Coffee is one of the most popular drinks all over the world. Over the years, it has created huge demand among consumers. You can buy ground coffee or instant coffee mix from stores and make coffee to drink. If you don’t want this hassle, just go to any coffee shop around you and order a cup of coffee. But some of us may plan to grow coffee beans or make a business out of it. So, it is essential to know “how to grow coffee beans”.

Coffee beans are collected from coffee plants. Coffee is a bush type of plant. When the coffee plant grows up, it produces white flowers. Afterwards, it bears bunches of cherries. Inside these cherries, you can find beans. These beans are collected, roasted, read more and further processed to get nicely ground coffee. This is a beautiful process and it takes lots of care and time. Let’s discuss the whole process.

7 Steps of Growing Coffee Beans

Coffee beans come from coffee plants. But it is a long process. You have to go through many steps to get your coffee beans ready. There are some specific conditions and proper caring methods. If you do not follow these, you can not get nice beans. Let’s dig into the steps.

Climate and Location

First of all, you have to know the climate and Location of your coffee plant to start the process. Coffee plants prefer tropical regions. A tropical region is characterized by a consistently warm or hot climate throughout the year. Coffee plants grow well in temperatures between 60°F to 70°F (15°C to 24°C). They require a consistent temperature and cannot withstand cold.

When choosing a location for coffee cultivation, ensure it has a suitable location. Suitable location includes the correct temperature and humidity range. Coffee plants thrive in these conditions. A perfect climate protects the plants from stress or damage. Understanding the ideal temperature range will help you know how to grow coffee beans well.

Variety Selection

As we know, there are different species of coffee. Among them, two most common types of coffee are Arabica and Robusta. Arabica coffee has a milder flavour. But it requires higher altitudes. On the other hand, Robusta coffee has a stronger flavour. It can grow in lower altitudes. That’s why Arabica coffee is very challenging to cultivate. But it is highly valued for its flavour. Robusta coffee is more resilient and suitable for diverse growing environments. So choose according to your preference and risk-taking ability. But Robusta coffee will be easy to grow.

Soil Preparation

Coffee plants grow in loose well-drained soil. Try to keep the pH level within 6 to 6.5. You can also conduct a soil test. It will find out more about the nutrients and pH levels in the soil. Adding some natural stuff like compost can make the soil better. Fertilizers that have nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus can be used too. So, create an ideal environment for your coffee plants by ensuring proper soil conditions and nutrient supplementation.

Planting

The main starting point of “How to grow coffee beans” is planting coffee seeds or seedlings. Collect seeds or seedlings from any trusted source. You can plant the seeds directly on the main soil. Otherwise, plant the seeds in a nursery. Keep the soil moist for healthy seeds. Soak your seeds for 24 hours before planting. It is important to protect the new plants from too much sunlight. So use shades for them.

Transplanting

You might wonder when to move your plants to a big space. When your little plants will grow strong roots and their height will be about 12 inches, it’s time for transplanting. Find a nice place with perfect soil and some shades. Transplant your seeds keeping them about 6 to 8 feet apart. Coffee plants need enough space when they grow up.

Maintenance

Growing coffee plants is not too easy. You have to be patient and careful with your plants. Regular care and proper maintenance are a must to get healthy plants. Maintenance includes some important aspects. They are:

Watering the plants regularly: You have to keep the soil moist. Avoid dry soil or overwatering.

Shading: Direct sunlight is harmful to new coffee plants. Use shades to protect them.

Pruning: Prune the coffee plants regularly to control their shape. Remove dead branches. It will improve air circulation. Pruning helps prevent diseases. It also increases the chance of getting fruits.

Fertilizing: Coffee plants need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. So, provide a balanced fertilizer to your plants regularly.

Insect and disease control: Monitor your plant carefully. Look for any pests or insects. They can have diseases like coffee leaf rust. So monitor your plant and use organic spray for relief. Otherwise, you can cut off the infected or damaged part of your plant.

Harvesting, Processing and Roasting

If you do proper maintenance of your plants, they will grow faster. Healthy plants will bear flowers and then fruits. These fruits are called coffee cherries. Usually, cherries ripen at different times according to their type and climate. Mostly it takes 9 to 11 months after flowering. Collect the ripened fruits from the plants. You can handpick them or collect them with a machine. Remove the outer part to get the coffee beans. Then the processing part starts. Dry your coffee beans. You can dry it in a dry or wet method. After processing the beans, you can roast and grind them. Thus, you can get your coffee beans ready to make a cup of coffee.

