So far we’ve had a small round of picking done at the end of July, but we’re about to start picking in earnest. Two years ago, the bulk of the fruit was picked in August and September. Last year, we had great rain and most of the fruit was picked in September and October. We received good rain again this year. There will probably be 5-8 more rounds of picking, spaced about 2-3 weeks apart. It might be another short year, ending around Thanksgiving.
During each round of picking, we only pick the cherries (red berries). The fruit is perfectly ready. Flavorful coffee starts with good fruit. The dark ones (raisins) are picked and destroyed, and the green are left to redden. I’ve included an older photo from several weeks ago that shows the flowering. What were green berries in that photo are now red, and the flowers are now green fruit. You can see how one has to select what to pick and can’t just pull all the fruit off one branch at once.
And then we have the blocks of trees that were stumped earlier this year. There isn’t fruit on these trees. They’ve just been pruned for the 3-5 strongest verticals that will produce fruit for the next 2-3 years.
Enjoy your updates.
There’s a lot of work involved here…but, very much worth it.
Ed brews fresh Kona Coffee, yes, from Bea’s Knees every morning!!!