Coffea arabica, more than just coffee beans

Coffea arabica is native to Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan. This species of the Rubiaceae family is widely cultivated in the rest of the world for its coffee beans. But the coffee tree is also an ornamental plant that adapts well to any interior.

In the wild, Coffea arabica is a tree with a splayed habit that reaches a height of nine meters. In our latitudes, its size depends on growing conditions. If planted in a closed terrarium, it won't grow more than ten centimetres tall. In a pot, it can measure up to one meter fifty.

The shrub has a single trunk with grey bark, like olive tree (Olea europa). It supports horizontal, opposite branches.

Leaves grow on a short stalk. Coriaceous, they have pronounced veins and smooth margins. They are shiny, dark green. Elliptical blades with pointed apices measure up to twelve centimetres long and five centimetres wide.

Flowering is rare when Coffea arabica is grown in pots and indoors. Outdoors, in a favorable climate, it occurs on coffee plants that are at least four years old. White flowers appear in leaf axils, in groups of three to seven.

The flowers live only a few hours. They produce a drupe called a cherry. Green for the first few days, the fruit then changes color. When ripe, it turns yellow or dark red. It contains two brown seeds with a deep groove running through them. These are the coffee beans we use for our espresso, cappuccino and latte.

The coffee plant is not toxic. Although we're used to eating its seeds, we can also make infusions from its leaves.