Why Growing Your Own Coffee Beans? (Benefits of growing coffee beans)

We have already discussed how to grow coffee beans. But you might think, why should you grow them on your own? You can buy ground coffee from stores. Then what are the benefits of growing them? Let’s discuss some benefits you can have by growing them.

Freshness

You can buy coffee from anywhere. Some are expensive, some are cheap. But do they give you the best possible fragrance and taste? They might not. But when you grow your own coffee beans, they are nicely grown, processed and ground. You can not get this freshness elsewhere.

Quality and Flavor 

Likewise freshness, your coffee beans will be the most flavorful. You can ensure the quality with your supervision and care. The whole process will be known to you. You can customize the flavour by roasting them more or less. So, these coffee beans provide high quality and flavour.

Cost Savings

Buying coffee every day is quite expensive. Whether you buy a cup of coffee every day or an instant coffee mix, it will be costly. But growing coffee beans can be cheaper and quality can be high. Ultimately your everyday expenses will reduce.

Experience and Self-employment

Growing coffee beans can help you gather experiences. You can select what type of coffee you want. You can also customize the flavour. It makes your understanding better. By doing so, you can start your own business homegrown coffee. So, growing coffee can be your self-employed business.

Connection to Nature and People

Growing coffee beans is a delightful process. You can go close to nature and experiment where your plant will grow well. You can test and be within nature. It creates a bond with nature. This bond helps to grow healthy plants. People can learn from you how to grow coffee beans and be connected with you. Thus, it creates a connection to nature and people as well. So, these are the benefits you can get by growing your own coffee beans.

Common Mistakes While Growing Coffee Beans

Most of us fall for some common mistakes. These mistakes ruin all the efforts to grow coffee beans. It’s better to know these mistakes before starting to grow. It will help you eliminate the mistakes and grow healthy beans.

Common Mistakes	Solutions
Overwatering	Ensure a good drainage system for your plant, Water the plant when the upper surface of the soil is dry.
Insufficient sunlight	Choose a spot where sunlight comes, If you don’t get enough sunlight, use artificial grow lights.
Poor soil quality	Add compost or organic fertilizers so that the condition of the soil improves.
Lack of pruning	Regularly prune the coffee plants, Remove dead or diseased branches.
Lack of nutrients	Provide necessary nutrients, Use a balanced fertilizer which should include some ingredients, like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
Harvesting at the wrong time	Pick coffee cherries at the right moment, Only get the dark red ripen cherries, Avoid unripe or overripe ones.
Inadequate maintenance	Follow proper maintenance to grow a healthy plant.
Ignoring pests and diseases	Monitor your plant regularly, Look for pests and diseases, If found, prune or use organic sprays.
Failure to rotate	Move your plants to different areas of the garden each year.
Lack of patience and attention	Be patient, attentive, and continuously learn, Understand the process will take time, Take care of your plants regularly.

Typical Timeline of Coffee Plants (Seeds to Beans)

The coffee plants grow throughout the year. Every month it experiences changes. Let’s find out how the seeds turn into beans.

Month	Growth Stage
March	Growth and development
April	Growth and development
May	Growth and development
June	Flowering
July	Flowering
August	Fruit set
September	Fruit development
October	Fruit development
November	Fruit ripening
December	Harvesting
January	Processing
February	Drying

How Much Time Does It Take to Grow Coffee Beans?

By now you must have figured out how to grow coffee beans. How long it will take to grow beans differs on various factors. These factors are type of coffee, location, climate, proper maintenance etc. In general, it takes 3 to 5 years to grow coffee beans from coffee plants.

Here’s an illustration of the approximate time for all growth stages.

Stage of Growth	Time
Seed germination	2 to 4 weeks
Seedling development	4 to 8 weeks
Vegetative growth	3 to 5 months
Flowering	6 to 9 months
Fruit development	9 to 11 months
Bean maturation	10 to 12 months
Harvesting	Varies
Processing	1 to 2 weeks
Drying	1 to 2 weeks
Roasting	Varies

Conclusion

This sums up the overall steps and processes of how to grow coffee beans. It is a long process. So you need to be patient and careful in every stage. Consider the best possible location where your chosen coffee plant can grow. Maintenance is a must. Monitor and initiate necessary steps. Remember to water your plant, fertilize it, prune it and give it nutrients. You have to keep in mind, it takes time. Be slow but consistent with your process. Thus you will get your own coffee beans. Roast, grind and enjoy your warm cup of coffee.