The coffee species Coffea stenophylla, which bears black fruit rather than the red fruits typical of the two coffee species that are widely grown commercially, is seen in Ivory Coast in this undated photo. E. Couturon, IRD / Handout through REUTERS
In the dense rainforests of Sierra Leone, scientists have rediscovered a species of coffee that has not been seen in the wild for decades – a plant they say could help secure the future of this endangered commodity. of climate change.
Researchers said Monday that the species, called Coffea stenophylla, has a higher tolerance to higher temperatures than Arabica coffee, which accounts for 56% of global production, and robust coffee, which accounts for 43%. Stenophylla coffee has been shown to have a superior Arabica-like aroma.
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 being abandoned as a crop after its introduction. robust.
Many coffee farmers around the world are already facing the negative effects of climate change, an acute concern for the billion-dollar industry.
Aroma Arabica is valued as superior and brings higher prices than robusta, which is mainly used for instant coffee and coffee blends. But Arabica has limited resistance to climate change and research has shown that its global production could fall by at least 50% by the middle of the 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 robust coffee and up to 6.8 ° C (12, 24 degrees F) higher than Arabica coffee, the researchers said.
The rediscovery of stenophylla, Davis said, could help “secure the future” of a coffee industry that supports the economies of several tropical countries and provides livelihoods for more than 100 million farmers. While 124 species of coffee are known, Arabica and robusta represent 99% of consumption.
“The idea is that stenophylla could be used, with minimal domestication, as a high-value coffee for warmer climate farmers,” said Davis, head of coffee research at Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
“In the longer term, stenophylla provides us with an important resource for the reproduction of a new generation of climate-resistant crop plants, given that it has a high aroma and tolerance to heat. other useful assets for growing coffee plants, “Davis added.
Leaf rust is a fungal disease that has devastated coffee crops in Central and South America.
The study included flavor assessments involving 18 coffee tasting experts. Stenophylla has been shown to have a complex aromatic profile, with natural sweetness, medium-high acidity, fruity and good “body” – the way it feels in the mouth.
In December 2018, Davis and co-authors of the study, 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 (87 miles) away in southeastern Sierra Leone, they found a healthy population of wild stenophylla.
“Both locations were thick rainforests, but stenophylla tends to occur in drier, more open areas: ridges, slopes, and rocky areas,” Davis said.
Stenophylla has not been seen in the wild in Sierra Leone since 1954 and anywhere since the 1980s in Ivory Coast, Davis said. Some examples have been kept in coffee research collections.
Davis said stenophylla is threatened with extinction amid widespread deforestation in the three countries known to grow in the wild: Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast.
Unlike the red and occasionally yellow fruits of the Arabica and robusta plants, the stenophylla fruits are intense black. The coffee beans are inside the fruit.
“I think we are extremely optimistic about the future that stenophylla can bring,” said Jeremy Torz, co-founder of the Union Hand-Roasted Coffee business in East London, where some of the taste testing took place.
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