Coffee Arabica (forum)

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Markmelb starts with ...
Showing what can be done in Melbourne my 3 or maybe 4 year old Arabica that spent this Winter inside on a west facing window - didn't get below 15c inside and i am now picking berries as they ripen 9 months after flowering for its second time - previous year was outside for winter and dropped any fruit - But a Dwarf Katui spent all winter outside and retained its one berry
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Time: 27th December 2013 11:54am

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Original Post was last edited: 27th December 2013 11:53am

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phil@tyalgum says...
Well grown plants, they look even healthier than the ones I tried to grow here in the subtropics. I had an indoor coffee plant in Woodend once (Victoria) and it didn't survive the first winter. I tend not to plant them now as they are dispersed by birds and are a potential weed threat. You should see the number of seedlings which germinate underneath a fruiting plant.

Time: 11th January 2014 8:42am

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About the Author TyalgumPhil
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Markmelb says...
Thanks Phil for your comments - Im waiting for enough collected beans to dry out before roasting - I think the Indoor night temps in Woodend would have been too low - here in Mt Waverley it didnt get much below 15c without heater -im on a slab with good insulation - so funny Coffee becoming a weed up your way - have you had any success getting a good flavour from roasting? Is fermenting beans in water a definite must do?

Time: 11th January 2014 10:43am

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phil@tyalgum says...
Actually I have never got to the stage of processing them.. I think it's a lot of work - I can buy local coffee around here all the same. I find those high labour-needing plants a bit of a drawback. I just harvested and tried to process the four pigeon pea plants I grew. A lot of effort for little reward, they almost always need hand shelling one by one it would seem. But have fun with your own brew, I'll look forward to your feedback.

Time: 11th January 2014 12:27pm

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Mikayla says...
We have 8 plants that we have made into a hedge. When they flower it looks as though it has snowed... Which in Cairns (FNQLD), in march, is a pretty spectacular sight. We had kgs of beans and decided to process them with the help of a drying oven, a blender with tape protected blades and a popcorn machine. The coffee we got at the end was the most flavoursome, well bodied coffee we have ever had!!! Does take a bit of practice to sort outbthe roasting step though .. We are now ultimate coffee snobs and are waiting for the next batch to hurry up so we can stop drinking this muddy filth water we bought from the shop :) needless to say we are planting another hedge as soon as the wet starts so we can produce our yearly demand of beans :)

Time: 11th January 2014 2:28pm

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Mikayla says...
RE pigeon pea - strip the pods, put them in a big tub/bucket/box, put on a good pair of boots and stomp like the Italians do to wine.. HEAPs easier!!

Time: 11th January 2014 2:30pm

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phil@tyalgum says...
hey thanks, I knew there would be an enterprising coffee afficionado out there somewhere..

Time: 11th January 2014 3:10pm

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Original Post was last edited: 11th January 2014 3:09pm

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Markmelb says...
Thats nice - Thanks Mikayla - dont think I have enough yet to do the stomping but having fun squeezing the beans from skin and I think fermenting in water just covering for a few days helps get the gooey coating off for drying - Ive tried popcorn cooker with bought green beans but takes quite a while and was considering using a wok so u can hear the crack?Have you tried the skin - very sweet and is true but not sure if any caffein in the skins but a fun by product anyway - looking forward to the roasting experiments soon - will keep u posted

Time: 11th January 2014 7:31pm

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Mikayla says...
Hey -

We Popped the berries by hand first... Then soaked the beans until they felt rough ... Took a few days for them to get that roughish feeling..

The popcorn machine works really good. It stirs itself. The first crack is fairly audible with the machine we have. We stop roasting when they are all brown and shiny but before the second crack. If you allow the second crack to occur it is a much darker, more bitter and burnt flavoured taste.

Yes we are just a little obsessed ;)

Time: 12th January 2014 6:31pm

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