Kentucky coffee

Color/Appearance: Heartwood an orange to reddish brown. Yellowish white sapwood is very narrow and well defined against heartwood. Overall appearance and grain pattern similar to ash or oak.

Grain/Texture: Grain is straight and porous, with a coarse, uneven texture.

Endgrain: Ring-porous; 2-4 rows of large earlywood pores, numerous medium to small latewood pores, sometimes clustered, in wavy or tangential arrangement; tyloses absent; growth rings distinct; rays fine and not visible without lens; parenchyma vasicentric, and sometimes aliform (winged and lozenge), confluent, and banded, especially in latewood zones.

Rot Resistance: Reports range from moderately durable to very durable regarding decay resistance, and is reported to fare well in direct ground contact. Reports are mixed on resistance to insect attack.

Workability: Coffeetree has good working characteristics, and nearly every machining operation can be done with good and expected results. Glues, stains, and finishes well.

Odor: No characteristic odor.

Allergies/Toxicity: Besides the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, no further health reactions have been associated with Coffeetree. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.

Pricing/Availability: Coffeetree is not a common tree, and though it grows on a number of sites in the United States, it is not plentiful in any one location. Supplies for Coffeetree lumber are likely to be limited, and mostly available only within its natural range in the Midwest and eastern United States. Prices should be in the mid to upper range for a domestic hardwood.

Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Common Uses: Furniture, cabinetry, fence posts, and utility wood.