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‘Forgotten’ coffee species could help to futureproof the coffee industry under climate change
19/04/2021 - Press release
Scientists reveal that
Coffea stenophylla – a rare and threatened species from West Africa – has the potential to ensure the future of great-tasting coffee under climate change. The coffee, rediscovered in the wild in 2018 after years of searching, has the unique combination of tolerance to high temperatures and a superior flavour – throwing a lifeline to the multibillion dollar coffee industry, which is vulnerable to climate change. Results from an independent, professional tasting with panellists from Nespresso & Jacobs Douwe Egbert (JDE), show that the flavour of stenophylla is like high-end Arabica (Arabica is the world’s most popular coffee).
A rare species of coffee rediscovered in the wild after decades could secure the future of great-tasting brews in the face of climate change, scientists said.
According to tasting by independent experts, the enigmatic narrow-leaved coffee (Coffea stenophylla) from West Africa has a flavour similar to high-end Arabica, the world’s most popular coffee which is at risk from climate change.
But stenophylla tolerates much higher temperatures than Arabica, and as the world warms, it could help farmers whose livelihoods depend on supplying high-quality coffee for the multi-billion pound global industry.
It could be grown commercially in much warmer places than Arabica and be used as a breeding resource to produce new, climate-resilient crops to meet the world’s desire for a good cup of coffee.
Image: RBG Kew
A rare, almost forgotten, wild coffee species from Upper West Africa could hold the key to boosting the coffee industry against the impact of climate change.
In a new paper published today, scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) Kew, the University of Greenwich, the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development CIRAD and Sierra Leone, have found that the ‘stenophylla’ coffee species can tolerate much warmer temperatures than Arabica coffee.
The breakthrough research shows ‘stenophylla’ could soon be grown commercially in much warmer places than Arabica.
It has also the potential to be used as the basis for new climate-resilient coffee crops for global consumption, scientists suggest.
A rare species of coffee rediscovered in the wild after decades could secure the future of great-tasting brews in the face of climate change, scientists said.
According to tasting by independent experts, the enigmatic narrow-leaved coffee (Coffea stenophylla) from West Africa has a flavour similar to high-end Arabica, the world’s most popular coffee which is at risk from climate change.
But stenophylla tolerates much higher temperatures than Arabica, and as the world warms, it could help farmers whose livelihoods depend on supplying high-quality coffee for the multi-billion pound global industry.
It could be grown commercially in much warmer places than Arabica and be used as a breeding resource to produce new, climate-resilient crops to meet the world’s desire for a good cup of coffee.