Posted: 6/23/2015 3:21:41 PM EDT
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Has anyone here actually tried growing their own coffee trees? Also, has anyone bought a large amount of green coffee beans and roasted them as you need them? How long are green coffee beans good for if stored correctly and what constitutes correct storage?
Bulk Coffee Idea I'm considering: 100 pounds of green coffee beans Coffee Trees for Sale: Coffee Trees |
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This topic comes up semi-regularly. An Archive search can give you lots of results.
Growing coffee is hard in our climate. Someone here posted about doing it, with almost no results. I don't remember who. Hopefully they will chime in. Coffee is a difficult subject, I have found it really means different things to different people. There are those that will store cans of Folgers coffee Long Term and call it good. Lots of reports of brewing 5-6yr old Folgers which they said tasted fine to them, I don't like "fresh" Folgers, so I think that would not work for me. We buy and roast our own green coffee beans. I find it to be a fairly easy process, More art than science. I use a simple whirly-pop popcorn maker and a coleman stove on our front deck, It takes about 20mins to roast a weeks worth of beans. I have not yet tried it "cowboy" style on a fire in a cast iron skillet..... but maybe one day. 
We usually buy our green coffee beans from Sweet Marias The wife and seem to like Costa Rican beans the best..... I dunno why. If you are just storing beans in burlap, then storage conditions are the key. Most sites say 2-3yrs in a cool, dry location, There are lots of websites with ideas for proper storage. but, I can verify that we have been able to store and roast green beans from Sweet Marias for 2yrs easily in simple packaging. For longer term storage, I have bought and stocked these canned green coffee beans Packed in cans with 02 absorber and food grade desiccant, they claim a 20yr shelf-life. Personally, I take that claim at face value because I don't think anyone has actually tried 20y/o beans stored like this. Coffee beans have certainly gotten expensive, last case (12 cans) I bought from mredepot was $109.18 shipped. I am still doing LTS testing on them. My oldest canned beans in storage were purchased 10/21/11. So, this year will only be 4 yrs. I open and use at least 1 can per year of these. According to my spreadsheet, we currently have 70.06lbs of canned green coffee beans in LTS at an average cost of $7.86/lb. - I love my spreadsheet. 
For me and the wife, that is about 70 weeks worth. ***NOTE: No offense intended to those that are happy storing MRE coffee packets, Folgers, Folgers Crystals, etc..... |
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When you have been eating MREs for months that 10 year old can of Folgers will taste great even to a coffee snob.
As was said the green beans in a can are your best long term storage solution. For me I keep a 6 month supply of roasted coffee in metal cans and rotate the stock. After 6 months I'll have more to worry about than my coffee addiction. |
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Now, looking at your 100lb of beans, that comes out to $4.09/lb. which is not bad.
Since the wife and I found, from buying some of the variety packs from Sweet Marias that not all coffee beans taste the same, I might be hesitant to buy 100lbs without trying some first. |
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Quoted:
When you have been eating MREs for months that 10 year old can of Folgers will taste great even to a coffee snob. As was said the green beans in a can are your best long term storage solution. For me I keep a 6 month supply of roasted coffee in metal cans and rotate the stock. After 6 months I'll have more to worry about than my coffee addiction. I plan and stock ingredients so I don't have to eat MRE's for months. YMMV
ETA: I am not addicted to coffee, so if Folgers was all that is available, I would simply choose not to drink it. |
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I currently have 3 kona coffee trees that are outside in the summer and inside for the winter. When I got them they were <6" tall and now they are about 18" tall. That is in a year and a half so I would judge the growth as so-so.
They are a little difficult to grow in the north but I'm giving it a shot! |
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Quoted:
I currently have 3 kona coffee trees that are outside in the summer and inside for the winter. When I got them they were <6" tall and now they are about 18" tall. That is in a year and a half so I would judge the growth as so-so. They are a little difficult to grow in the north but I'm giving it a shot! Someone, perhaps it was you, once posted that they were able to get one or two beans from their coffee tree(s) |
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Quoted:
Someone, perhaps it was you, once posted that they were able to get one or two beans from their coffee tree(s) Quoted:
Quoted:
I currently have 3 kona coffee trees that are outside in the summer and inside for the winter. When I got them they were <6" tall and now they are about 18" tall. That is in a year and a half so I would judge the growth as so-so. They are a little difficult to grow in the north but I'm giving it a shot! Someone, perhaps it was you, once posted that they were able to get one or two beans from their coffee tree(s) I haven't gotten a single bean and may never get one  I think I remember a thread once upon a time that a guys got a couple too.
I do get joy in growing things here that aren't supposed to be able to though. For instance I have a Nules Clementine tree that has fruited once, a Meyer lemon tree that probably won't make it, a horrible attempt with a vanilla bean plant and of course the coffee trees. I'm also making a serious attempt at growing peanuts in the garden this year, which traditionally have no place in a MN garden. |
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Quoted:
I haven't gotten a single bean and may never get one I think I remember a thread once upon a time that a guys got a couple too.
I do get joy in growing things here that aren't supposed to be able to though. For instance I have a Nules Clementine tree that has fruited once, a Meyer lemon tree that probably won't make it, a horrible attempt with a vanilla bean plant and of course the coffee trees. I'm also making a serious attempt at growing peanuts in the garden this year, which traditionally have no place in a MN garden. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I currently have 3 kona coffee trees that are outside in the summer and inside for the winter. When I got them they were <6" tall and now they are about 18" tall. That is in a year and a half so I would judge the growth as so-so. They are a little difficult to grow in the north but I'm giving it a shot! Someone, perhaps it was you, once posted that they were able to get one or two beans from their coffee tree(s) I haven't gotten a single bean and may never get one I think I remember a thread once upon a time that a guys got a couple too.
I do get joy in growing things here that aren't supposed to be able to though. For instance I have a Nules Clementine tree that has fruited once, a Meyer lemon tree that probably won't make it, a horrible attempt with a vanilla bean plant and of course the coffee trees. I'm also making a serious attempt at growing peanuts in the garden this year, which traditionally have no place in a MN garden. For some reason, I think he might have been in Florida....... It was in a thread similar to this one, I have been unable to locate it. Citrus and avocados we can grow all day long here. My blackberries are starting to take off as well. Apples are a little more limited, we planted granny smith and gala trees this year. So far, they seem to be doing well - Meaning they survived the transplant from pots to the ground and are sprouting leaves like crazy.
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