MikeReilly Senior Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 277 Location: Vancouver Island Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Cimbali Junior D, Gaggia... Grinder: Mazzer Mini Drip: Cuisinart Roaster: Behmor, I-Roast 2, Popper
Posted Sun Jul 29, 2012, 2:29pm Subject: My next upgrade (I may have gone too far)
This Spring, my wife and I bought an unpermitted house in the Eden Roc Estates subdivision in Mountain View, Hawaii. It's at 1800' altitude and comes with an acre of land. I recently flew over to do some work on the place and get some things organised to get upgrades done to get it permitted and decided it was time for an upgrade in my coffee. I went down to the Hilo Coffee mill, bought a flat of coffee keiki (1 year old coffee plants) and planted them on the property. I am now looking forward to a very small crop next year and hopefully a bigger crop every year after that. Land is currently very inexpensive there, by the way. I think my coffee obsession might have gone a bit too far...
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,761 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Mon Jul 30, 2012, 6:19am Subject: Re: My next upgrade (I may have gone too far)
Too far? Nah, not to a geek! That said though, it is more work than I would want to do, after growing and picking there is depulping, drying and roasting. I have a lot of GREAT roasters in easy reach, then add to that, we are not in a coffee growing zone, your path isn't even a choice for me!
From memory, I seem to remember that on average, one tree will yield about 1 pound of roasted coffee per year, I could be way off on that but from my best memory that is what I seem to remember.
Good luck, you are in a prime coffee growing location and I wish you well in your efforts!
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
MikeReilly Senior Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 277 Location: Vancouver Island Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Cimbali Junior D, Gaggia... Grinder: Mazzer Mini Drip: Cuisinart Roaster: Behmor, I-Roast 2, Popper
Posted Mon Jul 30, 2012, 1:44pm Subject: Re: My next upgrade (I may have gone too far)
I'll be happy for now if I can grow enough for myself and my friends. 1lb per plant is pretty reasonable. The real trick for me is to be able to be there for harvest times (aug-oct), but I'm sure I can get a friend or two to spend some time there during those times. It's not hard to get coffee processed - there are a number of mills around (Makana Gardens, Hilo Coffee Mill, Greenwell and many more) you can pay to process your beans for a fee and have the equipment to do it quickly and easily. I don't find roasting to be a chore at all. I'll be planting between 20 and 100 plants a year until I have as many as I want. Perhaps it could turn into a business venture after I retire from teaching. Until then, I look forward to seeing what turns up in the cup.
redkiosk Senior Member Joined: 13 May 2012 Posts: 162 Location: Chicago Metro Area Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Illy Francis-Francis X1 Grinder: Baratza Preciso w/ Esatto... Vac Pot: Someday, very intriguing Drip: Bunn Trifecta MB Roaster: A sure path to divorce!
Posted Mon Jul 30, 2012, 5:29pm Subject: Re: My next upgrade (I may have gone too far)
Your post brought back fond memories. We had close friends that had a coffee farm in Kona, that we used to visit every so often during the 70's. Their home and all the plants were sitting on the side of a mountain that was at least a 45º slope. The farm was sold long ago to developers. I was too young to appreciate the Kona coffee they always shipped to us in the mainland, but do remember the chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. :-) Take care!
Jim
The pathologically precise are annoying, but right!
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