Richard

Sounds like you are thinking about growing coffee plants for the harvest of beans. When grown in the subtropics, it will take two plants per coffee drinker to produce a more-or-less sustainable supply. Also, the desired yields do not occur until the plants are hardy bushes 4 feet wide and exceeding 5 feet in height. Coffee plants have extensive root systems that are needed for reasonable bean production. If grown in a pot, I would choose 60 gallon. If you move them indoors for the winter, it must be greenhouse conditions with plenty of light or the plant will go into shock and production will lag. The processing of coffee beans is a delicate matter and most amateurs (me included) destroy their crop while drying the beans. Take them to a roasting house instead. Further, the taste of coffee beans varies quite a bit with the environment they are grown in. For a subtropical climate, the variety grown in the Nicaraguan "mountains" has produced good tasting results. I do not know of a source for these plants in the U.S., other than making a donation to a central american missionary who will obtain a bag of raw beans (which are seeds) and bring them home for you. There is no regulation restricting the import of raw coffee beans to the U.S. that I know of. Finally, many peoples in subtropical climates have come to the conclusion that you can get far better tasting coffee for less money and less effort by buying a bag of roasted beans from a reasonable source.

__________________
Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com