller than the commercial beans. In the linked video, it seemed like they were picking cherries around size of my thumb tip joint, while mine are about the size of my pinky finger tip joint. But looking at these, maybe they don't compare so badly? Definitely smaller, sure. Coffee beans are supposed to puff up when roasted so I will have to compare after roasting mine, too....

BL,BM,BR: The seed shells and dried seeds themselves are very hard. For my tiny batch, I used this mini Japanese mortar and pestle, but I've seen videos of somewhat larger batches being processed by quick pulsing a couple of times in an electric coffee grinder.

-----

ETA -- for sake of completeness and accurate information -- what I called "seed shell" is apparently called "parchment envelope (the endocarp)" and green dried coffee beans/seeds still in their parchment envelope are called "parchment coffee".

https://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/10-S ... eed-to-Cup

These beans, still inside the parchment envelope (the endocarp), can be sun-dried by spreading them on drying tables or floors, where they are turned regularly, or they can be machine-dried in large tumblers. The dried beans are known as parchment coffee, and are warehoused in jute or sisal bags until they are readied for export.

There was a TED talk in which the speaker said this "parchment coffee" is the best state in which to preserve the freshness of coffee because they are still living seeds, whereas they are "dead" after being roasted....

-----

Coffee : Picking & Drying ENGLISH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEZah9AaCao&sns=em

[applestar]

I decided to sow three more of the biggest (least dried) green coffee beans/seeds and went upstairs where I have the tub of three previously sown coffee seeds on a little heat mat.

I dug around one to see if there's any sign of germination... LOOK! Two of them have germinated. I can't tell with the third one, but decided not to dig and possibly damage its root if it has germinated too. These were harvested as soft ripe cherries on Jan. 20 and then sown on Jan 22 with seed shells partially or wholly removed.

Sowed the three new seeds. I think there's enough room.

[rainbowgardener]

What a great experiment! Everything is coming along! So how many coffee beans/cherries would it take to make one cup of coffee?

[j3707]

Great info applestar. I will make some cherry tea when mine ripen up.

[applestar]

Hahaha rainbowgardener, I actually already mentioned it on Page 4 of this long rambling novella thread

Out of (overwhelming ) curiosity, I just measured out a coffee measure spoon of roasted beans, counted them, then ground them. 50 commercial beans for approximately level scoop, which when ground, made a slightly mounded scoop of ground coffee.

So I would realistically need at least 50 cherries for two scoops of coffee to brew a single cup....

...I'm thinking that with my bitty coffee beans, it will take more like 60... Initially, I will most likely just blend with a relatively mild flavored medium or light roast beans while I experiment with roasting techniques and see if my beans will change the flavor. I might also try "cupping" with just smaller amounts to compare with commercial roasts.

- From what I'm reading, coffee can fall into alternate year bearing cycle. So IF this last year's is an example of "heavy" bearing, then I may not see as much this year.
- On the other hand, it looks like coffee cherry cluster are supposed to be MUCH fuller, so I should be able to get maybe double the harvest at a time If I take care of it properly. (It might also depend on if I can give this one another size up container container >> I'm thinking hypertufa ).
- I'm also reading about a drastic pruning technique that is supposed to promote heavier cropping, but to do this, I need at least one other shrub/tree, maybe three altogether, so they can be coppiced down one year to grow back vigorous new shoots, then bear fruits in subsequent years. (Do I think I have enough room in the house for THREE bearing size coffee plants? )
- BUT, what this tells me is I CAN significantly prune them and maintain some control over their size. <<< Coffee bonsai..... >>>

[applestar]

J3707, I was just researching for more info on coffee cherry tea yesterday

Cascara 'Tea': A Tasty Infusion Made From Coffee Waste : The Salt : NPR

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/201 ... ffee-waste


>Cascara is the Spanish word for the peel or skin of a fruit. Coffee is a fruit, though most people don't think of it that way. Like cacao, it's processed opposite most fruits: The skin and flesh are discarded, and just the seeds are dried, roasted, and ground to make the beverage many Americans drink daily.

