A rare species of coffee has been found to have a similar flavour to the varieties chosen by coffee growers for their high quality. But it is alsomore tolerant of the higher temperatures and more varied rainfall that are becoming increasingly typical of coffec-growing regions.
Many types of coffee beans favoured for their taste only grow in a narrow range of conditions, meaning they might not survive if temperatures increase. In fact, around 60% of wild coffee species are facing extinction.
Coffea stenophylla may offer a solution. Farmers stopped cultivating it in the 1920s, believing it couldn't compete in the market at the time, and it was thought to have gone extinct in some countries where it once grew, including Guinea and Sierra Leone. But two small, wild populations were rediscovered in Sierra Leone in 2018.
Historical records showed that the species had an excellent flavour, but Aaron Davis at
the Royal Botanic Gardens in London and his team wanted to test this properly. The
researchers created samples of coffec brewed with C. stenophylla beans and served themn to five professional judging panels alongside samples of high-quality arabica coffee（Coffea arabica） and robusta （Cofea canephora）, which is commonly used for instant coffee.
The judges said coffee made from C. stenophylla had a complex flavour with sweetness and a good body, similar to the taste of arabica. Some 81% of judges thought C. stenophylla coffee was actually arabica. They also gave it a score of 80.25 on the Speciality Coffee Association's 100-point coffee review scale, meaning it is considered a speciality coffee.
“I was really blown away by the taste,” says Davis. “It's rare to find something that tastes as good as high-quality arabica, so this is really exciting." C. stenophylla has chemicals in common with arabica, which makes them taste similar. The team's models, based on what is already known about C. stenophylla, suggest it could tolerate an average annual temperature of around 25°C, which the researchers say is roughly 6°C higher than arabica. It is also more resistant to varying rainfall, suggesting that C. stenophylla can be cultivated in conditions in which arabica can't.
Davis thinks C. stenophylla has the potential to be commercialized. “It also presents opportunities to breed with other species, like arabica,” he says,making them morc climate resilient and securing high-quality, high-value coffees for the future. “It's totally a new favorite coffee.”
1. What do we know about most wild coffee species?
2. What happened to C. stenophylla in the 1920s?
3. What did most of the judges believe?
4. What is the finding of Davis' research?
5. How does Davis feel about the future of C. stenophylla?
