The Coffee Tree - My Favorite House Plant

My coffee plant was already a few inches tall and had two green round leaves when I bought it. If you want to see the full development of the tree you should plant a coffee seed in a pot at about 1.5 inches (4 cm) deep into the soil. Use any fast draining potting soil and water the seed daily just to keep it moist, not drenched. You can cover the pot with some plastic wrap that will prevent the water to evaporate so quickly. In 6-8 weeks the bean will appear above the surface at the top of a sleek shoot. You will see leaves after another 4-6 weeks.

I moved my coffee tree to a larger pot after 6 months, thus respecting the recommendations of the gardener from the botanical garden. It is best to replant it into a tall but not so wide pot because the roots like it better this way. Also, move it into a bigger pot once every year in spring. You can also fertilize the coffee plant monthly with an all-purpose fertilizer. To be honest, I have not done this yet, but I am thinking of purchasing an organic one.

This plant is not very difficult to take care of and adapts perfectly to indoor conditions. Make sure you place the coffee plant in a room that has a temperature of around 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius) in the night time. The ideal temperature in the day time is 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) or higher. Also, do not leave it in a place with direct sunlight.

The coffee flowers will appear at the base of the leaves of the coffee plant 3 or 4 years after being planted. Although their life span is of a few days, they do not bloom at the same time, so it is not uncommon to have flowers, unripe and ripe beans in a tree all at once. Rainfall triggers blossoming so water the roots and spray the leaves daily.

The coffee blossom absolute is used in perfumery and in the cosmetics industry and it is quite expensive. Some compare the scent of these flowers to jasmine or orange blossom but Providence Perfume says that "it smells unlike anything else". She senses "hints of overripe fruit, with a very faint whisper of espresso, almost a hint of burned coffee hidden behind the floral notes."