The coffee species Coffea stenophylla, which bears more black fruit than the typical red fruits of the two coffee species that are widely grown commercially, is seen in Côte d’Ivoire in this undated photograph. E. Couturon, IRD / Fund 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 can help secure the future of this valuable product that has been endangered by change. climate.
Researchers said Monday that the species, called Coffea stenophylla, has a higher tolerance to higher temperatures than Arabica coffee, which accounts for 56% of world production, and robust coffee, which accounts for 43%. Stenophylla coffee was shown to have a superior flavor, similar to Arabica.
Botanist Aaron Davis, who led the study published in the journal Nature Plants, said the stenophile was grown in areas of West Africa and exported to Europe until the early 20th century before being abandoned. as a crop after the introduction of robust.
Many farmers in the entire coffee-producing area of the world are already experiencing the negative effects of climate change, an acute concern for the multimillion-dollar industry.
Arabica flavor is classified as superior and carries 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 world production could decline by at least 50% by the middle of the century.
Stenophiles grow 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 “test 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 account for 99% of consumption.
“The idea is that stenophylla can be used, with minimal domestication, as a high-value coffee for farmers in warm climates,” said Davis, head of coffee research at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Britain, Kew .
“In the long term, stenophylla provides us with an important resource for the breeding of a new generation of climate-resistant coffee growing plants, as it has a great tolerance to taste and heat. If historical reports of resistance to l ‘coffee leaf oxide and drought tolerance is correct, this would represent other useful assets for raising 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 was found to have a complex flavor profile, with natural sweetness, medium-high acidity, fruity, and a good “body,” as 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 looked for a stenophile in nature. They initially detected a single plant in central Sierra Leone. About 140 km (87 miles) away in southeastern Sierra Leone, they found a healthy population of wild stenophilus.
“Both locations were a thick rainforest, but the stenophile tends to occur in more open, drier areas: mountain ranges, slopes, and rocky areas,” Davis said.
Stenophylla had not been seen in the wild in Sierra Leone since 1954 and nowhere since the 1980s in Côte d’Ivoire, Davis said. Some examples were found in coffee research collections.
Davis said stenophylla is threatened with extinction amid large-scale deforestation in the three countries where it has been known to grow in the wild: Sierra Leone, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire.
Unlike the red and occasionally yellow fruit of Arabica and robust plants, the fruits of the stenophylla are intense black. Coffee beans are inside the fruit.
“I think we’re hugely optimistic about the future that the stenophile can bring,” said Jeremy Torz, co-founder of the Union Hand-Roasted Coffee company in East London, where a part was held. of taste tests.
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