coffee tree trim

Coffee is an interest of mine that fits right into a couple of my passions. “Soy muy cafetero” I would say in Spain. I’m all about coffee. I love the coffee culture, traditions, aroma and taste. But I also get great pleasure from growing my own coffee trees.

Coffee cultivation in the north hemisphere is, well, difficult. Especially if you take into consideration western Pennsylvania’s winters.

But I have managed to keep coffee trees here in a fashion that’s similar to bonsai. I keep them potted. Every so often I trim their roots. In the summer I put them outside, right by my fig and bay leaf trees.

Coffee trees only produce flowers–little beauties that smell like jasmine–on new wood. So, in order to control their growth and get plenty of coffee berries, I apply the Beaumont-Fukunaga system. It’s pretty scary! I cut down the tree to a stump. And then it’s all new growth from there, new wood.

This method is practiced in Kona by Tom Greenwell at his farm, Greenwell Farms. It’s amazing to see the new growth and by next year the trees will produce more than in previous years.

Buen provecho!