Rod Walmsley is successfully growing coffee at Sharon and roasting delicious 100 per cent Arabica beans to produce Kadilly Coffee.
For the part-time farmer and full-time coffee lover, turning his hobby into a business was an easy decision to make.
In 2014, the Bundaberg man transformed part of his parents’ Sharon farm into a coffee plantation and has since been hand picking, pulping and roasting delicious 100 per cent Arabica beans for coffee connoisseurs to enjoy.
“Kadilly Coffee is a blend of my two children’s names, Kaden and Tilly,” Rodney said.
“About five years ago I planted all of the trees. I always had an interest in growing coffee and producing the final product from crop to cup.”
The coffee bean process
Rod said his coffee orchard comprises about 250 trees.
Unlike the big farming industries, he said there was no fancy equipment at his orchard as everything was hand-picked.
“After we harvest the fruit it then gets pulped, which removes the coffee cherry skin from the seed,” he said.
“From there, the seeds are fermented in water for about 48 hours then sun dried and left to sit for a few months in its inner skin or parchment.
“The parchment is removed then the green bean is ready for roasting.”
Red cherry surprise
Rod said people who visited his farm were often surprised about what coffee beans look like in the first stages.
“It’s very different to the final product that you see in a cafe,” he said.
“They start in a red cherry and there’s two beans in every cherry on the tree.
“The tree I have are dwarf trees but some varieties grow really tall. These ones are kept shorter because I am hand-harvesting.”
Kadilly Coffee at Bundy Flavours
Kadilly Coffee will be on show at this year’s Bundy Flavours markets for those who want to see up close what the business is all about.
“This will be my second year at the markets and I am really looking forward to it,” Rod said.
“Last year we had an overwhelming response. It’s really great to talk to people about the growing progress.”
To find out more about Kadilly Coffee, or to purchase, head to Rod’s Facebook page and Instagram.
Other stallholders featured at the event include Well Goodness Me and Nana’s Pantry.
