Good News from Zambia

The coffee plants on Mount Sunzu are in their first bloom. The eagerly awaited moment happened a little faster than expected, but it is of course still a most welcomed moment and the reward for many hours of hard work. It is interesting to know that these highland coffee plants can, when grown up, have up to 40’000 flowers. As they are self-pollinating, they usually do not need bees for reproduction but work with the wind. Seven to nine months after pollination the first cherries will appear.

It is interesting to note that though Arabica coffee plants don't rely on bees (or other insects) for pollination, studies show that having bees near the plants can still boost coffee fruit yield to some extent. There are many wild bees living in the farm’s own Myombo forest. They are part of the farm’s Wild Bee Honey project and will certainly come by to benefit from the coffee flower nectar. So hopefully they can contribute to a successful first harvest!