Good Land Organics: Coffee Farming

Can coffee plants survive and thrive in the continental U.S.? Farmer Jay Ruskey is ready to put that question to the ultimate test.

Ruskey is the owner of Good Land Organics, a small farm in Santa Barbara County that cultivates and supplies rare crops to various local farmers markets and restaurants around the country.

Coffee is generally grown between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, but that hasn't stopped Ruskey from bringing a whole new level of coffee farming back to California.

Finer coffee beans in the world are often grown at a slower maturation period to allow time for the coffee bean to develop, according to Ruskey.

"We're hoping that this long maturation period in California can follow the same sequence and make a unique taste of the coffee," Ruskey told KCET Food.

At Good Land Organics, farmers pick out selected red coffee beans to create a unique flavor.

"Like wine, you can't make a good bottle of wine with bad grapes," Ruskey told KCET.

In this 2012 segment originally produced by KCET Food, Ruskey gives us a tour of Good Land Organics, examines the color and maturation of a coffee bean, and teaches coffee lovers what makes that warm cup of coffee taste so good.

Featuring Interviews With:

• Jay Ruskey, owner, Good Land Organics