I planted eight coffee trees. I love coffee by the way… I think we need a minimum of 20 trees to grow our annual household coffee supply.
I planted seedlings obtained from my friend Ed and Edie’s award winning coffee orchard in Hakalau. These are the robusta type which is different from the arabica type they grow on the Kona side. Robusta does a lot better in lower elevations. In the past Julia and I helped picking coffee for a couple seasons. It’s hard work!!!
It seems like every other year there is a new coffee pest/disease attacking Hawaiian coffee. The borer beetle, and now the rust. Hopefully I’ll manage to grow some decent beans.
In Hawaii some of the first coffee trees were planted on the Hilo/Hamakua side. Some of the best coffees I tried come from small little orchards where more attention can be given to each individual tree.
Originally posted on 2021-01-13, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.