COFFEE SEED IS SPROUTING!

[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 12787 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..

[Seananers]

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

image.jpg

Wow it looks like you really know what your doind applestar. just a quick question but: I got this little sprout n' grow coffee kit from walmart because I had some spare money and I wanted to make some home grown coffee but I have a bit of a problem, I don't know exactly whether I can keep them inside for most of the year and let them outside during the warmer months or if I should keep them inside all the time if I start them indoors.

[applestar]

Ideally, keep them inside during the cold months when temps fall below 50°F, but try to let them be outside for the warmer months. I keep mine where they are shaded during the hotted part of the day.

A bit of advice -- don't think of these kinds of projects as growing for the harvest -- if there are any harvest, it's a bonus. Coffee makes handsome house plant to enjoy while they are inside.

I'm a bit concerned that you got your seeds from walmart -- I have heard that the seeds need to be very fresh to be viable/germinate. Good luck.

[Seananers]

Ideally, keep them inside during the cold months when temps fall below 50°F, but try to let them be outside for the warmer months. I keep mine where they are shaded during the hotted part of the day.

A bit of advice -- don't think of these kinds of projects as growing for the harvest -- if there are any harvest, it's a bonus. Coffee makes handsome house plant to enjoy while they are inside.

I'm a bit concerned that you got your seeds from walmart -- I have heard that the seeds need to be very fresh to be viable/germinate. Good luck.

well I just hope that I can get some kind of growth from them. if it doesn't work for me this time then I'll just get some fresh seeds

[applestar]

Update for the 6 seedlings

[applestar]

Here is the big --original-- coffee plant/shrub now. At this point, it has browned and dropped all of the leaves that were lining the branches along the interior hardwood of the branches. The new leaves on the outer greenwood branches have turned dark green -- I have read that this is due to increased chlorophyl in the leaves in adaptation to the lower, indoor light levels so more light can be gathered and processed.

With this size plant, the lost dry leaves represent significant mass -- about one paper grocery bag full. I keep them to dry out completely, then crumble and snip into mulch for the coffee and other tropicals. But now the airy interior allows more light to reach all of the leaves, and the exposed, corky barked branches give the plant an architectural look.




Can you see in the 2nd photo how this plant has grown two side shoots that are wanting to grow up rather than sideways? One from last year, and another, even more vigorous one this year. I think these are the shoots that I would promote to "renew/revitalize" the shrub for productivity as mentioned in the video I posted about earlier. If doing this, I would have to LOP the trunk just above these shoots. I'm not prepared to do that yet, but if I do, I would like to do it in the season when coffee cuttings can be rooted and grown outside, and try to take cutting and root all of the upper branches (don't ask me what I would do with them all if successful )

[applestar]

I don't know if they are susceptible to mites but I sprinkled some of the predatory mite shipment vermiculite on the baby coffee just in case:



...and here is a collage of parts of the big coffee -- getting all dusty and yearning for the warm weather when it can be lugged outside where it can be sprayed down with hose or by rain. You might be able to spot the new side shoots/branches and some leafnode growths that might be start of flower buds

[applestar]

First coffee flowers to bloom this year

[applestar]

Coffee is blooming again

[applestar]

[applestar]

My big coffee plant was seriously neglected this year. It would normally have gone outside by beginning of June, but we had those 40°F dips that really threw a monkey wrench in the timing. Then it was never the right time for various reasons. So we have been suffering with the plant lights on, adding to the heat in the house. And the poor coffee, which really needs cool nights to thrive has been stuck inside without the night relief when temp outside goes down as much as 20 degrees lower than the inside despite the A/C.

My DD's finally lugged it outside for me on Tuesday.




Despite being pot bound and being subjected to the heat and alternately being dried out, then flooded, it has been going through blooming cycles, and has even set some fruits/cherries. There was even a dried up cherry from several cycles ago that had fully ripened and then must have turned into raisin without my noticing it.



...I extracted the two seeds and planted them. Hopefully they will sprout.

[applestar]

Coffee update


First time seeing this Level of multi-cherry clusters.

[!potatoes!]

Very cool. Gonna make tea from the fruit as well as coffee from the roasted bean?

[Gary350]

I am glad I found this thread. I ordered 100 coffee seeds 2 weeks ago. Online says I can't grow these but it looks like I can.

How long after your seeds germinated and grew a plant did it take for you to get ripe cherries?

If I plant all 100 seeds and get 100 plants in my garden by May 1st wonder if I will have ripe cherries by November?

[applestar]

Well... these are shrubs, so you will have to be a bit more patient. This thread is actually following the pictured plant from seed, so it’s almost 8 years old. But remember that mine is growing in a container and indoors for 7 months of the year. I believe where they are grown commercially, it only takes about 3-4 years.

Like many shrub/tree seeds, they need to be fresh to be viable. I hope you get good ones. Keep us updated.

Note from the beginning of this thread that my first purchased seeds took several months to germinate with abysmal germination rate, but you will see in my later entries that freshly harvested seeds from fully ripened coffee cherries germinated 100% in 3-4 weeks — typical tropical shrub/tree seed germination time at least for things I have tried when seeds were freshly harvested and didn’t need any stratification.

[applestar]

BTW, this plant has started to grow what looks like replacement leaders since ...last year? The year before last? — side Shoots that want to grow straight up. I think this might be what one of the links described as renewing the plant by chopping it down nearly to the ground, then waiting for the new leaders to fill out.

I was GOING TO take cuttings from all of the branch ends, then cut the main trunk down to just above the replacement leader shoots LAST SUMMER, but I didn’t get around to it. Seeing the massive cherry clusters ripening now, I’m glad I didn’t ...but wonder if this might be the “last hurrah” that fruit trees sometimes exhibit? I really do want to propagate more plants from its cuttings this season just in case. ...just on principle, I CANNOT chop down what appears to be an otherwise healthy plant without taking cuttings and propagating it first.

I do also have 5-6 baby plants that I grew from fresh seeds 2 years ago. They were somewhat neglected last season so they are not very well grown... only in 3-4” containers still — I Need to uppot them this spring and really pay more attention to them. They do make excellent houseplants, not needing particularly strenuous care — light, humidity, water, fertilizer — to keep them alive.

[applestar]

I have too many projects going and getting overwhelmed by other responsibilities. I finally got around to harvesting the coffee cherries — some of them had started to shrivel into mummies/raisins.

Here they are in measured zip bags — total harvest from what seemed like loaded bush was 1-1/4 cups. ...maybe this will yield enough for a couple of cups of coffee?



...I have to decide quickly whether I want to try growing some of these seeds before they lose viability.

[applestar]

I discovered a single coffee cherry starting to blush on my much neglected coffee tree ...

[dobro13]

I just found this thread. Thanks

[applestar]

Coffee cherries are starting to ripen

[imafan26]

It takes about 9 months to ripen and they do not usually ripen evenly which is why coffee is a labor intensive crop. The cherries need to be hand picked. You have done a good job with your coffee tree. I have not grown one for a few years. I might look for some seedlings and pick one up again. Coffee seedlings are usually weeded out in the botanical gardens. Most people who can grow gardenia can grow coffee. They are in the same family and like similar conditions. The coffee flowers are fragrant, they just don't smell like coffee.