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Part III: Caring for Your Coffee Tree
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Part III: Caring for Your Coffee Tree

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The Beauty of Growing Coffee Trees in Your Home

Coffee Trees growing in the office
by Paul Katzeff, Co-Founder & CEO


Coffee trees are remarkable for their ability to regenerate after severe pruning.

Severe pruning is hard on the psyche. You have taken care of your tree for 15 years and it has produced an amazing amount of enjoyment as it took you through its seasonal life cycles for 12 of those years. You are no Paul Bunyan with an anxious ax. You want to save trees, not chop them down. So you are about to break your own heart and you know it. You are, however, about to rejuvenate your tree and it will love you for your bravery. Sharp pruning shears are all that you need (and faith).

Coffee Trees

“The Cut” – May 4, 2016

On May 4th, 2016 the “cut” was made about 18” from the base of the tree; it broke my heart. That’s because I harvested 511 cherries from the tree, de-pulped them, soaked the seeds in a water-bath, dried them for a week on a window sill, and in the end had about 12 ounces of green beans. We invited the mayor of Fort Bragg, chefs, a winery owner, and our staff to a once in a lifetime “cupping.” We put the roasted beans on the cupping table with coffees from Central America and were pleasantly surprised when they received the highest praise for flavors we described as bright with hints of lemon, peanut butter, and dark chocolate.

Coffee Trees

27 Days Later – June 1, 2016

Note the small fresh leaves close to the trunk. This tree has plenty of root spore and therefore it is overpowered. It has stored its regenerative powers and now those roots have much less plant structure to support. It will put on a vigorous growth spurt over the next 6 months. Notice a new trunk beginning about 8” up the main trunk. We will watch it and hopefully 2 or 3 others will emerge from the lower trunk, proving the structure for the new tree.

Coffee Trees

48 Days After “The Cut” – June 21, 2016

The tree is beginning to fill in its remaining architecture with bright new leaves and a second trunk has emerged at about 10” from the base. We are on our way. There is nowhere to go but up and out.

Stay tuned for photos of its progress over the next 6 months.

 

Read The Full Series

Part I: The Beauty of Growing Coffee Trees in Your Home

Part II: All you Need to Know About Growing Coffee Trees At Home

Part III: Caring For Your Coffee Tree