Harvesting Coffee

In most countries, the coffee harvest is an annual event.  In a few countries however, the trees can produce twice a year.  Because of the botanical characteristics of the coffee tree and the fact that trees often grow in mountainous areas, mechanical harvesting is usually not possible.  The ripe cherries are hand- picked regularly before they become overripe.  Coffee farmers may return to the same trees three times to pick berries that were yellow days earlier.Yield from trees varies, but on average 1 tree produces 1-1½ lbs of roasted coffee per season.  Experienced coffee pickers can pick 200 lbs. of cherries per day which is 35 lbs. of roasted ground coffee.