Posted Tue Mar 29, 2005, 5:36am Subject: Re: Growing Coffee in Florida
Woops---sorry about that. I tested and it worked for me because I registered. Here is the cut and pasted version without pics.
If it's too long please delete the thread. thanks.
Posted on Mon, Mar. 28, 2005 in Miami Herald
South Florida to Get First Coffee Plantation
BY NIKKI WALLER
Florida coffee drinkers may soon wake up to a Broward-grown brew. J.C. Nadeau, as if an alchemist-turned-coffee-roaster, is betting his locally grown coffee will be tastier and more pure than pricier blends. The Coconut Creek resident is importing Colombian coffee plants that are customized for Florida's unique soil. Within the next week, he says, a caffeinated crop will go into the ground on a leased, 10-acre patch of farmland in western Davie. State farm officials are closely watching Nadeau's progress. If he succeeds, his would be the first commercial coffee plantation in Florida. ''It is obviously a somewhat risky venture, growing coffee in this latitude,'' said Terry McElroy, a Florida Agriculture Department spokesman. ``But it shows incredible entrepreneurial spirit.'' Nadeau said he has invested $1 million of his own money in the project, envisioning a chain of coffee shops and carts in addition to plantations. He's received no assistance from the state, although he says the city of Davie leased him at a low price community land it wanted to preserve as agricultural green space. If all goes as planned, Nadeau expects to harvest in about eight months 15,000 pounds of beans from an initial planting of 5,000 coffee trees. Local agriculture boosters are hopeful about the crop. ''There's always the possibility that this could develop into something that replaces citrus and maintains green space,'' said Fred Segal, president of the Broward Farm Bureau. THE CLIMATE QUESTION But Florida's winter climate, while ideal for snowbirds and vacationers, may be too cold for the finicky coffee plant, which thrives at temperatures between 55 and 80 degrees. While South Florida's temperatures normally stay in that range, the occasional freeze or bout of cold weather could ruin a crop. Jonathan Crane, a tropical-fruit-crop specialist at the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, says the region's high humidity during the summer also can weaken coffee plants. The U.S. Department of Agriculture once maintained a coffee collection near the coast in southern Miami-Dade County, but agronomists eventually gave up and found it easier to grow cacao instead. ''If coffee could be grown here commercially,'' said Crane, ``it would already be commercially cultivated here.'' The proof is in the product, counters Nadeau, who says he's grown many successful test plants in back yards throughout the region. He's developed a closed-loop irrigation system with raised planting beds that he says will help resist cold and keep the coffee well drained. The white-haired Nadeau, 60, turned to custom coffee growing shortly after retirement, when his dozen or so daily cups of coffee began irritating his stomach. Nadeau, who once ran his own gold refinery in Quebec, learned that much of the coffee produced commercially includes impurities such as ground twigs, leaves, sawdust and stones. ''Something didn't taste right,'' he said. STOMACH PAINS Rather than give up his cherished drink, he decided to create a better brew. In early 2002, he began planting coffee bushes throughout Broward County and South Florida. Those first bushes bore deep red cherries, which he de-pulped, fermented, roasted and dried on his own. That first taste, he said, was heavenly. 'I said, `Wow, this is a different world, this is the real thing.' '' He found a small coffee plantation in Colombia willing to grow arabica beans in conditions that would mimic South Florida's alkaline soil and heavy moisture. Nadeau said an alkaline tinge, it turned out, produced a hearty, rich-bodied brew that isn't as harsh on sensitive stomachs. To test his concept, Nadeau commissioned a small, trailer-sized mobile coffee roastery to visit farmer's markets around Broward. Now semi-permanently installed at Bob Roth's New River Groves in Davie, the roastery has already developed loyal fans. Joe Truscello works in Lighthouse Point, but makes a coffee run to Davie nearly every day. On a recent Thursday, he and his girlfriend dropped by for a noontime fix. ''It doesn't have a bitter aftertaste,'' he said as Nadeau's partner Jairo Noriega prepared his usual, an iced coffee with an extra shot of espresso. Nadeau hopes his brightly colored cart, which operates as Wagon Wheel Coffee Roaster will launch a regional chain. As he prepares his coffee plantation, he's also seeking franchisees to run their own Wagon Wheel cart or store. ''We have reinvented the wheel,'' he said. ``We're bringing back the days when people drank real coffee.''
The4Rum Senior Member Joined: 3 Mar 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Orlando, FL Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Mar 29, 2005, 5:51am Subject: Re: Growing Coffee in Florida
Thanks NickScull. This is a great article. I live in Orlando, FL and will take a drive down to Davie in April and report back to you on the taste of this new American Coffee!
cannonfodder Senior Member Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 873 Location: Dayton, Oh Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ElektraA3,Faema2G, Isomac,... Grinder: Cimbali, Mazzer Vac Pot: Dont smoke pot or vac it. Drip: Press pot Roaster: Hottop, drum roaster
Posted Tue Mar 29, 2005, 10:38am Subject: Re: Growing Coffee in Florida
I wish him the best luck, but, coffee trees are just to fragile. From what I have read, a heavy rain/wind can damage an almost ripe crop. I do not think they would stand up well to hurricanes. They also take three-five years of growth before they reach maturity and start to flower. Once again, I believe that is what I have read but I have been wrong before. Hope it works out for him but I am not going to hold my breath.
scubadoo97 Senior Member Joined: 24 Jun 2003 Posts: 656 Location: Florida Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Solis SL70 Grinder: Mazzer Mini & Solis Maestro... Drip: French Press/Clarity Roaster: SC/TO
Posted Wed Mar 30, 2005, 4:20am Subject: Re: Growing Coffee in Florida
From what I've read coffee is best at higher altitudes and in climates with bigger differences between high and low daily temps.
"Nadeau, who once ran his own gold refinery in Quebec, learned that much of the coffee produced commercially includes impurities such as ground twigs, leaves, sawdust and stones." "Something didn't taste right, he said. STOMACH PAINS Rather than give up his cherished drink, he decided to create a better brew."
Is he talking about ground coffee? I have found only a few stones in over 100 lbs of coffee that I buy and well, I just pick them out.
''We have reinvented the wheel'' he is says. I don't think so
It would be great if he could produce better coffee here in Florida but I think it is an uphill battle and the cost to grow and harvest the coffee have to be significantly higher than in other parts of the world due to labor, insurance an legal cost.
Mr_Bingley Senior Member Joined: 26 Feb 2004 Posts: 184 Location: New York Expertise: Professional
Posted Thu Mar 31, 2005, 5:30am Subject: Re: Growing Coffee in Florida
the cup will not be all that great, given that they're being grown at sea level (basically). also, the biggest problem is not wind or rain; it's that a good hard frost kills the trees. as in dead. the leave sturn black, curl up and fall off, and if the frost is strong enough, which is not unknown in florida, your only option is to hook up your tractor and pull out the stump.
i've seen the after effects of frosts in brazil. all you're left with is some expensive kindling.
But Florida's winter climate, while ideal for snowbirds and vacationers, may be too cold for the finicky coffee plant, which thrives at temperatures between 55 and 80 degrees. While South Florida's temperatures normally stay in that range, the occasional freeze or bout of cold weather could ruin a crop.
also, on a different point in the article:
If all goes as planned, Nadeau expects to harvest in about eight months 15,000 pounds of beans from an initial planting of 5,000 coffee trees.
first off, trees do not produce a significant amount until they are a minimum of three years old, not hitting their stride until 5-10 years. second, no coffee tree will produce 3lbs of beans; generally if you get a pound per you're doing ok. perhaps they are thinking 'cherries'.
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