Coffee is a deciduous, shrub-like tree. Most cultivars used in commercial production are pruned back each year to less than 8 feet in height, and every 8-10 years the tree is pruned nearly to the ground. The life of the tree in terms of good coffee production can be 50 years, and it will live much longer but will probably stop producing coffee with good organoleptic qualities at some point.
Here Tom discusses how to go about choosing what green coffee to roast, both for folks just beginning to home roast and for those who love a certain coffee that is now unavailable.
The Lean Times [We were discussing the nearly complete lack of Central American coffees in our offerings when Tom remembered that he wrote about this in a past Tiny Joy. He has a good memory because I found it in the Nov-Dec ’04 edition! I am reproducing part of that here since it is still relevant. – Maria]
Sweet Maria's offers over 70 different kinds of coffee, so we get this question a lot. The answer, of course, depends (or should depend) on what you like.
