Coffee Plant at Home: Care, Flowering and Harvest

The coffee plant is a striking houseplant with glossy dark green leaves, fragrant white flowers and red berries hiding real coffee beans. Growing one on a windowsill is quite achievable if you meet a few conditions. Here is how to care for coffee at home, when to expect flowers and whether you can harvest your own beans.

More windowsill plants are in our houseplants section.

What kind of plant it is

The usual indoor species is Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica), an evergreen shrub from the mountain forests of Ethiopia. In the wild it reaches several metres; indoors it usually grows to 1–1.5 m. Arabica is self-pollinating, so even a single plant can set berries.

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Care

• Light. Bright, indirect — an east- or west-facing window. Midday sun scorches the leaves; in shade the plant won't flower.
• Temperature. 18–24 °C in summer, no lower than 15 °C in winter. Cold draughts and a sill under an open window do harm.
• Watering. Use soft, room-temperature water and keep the soil evenly moist; drying out and waterlogging are equally harmful. See our watering guide.
• Humidity. Coffee likes humid air: a tray of wet clay pebbles or a humidifier helps, especially when the heating is on.
• Compost. Loose, slightly acidic (pH 5–6) and free-draining.
• Feeding. Every two weeks from spring to late summer with a flowering-plant fertiliser.
• Repotting. Young plants every spring, mature ones every 2–3 years — see our guide to repotting houseplants.

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Flowers and berries

A coffee plant usually flowers in its third or fourth year. White star-shaped flowers appear in the leaf axils and smell of jasmine; each lasts only a few days. Green berries follow and take 6–8 months to ripen to red. Each berry holds two beans.

While the plant is forming buds, don't turn or move the pot: a sudden change in light can make it drop them.

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Can you brew your own coffee?

Yes, but the harvest is symbolic — a few dozen berries a year from a mature plant. The beans are cleaned of pulp, dried and roasted. It's a fun experiment rather than a coffee supply.

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Propagation

• From seed. Only fresh, unroasted beans will germinate — beans bought for brewing won't. Seedlings appear in 1–2 months at 24–28 °C.
• From cuttings. Upright shoots are rooted in spring; plants from cuttings flower sooner than seedlings.

Common problems

• Brown leaf edges — dry air or underwatering.
• Yellow leaves — hard water, overwatering or lack of nutrients.
• Buds dropping — moving the pot, draughts, drying out.
• No flowers — the plant is too young or lacks light.

FAQ

Is a coffee plant poisonous?

The leaves and unripe berries contain caffeine. It isn't a danger to people, but don't let cats or dogs chew them.

Isn't a "coffee tree" a craft made of beans?

In floristry the name is also used for a decorative topiary made from coffee beans. This article is about the living plant.

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Author: Maria Svitlovir

Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.

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