THE ESSENCE OF COFFEE

SCAA Trainer’s Guide to Specialty CoffeeMyth, History, Cultivation through Export

COFFEE BASICS:

The Phases of Growth from Seed to Export Cultivation—The Ideal Growing Conditions Coffee Propagation—Nursery Care Transplanting to the Field Inner Cropping Plantation Management Pruning Weed Control Fertilization Irrigation Diseases and Pests

Cultivation—The IdealGrowing Conditions

As a fruit bearing plant, coffee requires very particular and moderate conditions in which to grow and to thrive.This coffee growing belt exists between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn—or rather between 25 degrees North and South of the Equator.As mentioned earlier, coffee grows primarily at an altitude ranging from sea level to 6000 feet with arabica plants growing from 2000 to 6000 feet.

SCAA map of coffee growing regions

The temperature too must remain in a consistent range with the ideal temperature for arabicas staying between 68 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.Higher grown arabica coffees, which develop in a temperature slightly cooler than that ideal for robusta, mature more slowly.

Slow maturation allows the arabica coffee bean to develop more flavor.Dramatic changes in temperature, such as those producing frost, can kill the coffee plant.

As with temperature, the amount of annual rainfall is equally critical to the development of the coffee plant.60 to 80 inches of annual rainfall equally distributed throughout the year are perfect.

Evidence of the devastation that climate changes can produce are seen in the disastrous frosts that hit Brazil in July of 1975 and in 1994 as well as in the drought which struck in 1985.

The wide spread damage to coffee plants caused by these events sent world coffee prices soaring.

results of the 1975 killer frost

Proper drainage is also critical as too much moisture in the soil may cause the wood of the tree to over-develop while suppressing the flowers and fruit of the coffee plant.Soil rich in nitrogen potash, and phosphoric acid (often supplemented by volcanic ash) is ideal for coffee cultivation.

In general terms, BALANCE is the key word to describe coffee’s ideal growing conditions.A tipping of the scales in any of these environmental areas can have a devastating effect on a coffee crop.

Although it is technically considered an evergreen shrub, the coffee plant is usually referred to as a tree for without pruning it can grow to a height of more than 20 feet.

A single tree can commercially produce quality fruit for approximately 25 years.

mature coffee tree

Coffee Propagation—Nursery Care

These first years of a coffee tree’s life require a great deal of tender loving care.Coffee growers use 2 methods of propagation to initiate the coffee life cycle.The primary propagation method used by nearly all arabica growers is Seedling Propagation.This method is considered to be easier and faster than is the Vegetative Propagation method.

As arabica trees are self-pollinating, they produce seeds, which are identical to the parent plant.

self-pollinating tree

In Seedling Propagation, the ripe coffee cherry is carefully selected. Only those perfectly shaped and of a deep red color are chosen for reproduction.

These cherries are then gently squeezed in order to remove the two flat-sided seeds (beans) inside.The seeds are then placed in water. Seeds that float are discarded for lacking density.

seeds being removed from the cherry

The seeds, which are selected, are planted in a rich soil in nursery beds or in small containers.

Planting in a container

When leaves begin to emerge, the plants are carefully shaded from the direct sun.Just as the original Arab cultivators lovingly tended to their seedlings 1000 years ago, so too do today’s coffee caretakers.

Covered nursery

Transplanting to the field

After attentive nursery care ranging from 6 to 18 months, the young plants are transplanted to the field when they reach a height of 18 to 24 inches.In the fields, the young trees are planted 10 to 12 feet apart.

Coffee tree growth progression – seedling to 9 months

Although growing conditions and the type of coffee plant cultivated can affect the ratio of the number of trees grown per acre, the average coffee plantation contained 1200 trees per acre.As previously emphasized, the conditions for coffee growth must offer set of balanced elements.

For example, exposure to sunlight, while necessary for coffee production, must be controlled.

Coffee field

Too much direct sunlight can speed up maturation and deprive the bean of a fuller flavor.Growing coffee on hilly ground can offer the plant the perfect exposure to both sunlight and shade.Additionally, the natural mists and cloud cover in such areas as Sumatra, Colombia, and Mexico also provide a good balance between sun and shade.

Terraced hillside

To protect coffee trees from too much exposure to the sun, some farmers plant shade trees among their coffee plants.While shade trees reduce the yield per acre (because they take up space), their benefits far exceed their detriments.As they reduce sunlight’s exposure to the earth, shade trees also can limit the number of weeds growing among the coffee plants.