>Batlle first used the skins of coffees processed as "naturals," which are dried whole, and then milled. This produced cascara comprised of fine flakes, similar to the tea in a tea bag. Then she began using the skins of coffees that are washed to remove the pulp before drying, as most coffee in Central America and Colombia is processed. This way, the cascara dries like a raisin, and, when brewed, plumps up to reveal the shape of the coffee cherry.

[applestar]

So far, I've harvested 29 coffee cherries/58 coffee beans (not including the three cherries/6 beans•seeds I planted), and I think I have 28 red but not quite ripe cherries on the tree and 60 green cherries left to ripen from the last flush.

...oh, and three new flower buds that are getting ready to open

[j3707]

Interesting!

Where I live, cascara tea will get you "up and running" but not because of the caffeine!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhamnus_purshiana

[applestar]

Ha! Another instance of different word-perceptions in different regions and maybe demonstrates need for REALLY good marketing research when launching a new product.


Still researching numbers, mostly out of curiosity -- I found this article. Good thing I'm mostly growing coffee for the fun of it....

How many coffee plants would I need to take care of my own consumption? - Quora

https://www.quora.com/How-many-coffee-p ... onsumption

Growing Coffee
Espresso
Agriculture
Coffee
How many coffee plants would I need to take care of my own consumption?
I drink 2-3 cups a day.
1 Answer
Peter Baskerville, Founded, owned and managed over 15 cafes and coffee shops and made over 100,0...

16 coffee trees are needed to supply the average American's yearly coffee drinking habit.
Here is the math:
The average American drinks 3.2 cups of coffee per day
This equates to 1,168 cups of coffee per year
{...}
Since the average coffee tree produces 10 pounds of coffee cherry per year (2 pounds green beans), then 16 coffee trees are required to supply the average American's coffee drinking habit. Note: @ 1square metre per tree = 16 m2 of farming space.

But seriously, this is one of the most attractive and easy to care for houseplants I've ever had. At current size, stately with shiny dark green leaves with a canopy that looks great behind the sofa (remember it's sitting on what I'm calling a sofa table but it's actually a sturdy IKEA storage unit {two narrow, short PAX units side by side} ), and now that it is producing, it really looks as though it wil have year-round, continuous/everbearing interest of flowers, green cherries, and attractive shiny red ripe cherries

...depending on how I arrange the space, I could see placing two more behind the couch. I could just grow my new seedlings, or I might get the bright yellow fruited cultivar of C. Arabica that Logee's is listing to put in the middle....

Of course during the warmer months, all my tropicals and sub-tropicals go outside on "summer vacation"

[applestar]

Two of the seeds are sprouting/starting to stand up now

...so they germinated in two weeks but didn't sprout until 4 weeks.

[applestar]

Update on those coffee seed(ling)s

Photo on the left was taken 11 days ago. I've been squirting water on the seed shell/parchments to soften them -- since I've been doing this for the tomato seedlings elsewhere -- and yesterday, I saw that these had shed their shells and unfolded their leaves.

...I buried the exposed roots on the one that had pushed itself out of the soil mix and it's now standing up So all in all, 4 out of 6 seeds appear to be growing.

[applestar]

Another coffee seedling progression collage. They are growing fast!
I will need to separate and uppot the first two -- maybe all three -- very soon.

image.jpeg (63.35 KiB) Viewed 19547 times

The big tree is ripening the final batch of cherries and it seems like it is trying to grow new shoots on each of the branches from a bud just below (closer to the trunk) where the cherries grew further out on the branch. Maybe this means I should prune these branches just above them to encourage the new (productive?) shoots to grow.

According to the videos I posted earlier, coffee cherries grow on new wood.

[applestar]

Wow, TOTALLY neglecting my coffee plants this year.

Those seedling are still in the same container, alive but stalled and needing to be uppotted.

The big coffee plant didn't bloom (not surprisingly, though it might be just being bi-annual as described in some of the sources) and as you can see, SERIOUSLY needing to be repotted or uppotted -- look at all those roots on the surface

[Rose bloom]

They're huge!

[applestar]

I FINALLY separated and individually uppotted the seedlings. SO sad and pale-looking ...and TOTALLY the wrong time of the year to be spreading them out to take up space in the house when they will have to come inside.... But maybe if I can nurse them back to health, they can be presentable enough to be Christmas and birthday gifts, etc. I added some vermicasting to help them recover..