THE COFFEE PLANT

The first coffee plant of economic importance was Coffea Arabica. It grows to the height of 7-8 meters but the cultivated plants are cut to the height of 2-4 meters to get more width. The leaves of the coffee are 10-15 cm long ellipsoids, lustrous dark green with lighter underside. The flowers emerge from the branches together with the leaves.

The white coffee flower has five petals and a scent resembling that of jasmine. The flowers last only 2-3 days. The coffee berries are cherry-sized and green at first, turning dark red later on. The ripening takes eight months. The coffee tree starts flowering at 2-4 years old and it can simultaneously have flowers and berries in all stages of development.

The coffee tree requires a mean temperature of 66-77 degrees farenheit (19-25 degrees celsius). Thus, the coffee tree is a tropical plant. It is not a coincidence that coffee and humans thrive in the same temperatures. Our original home is the same - Africa. It is quite possible that Eve and her contemporaries (about 2.8 million years ago) munched coffee beans for pleasure.

The coffee plant cannot stand frost but does not die from an occasional cold night. It needs lots of water requiring annual rainfall of 59 inches (1500 millimeters). Coffee plantations are normally situated in the altitude range of 984-6562 feet (300-2000 meters) around the Equator.

A coffee tree can be harvested from the 5th year and harvesting can occur many times throughout the year. At 25 the tree becomes old but it may live to be a wiry centenarian.