The coffee variety Coffea stenophylla, which bears black fruit instead of the red fruit typical of the two coffees that are widely grown commercially, can be seen in Ivory Coast in this undated photo. E. Couturon, IRD / Handout via REUTERS
In dense tropical forests in Sierra Leone, scientists have rediscovered a coffee variety that has not been seen in the wild in decades – a plant that they believe could help secure the future of this valuable commodity endangered by climate change.
The researchers said Monday that the strain, called Coffea stenophylla, has a greater tolerance to higher temperatures than the Arabica coffee, which makes up 56% of global production, and the robusta coffee, which makes up 43%. The stenophylla coffee, they added, was found to have a superior taste, similar to Arabica.
Botanist Aaron Davis, who led the study published in the journal Nature Plants, said stenophylla was grown in parts of West Africa and exported to Europe until the early 20th century before becoming a crop after the introduction of robusta leave.
Many farmers in the world’s coffee growing belt are already experiencing the negative effects of climate change, an acute concern for the multi-billion dollar industry.
The taste of Arabica is rated as superior and carries higher prices than robusta, which is mainly used for instant coffee and coffee blends. But Arabica has limited resilience to climate change, and research has shown that global production could drop by at least 50% by the middle of this century.
Stenophylla grows at an average annual temperature of 24.9 degrees Celsius (76.8 degrees Fahrenheit) – 1.9 degrees C (3.42 degrees F) higher than robusta coffee and up to 6.8 degrees C (12.24 degrees F) higher than Arabica coffee, the researchers said.
The rediscovery of stenophylla, Davis said, could help “future-proof” a coffee industry that supports the economies of several tropical countries and provides livelihoods for more than 100 million farmers. Although 124 coffees are known, Arabica and Robusta make up 99% of the consumption.
“The idea is that, with minimal domestication, stenophylla could be used as a high-quality coffee for farmers in warmer climates,” said Davis, head of coffee research at the UK’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
“For the longer term, stenophylla provides us with an important resource for growing a new generation of climate-resilient coffee crops as it has great taste and heat tolerance. are for the cultivation of coffee plants, ”added Davis.
Leaf rust is a fungal disease that has devastated coffee crops in Central and South America.
The study included taste assessments with 18 coffee tastings. Stenophylla was found to have a complex flavor profile, with natural sweetness, medium acidity, fruitiness and good “body” – the way it feels in the mouth.
In December 2018, Davis and study authors Jeremy Haggar of the University of Greenwich and coffee development specialist Daniel Sarmu searched for stenophylla in the wild. They initially saw a single plant in central Sierra Leone. About 140 km away in southeastern Sierra Leone, they found a healthy wild stenophylla population.
“Both locations were dense tropical forest, but stenophylla tends to occur in drier, more open areas: ridges, slopes and rocky areas,” Davis said.
Stenophylla had not been seen in the wild in Sierra Leone since 1954 and since the 1980s in Ivory Coast, Davis said. Some examples were kept in coffee research collections.
Davis said stenophylla is in danger of extinction amid widespread deforestation in the three countries known to grow wild: Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast.
Unlike the red and sometimes yellow fruits of Arabica and Robusta plants, the fruits of stenophylla are intensely black. The coffee beans are in the fruit.
“I think we are very optimistic for the future that stenophylla can bring,” said Jeremy Torz, co-founder of the specialty coffee business Union Hand-Roasted Coffee in East London, where some of the taste tests were conducted.
Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Principles of Trust.