How to grow a coffee plant at home

Are you a true coffee lover? If you also have green fingers, you can’t pass up the chance to learn how to grow a coffee plant at home. Don’t worry: it’s not as difficult as it seems: all you need to do is follow our tips in the mini-guide below.

Of course, we’re not trying to set up a domestic coffee plantation. In fact coffee plants rarely grow and truly flourish in an apartment, but if you succeed, your plant will certainly make a beautiful decoration thanks to its foliage, perfect for adding an original decorative touch to any environment.

Introducing the coffee plant

We recommend you opt for Coffea Arabica, as this variety adapts best to the Italian climate and the home environment. You should purchase a seedling rather than attempting to grow the plant from scratch, as this can be extremely tricky.

Coffea is an evergreen plant with oval leaves about 15 cm long, and its stalk reaches about a metre and a half in height, if grown at home in a vase. Meanwhile, in nature, its can reach 8 metres in height. This is the case for the coffee plants of the vast plantations in the coffee-producing Countries where Caffè Aiello carefully selects the best berries for its coffee blends, compatible capsules and compostable pods.

Growing a coffee plant in an apartment

Coffea Arabica is grown like the majority of tropical plants, ideally in an environment that is:

• bright, but not in direct contact with light, to prevent the leaves from burning.
• warm: the ideal temperature for growth is 20° and it should never be kept at under 18°.
• with good air circulation, to minimise the danger of parasites, but be careful not to leave it in a spot subject to cold draughts. In winter it is best kept indoors, whereas in summer it can easily be left outside.

What you need

• A Coffea Arabica seedling.
• A vase with a diameter of about 25 centimetres.
• Well-draining potting soil with an acid pH, between 5 and 6.
• Fertiliser with balanced nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium values, rich in micro-elements.
• A spray bottle.
• Room temperature water.

How to take care of the coffee plant

Growing a coffee plant indoors requires you to take a few precautions to avoid it perishing.

Watering

You must constantly water the plant well: daily during the summer and less often in winter. Ensure that the soil is never completely dry, but also that the water does not stagnate.

Fertilisation

How often you fertilise your Coffea Arabica plant depends on its age. A young plant must be fertilised monthly in spring and summer (less frequently during winter) but a fully-grown plant must be fertilised weekly (during the hottest seasons).

Pruning and re-potting

There is no need for complicated pruning interventions, but thinning the foliage every so often allows the internal part of the plant to be ventilated correctly.

Once a year, when the roots grow out of the drainage holes at the bottom of the vase, you must re-pot the plant. The new vase must be slightly bigger, since Coffea Arabica only grows new leaves if its roots are pressed down.

When re-potting, it is a good idea to change the potting soil. We know a good method for enriching it: prepare a moka. Yes, that’s right! After making a coffee, the materials left over are full of nourishing substances, and can come in useful when you garden: click on this link to discover how to re-use coffee grounds.