A study shows that 2,595,000 metric tons of coffee beans were produced in Brazil alone in 2016. Starbucks sells approximately 8 million coffee cups each day worldwide. These figures show how much coffee is being liked and consumed worldwide. If you are a coffee lover, we recommend growing your coffee beans at home to save money. Besides saving money, homegrown coffee beans offer fresh and enriching flavor and aroma.
Read the article further to learn the best way to grow coffee beans at home with suitable temperature, water, and soil conditions.
Grow Coffee Beans Indoor
Arabica coffee plant can be grown indoors by creating suitable conditions. Ideal light, temperature, and humidity conditions are required to thrive coffee plants in your home garden. Most importantly, you need to be patient with growing coffee plants. It will take 3 to 5 years almost for the flowering of coffee plants and their first batch of cherries. Follow the procedure mentioned below to grow a coffee plant.
Preparing Coffee Seeds
Take some fresh coffee beans that should be from the recent harvest. You can order them online from any authentic store. Soak the green coffee beans in a bowl overnight. Some of them will start germinating, and you will see a small white protrusion coming at the end of the seed. You have to keep the beans damp until they sprout. Initial germination of all the seeds will take at least 2 months, so you have to be patient during this duration.
If you find it difficult to wait for seed germination, you can skip this part and buy young coffee plants from a nursery nearby. Wait until they become 5-6 inches tall, then transfer them into a bigger container. If you buy multiple seedlings, soak them. Separate all the seedlings and put each one into a separate pot.
Ideal Soil Conditions for Coffee Plant
Arabica coffee plant grows best in slightly acidic soil. The optimum soil pH for this plant is between 6-6.5. Add enriching compounds to the soil, just like farmyard manure, dried blood, and bone meal. Organic matter will increase the water drainage through the soil and makes it perfect for growing coffee plants.
Besides organic matter, some iron in the soil also benefits the coffee plant growth. For this purpose, add some volcanic rock dust to the soil. It will provide a sufficient amount of iron into the soil.
Water Requirement for Coffee Plant
The coffee plant needs consistent water to grow. This plant usually grows in temperate regions at high altitudes. It requires a constant water supply, but it shouldn’t be like wet feet. You have to keep the soil moist but do not make it saturated.
Add some peat moss to the soil. It will help maintain soil moisture and lower its pH also. Keep your soil moist and make sure water is draining well from the pots. For indoor pots, deep watering in a week would be enough. Keep checking the soil moisture in pots; water it if you feel the soil is dry.
Humidity in the environment, temperature, and weather conditions will determine how much water your plant will actually need. Besides this, size of the container also matters. If the roots have outgrown the container, your coffee plant will require more water. It’s better to transfer such a plant into a bigger container.
Provide Adequate Light to Your Coffee Plant
Coffee plants do not like direct sunlight. If you are growing a coffee plant indoors, then try to place it under a shade or the canopy of any tree. Choose a bright spot indoors with diffused light. It’s better to keep your coffee plant near a window that doesn’t have access to direct sunlight. You can also use “grow lights” to make suitable conditions for coffee plants in a dark environment. Choose the grow light according to your plant’s requirement.
Prune Your Coffee Plant
By fulfilling the light, water, and soil conditions, leave your coffee plant to nature. It should grow as tall as 40 inches. You can let the plant grow in soil or a big pot in your home garden. The choice is yours. You have to prune your plant by removing extra shoots and leaves from it. Maintain the good shape of your coffee bean plant. If you care for it properly, your small coffee plant can convert into a beautiful bush, even in a pot.
Harvest your Coffee Beans
Almost eight months after your coffee tree flowers, coffee beans are ready to pick. When your coffee cherries turn deep red from bright green, it is time to pick them up. You can handpick these cherries quite easily from your coffee plant.
Final Thoughts
You can enjoy your homegrown coffee more than what you buy from stores. Homegrown coffee beans have exceptional flavor and aroma. You can grow your coffee beans at home by following our guide and with a bit of patience as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How many coffee beans one indoor coffee plant can produce?
An indoor coffee plant cannot produce enough coffee for brewing one pot. It would help if you had coffee beans from more than one indoor plant to brew your one-pot coffee.
2. Which coffee types can be grown in homes?
If you want to grow your coffee plant at home, choose Arabica coffee because it’s easy to create suitable conditions indoors for Arabica. Besides this, you can also grow Robusta coffee at home as it is also easy to grow in your home garden.
3. How long does it take to grow coffee beans?
It isn’t hard to grow coffee beans at home, but it is surely time-consuming. The entire process of getting coffee beans from a coffee plant takes 5-6 years on average. Flowering needs 3-5 years at least and after 8 months of flowering, coffee cherries will be ready to pick. That’s why you should be patient with the process, and you have to be consistent while caring for your plant during this duration.
Leave a Reply