World's first coffee grown in continental climate produced in Catalonia

The world's first coffee grown in a continental climate will be harvested in Catalonia next year.

Entrepreneurs Joan Giráldez and Eva Prat started a coffee plantation eight years ago in Sant Vicenç de Torelló, Osona, central Catalonia, and now expect their 5,000 plants to produce their first crop.

"This will be the first coffee in the world to be grown in a continental climate. We don't know of any other coffee grown in this climate," says Giráldez.

Coffee plants typically thrive in tropical and subtropical regions, and until now there has been no record of a plantation in a continental climate.

Joan and Eva have successfully grown the seeds and completed two germination cycles, with the plants now growing to a height of 1.2 meters.

The big question is what unique qualities their coffee will have, even though they chose two high-end varieties.

"We still don't know how they will develop, what the aroma, flavor, body and other characteristics will be," Joan explains.

A coffee plant typically takes seven years to reach full production, and their plants are now three years old. 

One of the keys to their success was germinating the seeds in Catalonia, which allowed the plants to adapt to the local climate.

"The plant already has the genetic information to adapt to a climate that's not native to it," Joan explained.  

To protect the plants from extreme temperatures, they created a partially covered area, although the plants are exposed to the weather most of the year.

This setup allows them to withstand temperatures ranging from 8°C to 42°C.

However, Joan explains that their current goal is not large-scale production, but rather to ensure that they have enough seeds to continue expanding the plantation. 

The project also aims to educate people about coffee farming.  "We want to raise awareness of the effort that goes into every cup of coffee," Joan says.