Shade tree planting

Weeds can draw nutrients from the soil and away from the coffee plants and therefore, must be pulled and controlled.Pulling weeds can be labor intensive and expensive.Additionally, fewer weeds mean less need for herbicides.

Growing the right kind of shade tree can fix nitrates in the soil, which can be beneficial to the coffee plant.Such a shade tree is the ALBIZIA, which also offers a high canopy and requires less pruning due to its economy of foliage.The leaves and debris of shade trees also act as a natural mulch thus enriching and fertilizing the soil.Shade trees also provide a more stable climatic environment.

They protect the coffee trees from wind and provide more constant temperatures between day and night.Shade coffee plantations have proven to be excellent environments for bio-diversity.For example, some plantations provide habitat for migratory birds.Lastly, shade plantations have a similar consumption of carbon dioxide as do tropical rain forests.

Inner Cropping

Inner Cropping is the planting of food crops or other cash crops intermingled with the coffee crop.The benefits of Inner Cropping include the production of crops, which are more harmoniously and environmentally balanced with the ecosystem.Additionally, Inner Cropping can be valuable for disease and pest resistance. The diversity of the crop lowers the risk of pest infestation.

Inner cropping with bananas

The key to effective Inner Cropping is to select the proper crop to grow with the coffee.For example, while we have discussed the benefits of providing shade to the developing coffee plant, the use of an improper Inner Crop could create an uneven distribution of shade.This could prove damaging to the coffee crop.

Additional damage to the coffee crop can occur when an Inner Crop draws nutrients from the soil, which the coffee tree needs to grow and flourish.Inner Crops such as oranges and black beans provide nutrients to the soil and are beneficial to the coffee plants.

Plantation Management

Maintaining the coffee tree and its surrounding environment takes constant effort in order to ensure a successful crop.Such maintenance includes pruning, controlling weeds, fertilizing, and in some areas, irrigating the soil.

workers manicuring coffee fields

Pruning

Pruning a coffee tree to a height of 6 to 8 feet helps to maximize the plant’s production by concentrating the tree’s energies on its fruit bearing areas.Additionally, restricting the coffee plant’s height and width make it easier to harvest the crop.

Pruning

Due to the tendency of its branches to die back from the tip, thus turning its leaves yellow, arabica plants require more pruning than do robustas.Usually, pruning begins right after harvesting ends and before the flowers and buds for the next crop appear.

Weed Control

As mentioned earlier, weeds can wreak havoc on a coffee crop. In fact, heavy weeds drawing valuable nutrients from the soil and reduce a coffees yield by more than 20 percent.Manual or mechanical weed removal is used to eliminate this problem.The manual method relies on workers’ efforts to slash the weeds with a hoe or a knife.

hand weeding

The mechanical method utilizes a tractor to pull a large rake between the rows of coffee destroying the weeds in its wake.

Fertilization

Years of coffee production can exhaust the soil by depleting it of essential nutrients.Farmers attempt to restore the balance of the soil by fertilizing.Some farmers use chemical fertilizers containing nitrogen and potassium.Others use more organic fertilizers made from cattle manure, dried grass, and leaf mulch, and the coffee pulp of discarded cherries.

fertilizing

Coffees that are sold as Organic must be guaranteed free of any chemical exposure and must be accompanied by a certificate verifying and identifying it as chemical free.

Irrigation

While the majority of the world’s coffees rely on natural rainfall, some arabica growers irrigate their crops.The irrigation methods used include watering with overhead sprinklers to produce artificial rain or watering beneath each tree with an underground sprinkler system.

organic fertilizing

Diseases and Pests

Like other agricultural products, coffee too is susceptible to attack from insect infestation and disease.These assaults can affect the developing coffee cherries as well as the coffee plant itself.

CBD or Coffee Berry Disease is a fungus that contaminates the coffee cherry causing black spots to appear on the fruit.Even when treated with a fungicide, CBD can reduce a crop’s yield by up to 80 percent.Another devastating fungus affects the coffee plant’s leaves and is called Coffee Leaf Rust.This fungus produces powdery looking orange spots on the leaves

Coffee Berry Disease damage

Coffee Leaf Rust can be fatal to a coffee plant for a plant can become so heavily infected that all of the leaves fall from the tree causing it to die.Insects too can destroy coffee. The worst of these is the coffee-bean borer, which attacks the coffee bean itself by burrowing into it and then eating it.

Coffee Leaf Rust damage

In order to protect coffee from pests and diseases, most producing countries are trying to develop disease resistant coffee strains.Alternative plantation management strategies are also being investigated in order to help protect coffee crops.

insect damage