How to Sprout Coffee Beans

Beans roasted for brewing won't germinate.

The coffee beans you use to brew your morning cup are actually the seeds of a coffee tree. These trees can reach up to 50 feet tall if left unpruned, but are usually trained to 4-foot heights for ease of harvest. In the home landscape, a coffee tree provides both greenery and shade, as well as a small crop of beans. The coffee seeds are encased in a fruit called a coffee cherry, with two seeds per cherry. Seeds can be sprouted for up to four months after harvest before they begin to lose viability.

Things You'll Need

• Bowl
• Pot
• Potting mix
• Tray

Instructions

1. Fill a bowl with warm tap water. Submerge the coffee seeds in the water and allow them to soak overnight. Soaking helps break the seed's dormancy and speeds germination.

2. Fill a 3-inch-diameter pot with a seed-starting potting mix. Make your own potting mix by combining one part vermiculite and one part peat moss.

3. Set the pot in a shallow tray. Fill the tray with water and allow the potting mix to absorb the moisture. Pour the excess water out of the tray once the soil surface in the pot becomes damp.

4. Sow one coffee seed per pot, planting it ½ inch deep. Cover the seed loosely---do not pack down the soil on top.

5. Set the pot in a room that maintains a temperature around 85 degrees F. Water the potting mix when the surface begins to dry. Keep the mix moist but never overly wet and soggy. Seeds sprout within two weeks when proper moisture and warmth is provided.

Tips & Warnings

• Coffee trees grow best in areas that maintain mild temperatures, 60 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, year-round. Trees cannot survive frost.

• Purchase seeds from a reputable grower. The roasted beans sold by coffee shops for brewing cannot germinate.

• Not all coffee types produce viable seeds. Non-hybrid Arabica varieties are most likely to produce viable seed stock.

References

• Ohio State University Extension: Coffee Seed Production
• University of Florida Extension: Coffee Growing in the Florida Home Landscape