談齊好 Vigi Tam

自由撰稿人，遊歷超過40個國家

2015-12-15

書說，咖啡只能在南北回歸線中間的咖啡帶生產，美國人證明她錯了。我現身在中加州聖巴巴拉的有機莊園，見證了他們產的多個不同品種的咖啡，早上採豆，下午進行脱皮水洗及發酵，然後試喝去年產的瑰夏

WHO: Jay and Kristen Ruskey, 7-year- old daughter Kasurina, and
4-year- old twins Aiden and Sean.

WHAT Coffee, finger caviar limes and dragon fruit, amid avocado and
cherimoya orchards.

WHERE: Forty acres in the foothills off Farren Road on the cusp of
western Goleta and the Gaviota Coast.

WHEN: Jay's parents bought the property in 1989.

HOW: No one ever thought coffee could grow in a Mediterranean
climate--if so, why didnt espresso- addicted Italians do it long
ago?- and then Jay Ruskey came along and proved them all wrong.
Today, thanks to his nearly decade-long experiment revealing that the
coffee bean can be most tasty and profitable on the Santa Barbara
coast, coffee aficionados around the world are waking up to a new
frontier of possibilities.

A quarter-century ago, the Hollywood-raised, Cal Poly-educated
maverick started farming avocados on the property his parents bought
in the foothills above Ellwood and dove headfirst into exotic crops as
a member of the California Rare Fruit Growers Central Coast chapter.
Cherimoyas were his first oddball fruit, and he tried everything else
he could get his hands on: lychee and longan, goji berry and guava,
dragon fruit and finger limes, those latter two most promising today.
"We've learned a lot through failure" said Ruskey, who eventually got
his hands on coffee plants out of just being efficient, I planted
them under avocado trees on the same farming system. That was nine
years ago He purchased processing equipment, and the coffee turned
out quite
good, especially from the high-elevation Central American varieties,
as our latitude seems to compensate for their altitude.

"Simultaneously, the specialty market for coffee was really maturing
beyond the Starbucks wave," said Ruskey, whose University of
California-aided experiments have always been market-driven. It was
no longer people drinking just regular coffee. They wanted to know
how it was processed. They were willing to pay big money. It's kind
of where winegrowing was 25 years ago" His coffee fetches more than
$60 a pound for dried green beans on the international market, much
of it going to Japan and England, though locals can snag a 5.5-ounce
bag for s25 or take one of his monthly tours.

COFFEE COMETH: Jay Ruskey is proving that coffee-which Lindsey
McManus is processing into the bag of green beans below-can be grown
profitably in the hills above Goleta. but it wasn't his first
experimental crop. Other emerging success stories include the dragon
fruit and the finger or caviar lime.

He recently founded Diversitree Nursery, a new nursery project for
the coffee plants which are now being experimented with by avocado
growers in Morro Bay, Mission Canyon, and Carpinteria-as well as
other specialty crops, such as black Périgord truffles, which he
hopes to bring to Santa Ynez Valley vineyards. The overall goal is to
promote layered agricultural systems, which maximize grower profits,
ring new products to market, and are a more efficient use of the
land.

When asked if he ever thought he'd be growing coffee in the hills of
Goleta when he started farming, Ruskey laughed. "Agriculture is like
sailing a boat," he explained. "You just say, I'm gonna do this
course, and pick up where the current and winds and trends go and use
your skills to optimize yourself in that direction. I think it's a
lot of fun. I really enjoy the coffee business'


Coffee Educational Tour
Dates Available Saturday, August 9th +$40.00 Saturday, September 13th +$40.00

DescriptionOur upcoming tours are on August 9th, 2014 and September 13th, 2014.

Good Land Organics Coffee Tours

$40 per person
25 people maximum per tour

Walking tour duration:
1.5 hours

Description:

Start time: 9:00 am
Duration: 2 hrs
Where to meet: Main Facility
Tour includes:
Coffee tasting of California grown coffee
The walking tour
Bring your own lunch to enjoy at our onsite Koi pod
End time: 11:00 pm

Details of the tour:

The tour will be lead by Good Land Organics owner and grower, Jay Ruskey. You will be welcomed with fresh coffee, freshly made juice and seasonal fruit. Jay will give an overview of the coffee research collaboration that has been conducted with the assistance of the University of California Small Farm Program. He will then lead you on a moderate level hike where Jay will explain the dynamics of new crop adaptation and integration of organic tree fruit agriculture.

The walk will take you through the eclectic mix of exotic fruit varieties that grow on the farm. Upon reaching the coffee you will discover the dozen Arabica varieties at various stages of development.

Here you will learn about the coffee planting trial and what it has taken to establish the orchard. The trees always have fruit so you are guaranteed to see beans on the trees. Each person will have an opportunity to taste a fresh picked coffee berry and discover the original flavors of the coffee bean, while discussing coffee cultivation and post harvest processing. On your return hike, there will be time for open discussion and for any further questions. At Noon you have the option to enjoy your picnic lunch at our pond.