Grow your own coffee

[Quink]

I'd like to know if anyone has ever tried to grow coffee at home, and what results you got? As I've seen a kit for growing coffee where I normally buy my beans. For those of you who dont know, I'm in England i.e. cold and wet . So I was thinking of trying it in a greenhouse, where I could control the temperature. Am I flogging a dead horse here or could I be pleasently surprised. I think the beans are Arabica rather than Robusta which may make them a bit more picky. Any suggestions?

[wulf]

I've considered it in the past (I love putting my garden to good use) but decided that the requirements of climate and such like would make it a poor investment. I'll be interested to hear how you get on if you do pursue it though, or if any other UK people have made it work.

Wulf

[topher]

I have known people who have grown the trees as a novelty...Arabica coffee is grown at altitudes over 3,000 feet....You might get flowers but I do not think you will get cherries

[Quink]

I reckon this has got to be worth a go. I read somewhere that the bushes may not give any cherries for about 5 years, or if Topher's right then may be not ever. Robusta are grown at a lower altitude but I've tried single roast robusta before, and I'd rather not bother than try that again. If by some minor miracle I get some cherries on this thing how many do you guys think a 6 foot bush would produce in a year? Would it be enough to fit in to a cafe rosto (imex) roaster or popper for roasting? Presuming I can coax this thing through 5 years worth of frost, snow and rain.

[topher]

Well you can try...but you need a moderate tropical surrounding...one tree will produce a whopping pound of coffee..it takes 3-4 years to produce the first crop....good luck

[Quink]

Well even if I dont get anything but flowers, it could be a nice talking point, or something else for the wife to accuse me of being obsessed with coffee with.

[topher]

hahaha...nice...before I got my sample roaster I would roast coffee in a skillet on the stove...not fun! You have to constantly keep the coffee moving....I have smoked out my house many a time and also have ruined all the skillets in the house...oh yeah my wife must truly love me!