#coffeecrop

Plant of the Day

Saturday 18 January 2020

At the Tatmara Coffee Farm, Ethiopia, the Coffea arabica (coffee) is just beginning to flower in the forest, it will take nine months to become a ripe coffee cherry. The previous crop have been dried on racks and are ready to go for processing to remove the sun shrivelled outer coating and reveal the bean. The effort needed at every stage of coffee growing, harvesting, processing, roasting and preparing is often forgotten - all affect the taste of the final cup.

Plant of the Day

Monday 20 January 2020

The seedlings of Coffea arabica (coffee) known as ‘soldiers’ come originally from the rich genetic diversity of the wild plants of the Ethiopian forests. Local farmers have their own plants that are grown, harvested and processed for home consumption including the coffee ceremony. I was fortunate to go exploring the growing and culture of coffee in Ethiopia with YellowWood Adventures (http://www.yellowwoodadventures.com) and the Ethiopian Coffee Company.

Plant of the Day

Sunday 19 January 2020

In Bonga, Ethiopia, the Kafa Forest Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, have a processing facility for the Coffea arabica (coffee) cherries. These have been sun-dried on racks and placed in bags to be taken to the milling station. The bags are emptied into a hulling machine which removes the husk and debris leaving the green bean. The waste was being used to make briquettes which will fuel a cooking stove for 6 to 8 hours.