Coffee Plant
Coffea arabica · Arabian Coffee
It grows in the cool, misty cloud-forest understory of the Ethiopian highlands, a glossy-leaved shrub in dappled shade. It is the same species that supplies about 60% of the world's coffee, and its wild ancestor is now Endangered.
Family
Rubiaceae
Origin
Ethiopian highlands
In the wild
Cloud-forest understory
Indoors
1.2–1.8 m
Growth
Moderate
With pets
Toxic
Where it's from
Southwestern highlands of Ethiopia
Highland understory
Native to the highlands of Ethiopia at roughly 1,200 to 2,000 m, also found in South Sudan and Yemen.
Wild plants tower
In the forest it reaches 9 to 12 m, kept far smaller indoors.
Outdoors: zones 10–12
Strictly tropical. It drops its leaves below about 13°C and does not tolerate frost.
You can harvest it
Coffea arabica supplies about 60% of the world's coffee. On a plant three or four years old in good light, white jasmine-scented flowers give way to cherries that ripen red, each holding two seeds: the beans. It is the one houseplant you can propagate from its own crop.
From flower to bean
Fragrant white flowers become drupes that ripen green to yellow to deep red.
Grow your own seed
Fresh green beans sprout. Roasted supermarket beans are dead and will not.
Patience required
Flowering and fruiting indoors usually wait until the plant is three to four years old.
How to keep it
LightBright, indirect
Filtered sun or light shade. Avoid harsh direct midday sun, which scorches the leaves.
WaterKeep evenly moist
Consistently moist but not soggy. Do not let it dry out hard.
HumidityModerate to highA forest understory plant. Dry indoor air browns the leaf tips.
Temperature16–27°CWarm days, cool nights. It drops leaves below about 13°C and is not frost-tolerant.
SoilRich, well-drainedOrganically rich and slightly acidic, but well-draining.
FeedingGrowing seasonA balanced or acid-loving feed in the growing season, reduced in winter.
DifficultyEasy to moderateForgiving foliage, but cold and dry air are its weak points.
With petsToxicThe whole plant contains caffeine. Vomiting, restlessness, rapid heart rate and tremors if eaten. Keep cherries away from pets.
PropagationSeedFrom fresh green beans, or semi-hardwood stem cuttings.
RepottingEvery 2–3 yearsWhen it becomes rootbound.
What the data says
What it costs
Cheap and mass-produced, often sold several seedlings to a pot. No real collector market.
$15–35
Occasional variegated one-offs run higher, but it is a novelty, not an established market.
Endangered in the wild
The sharpest version of the houseplant paradox: grown by the billions, threatened where it came from.
85%
of wild Arabica's suitable localities could vanish by 2080 under climate modelling (Moat et al., 2019). The wild Ethiopian ancestor is IUCN Endangered, even as the cultivated plant sits on millions of windowsills.
IUCN · Endangered
In the wild
Thriving in our homes and farms, threatened in the forest it came from.
Wild Coffea arabica is Endangered, driven by deforestation in Ethiopia and climate change. That wild gene pool is the irreplaceable insurance policy of disease and heat resistance for the entire global crop.
When it sulks
Sudden leaf dropCold exposure below about 13°C or drafts. The classic complaint.
Brown leaf tipsLow humidity or inconsistent watering on dry air.
Scorched, bleached leavesToo much direct sun.
No flowers or beansThe plant is too young, needing three to four years, or it has too little light.
PestsScale, mealybug, thrips and spider mites.
Varieties & company
The varieties
'Typica''Bourbon''Caturra''Geisha'
Pairs with · keep apart from
CalatheaFernsPeace LilySnake PlantAloeCacti
A new plant, every week.
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