Coffea arabica – Coffee plant

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

How can you recognize the coffee plant, Coffea arabica?

In the wild, Coffea arabica is a tree with a spreading habit that reaches nine meters in height. In our latitudes, its size depends on growing conditions. It won't grow taller than about ten centimeters if you plant it in a closed terrarium. When grown in a pot, it can reach up to one meter fifty.

The shrub has a single trunk with gray bark, similar to olive tree (Olea europaea). It bears horizontal, opposite branches.

The leaves grow on a short petiole. Leathery in texture, they have prominent veins and smooth edges. They are a dark, glossy green. The elliptical leaf blades, with a pointed apex, measure up to 12 centimeters long by 5 centimeters wide.

Flowering is rare when Coffea arabica is grown in pots indoors. When planted in the ground and in a favorable climate, flowering occurs in coffee trees that are at least four years old. The leaf axils then produce white flowers, arranged in clusters of three to seven.

The flowers last only a few hours. They produce a drupe called a cherry. Green in the first few days, the fruit then changes color. It turns yellow or dark red when ripe. It contains two brown seeds with a deep groove running down the center. These are the coffee beans used to make our espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes.

The coffee plant is not poisonous. While we are most accustomed to consuming its beans, we can also make herbal teas from its leaves.

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