In the first part of our series on growing your own coffee, we discussed starting with a fresh coffee berry. As this isn’t commonly available to UK gardeners, it’s probably more practical to start with green coffee beans, but this must be as fresh as possible for the best chance of success. It’s not possible to grow coffee commercially in the UK, but coffee plants make a great talking point and are an attractive plant to grow as a novelty.
Plant the green beans as outlined in part one, soaking them first beforehand for 24 hours, and wait for them to germinate, which could take anything up to six months. Take care to keep the soil just damp with light but regular watering.
Once the seedlings are large enough to handle, repot them into individual pots. Fill each pot with around a third sand then topped with potting compost with a high nitrogen content. If you like, you can feed the seedlings with orchid food which has a low pH value.
Coffee plants will not grow outside in the British climate as it’s too volatile, so keep the pots in a greenhouse or conservatory. Once the plants start to grow, water them sparingly twice a week, once with a little orchid food added and once with plain water. Keep pots away from draughts, and never leave them exposed to frost or very cold temperatures.
Don’t forget that while it’s not possible to grow coffee commercially in the UK, you can order it in the UK. Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we stock a wide range of blends and beans from green beans to espresso, all at great wholesale prices. In addition, we stock coffee ingredients such as flavoured syrups and accessories like cups, lids and stirrers. To find out more, visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.