Can Coffee Beans Grow Anywhere? An Expert's Guide

Learn how to grow your own coffee beans at home with this expert guide! Find out what environmental conditions are needed for optimal growth.

Can Coffee Beans Grow Anywhere? An Expert's Guide

For the most part, the coffee plant is cultivated within the terrestrial equatorial zone, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. This fact is apparently due to environmental conditions and not to geographical restrictions. Ideal average temperatures range between 15 and 24 °C for arabica coffee and between 24 and 30 °C for Robusta, which can flourish in warmer and harsher conditions. Coffee needs an annual rainfall of 1500 to 3000 mm, and Arabica needs less than other species. Robusta coffee can be grown between sea level and about 800 meters, while Arabica grows best at higher altitudes and is often grown in mountainous areas.

The fussy Arabica prefers diffused sunlight, while the more abundant Robusta can thrive in lower ground. Before you start growing your coffee plant, you need to dedicate a space to it. Coffee plants can be grown indoors and outdoors, so you have options whether you live in a small apartment or have a large backyard. It is important to note that coffee beans need a temperature between 64 and 73 degrees. Anything warmer will accelerate the ripening of the bean, which degrades them.

By 2050, researchers believe that the average temperature will be closer to 83 degrees in the “bean belt”. It may be synonymous with massive urban coffee culture, but it can hardly be called the birthplace of coffee. The idea of being able to grow coffee in your own backyard seems like a dream; there's a reason it's not very common. Arabica and Robusta beans also come from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico. Most coffee companies will focus their growing and harvesting efforts on these higher-altitude locations.

This is the time between sowing the seed and growing to most, which can take approximately four to seven years. Factors such as soil composition, elevation and rainfall must be carefully investigated before starting the long coffee growing process. To properly plan how and where to grow a coffee tree, you need to know what height a coffee plant grows. Colombia is probably the best-known coffee producer in the world and ranks second in the world in annual production. Whether you were born with a green thumb or are new to the field of gardening, you've probably never tried to grow your own coffee plant before. If you live in North America or Europe, your coffee beans are likely to be imported from countries such as Ethiopia, Costa Rica, South America or Peru. But if temperatures rise, we're likely to see more and more coffee trees that are harmed by pests like H.

To start growing your own coffee plant at home, you need to find seedlings, cherries or green coffee beans for an arabica coffee plant. It maintains a high level of excellence with great pride and is carefully cultivated in thousands of small family farms across the country. I like to drink caffeine during the holidays, but I don't carry a coffee grinder with me everywhere.

Glenna Matthys
Glenna Matthys

Hardcore internet practitioner. Wannabe beer advocate. Infuriatingly humble beer expert. Devoted coffee evangelist. Hardcore social media scholar. Friendly beer fanatic.