How to grow coffee?

Can we grow coffee in the UK?

• I live in London and love trying new blends of coffee. However, all the 'best' coffee seems to come from beans shipped over from Central American, Asian and South American territories. Given the warm and wet British weather - could we start growing our own coffee here and save on the transportation costs?

• Answer:

  In the 600 or so years of coffee bean cultivation, it has been well established that coffee can only grow successfully in the zone (The coffee belt) roughly bounded by the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the south, as this map below of the coffee producing country demonstrates. When you look at the best environmental conditions for coffee bean growing, you see why the UK or any country outside of the coffee belt struggles to successfully harvest a coffee bean crop. The ideal conditions for coffee bean growing include: A planting and growing altitude of between 600m – 1200m (2,000 ft - 4,000 ft) as pests and parasites attack the coffee plant at low altitudes. A well drained sub-soil that is moist but not soggy with the plant never sitting in water. Soggy conditions promotes plant rot and the young shoots wilt and the coffee tree dies. A high humidity of about 90% so that evaporation is kept to a minimum and the high humidity diffuses direct sunlight. Planting on hillsides and mountain cuttings of volcanic nature with disintegrating rocks or freshly tilled woodlands. These conditions ensure the right amount of sunlight and the right amount of drainage. 75 inches of rainfall per year, ideally including heavy rainfall from 1,500 to 2,000 millimeters (60 - 90 inches) over a set 8-month period. A 2-3 months dry spell to allows coffee trees to bud, flower and promote new growth. Direct sun light for two hours a day. Temperature Averages between 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit (24 - 29 Celsius) is preferred with year round warm optimum temperatures hovering at about 27 Celsius with no large temperature variations as the coffee plant is susceptible to any major changes in temperature. Frost will kill every variety of coffee plant known. No wind. The coffee plant does not do well in high wind conditions. When you consider the conditions required for coffee bean growing listed above, you understand why the UK is not a suitable environment for coffee bean growing, nor any country outside of "the coffee belt" for that matter.