IN dense tropical forests in Sierra Leone, scientists have rediscovered a coffee species not seen in the wild in decades - a plant they say may help secure the future of this valuable commodity that has been imperiled by climate change.
The researchers said on Monday that the species, called Coffea stenophylla, possesses greater tolerance for higher temperatures than the Arabica coffee that makes up 56% of global production and the robusta coffee that makes up 43%. The stenophylla coffee, they added, was demonstrated to have a superior flavor, similar to Arabica.
Botanist Aaron Davis, who led the study published in the journal Nature Plants, said stenophylla was farmed in parts of West Africa and exported to Europe until the early 20th century before being abandoned as a crop after robusta's introduction.
Many farmers throughout the world's coffee-growing belt already are experiencing climate change's negative effects, an acute concern for the multibillion dollar industry.
Arabica's flavor is rated as superior and brings 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 its global production could fall by at least 50% by mid-century.
Stenophylla grows at a mean 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°C (12.24 degrees F) higher than Arabica coffee, the researchers said.
The stenophylla rediscovery, Davis said, may help in the "future-proofing" of a coffee industry that supports the economy of several tropical countries and provides livelihoods for more than 100 million farmers. While 124 coffee species are known, Arabica and robusta comprise 99% of consumption.
"The idea is that stenophylla could be used, with minimum domestication, as a high-value coffee for farmers in warmer climates," said Davis, head of coffee research at Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
"For the longer term, stenophylla provides us with an important resource for breeding a new generation of climate-resilient coffee crop plants, given that it possesses a great flavor and heat tolerance. If the historic reports of resistance to coffee leaf rust and drought tolerance are found to be correct, this would represent further useful assets for coffee plant breeding," 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, fruitiness and good "body" - the way it feels in the mouth.
In December 2018, Davis and study co-authors Jeremy Haggar of the University of Greenwich and coffee development specialist Daniel Sarmu searched for stenophylla in the wild. They initially spotted a single plant in central Sierra Leone. About 140 km (87 miles) away in southeastern Sierra Leone, they found a healthy wild stenophylla population.
"Both locations were thick tropical forest, but stenophylla tends to occur on 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 anywhere since the 1980s in Ivory Coast, Davis said. A few examples were held 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 Ivory Coast.
Unlike the red and occasionally yellow fruit of Arabica and robusta plants, stenophylla's fruit are intense black. The coffee beans are inside the fruit.
"I think we're hugely 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 part of the taste-testing was held.
Reuters
Wed Apr 21 2021
The coffee species Coffea stenophylla bears black fruit rather than the red fruit typical of the two coffee species that are widely grown commercially. REUTERSpic
Setahun solidariti, sokongan global untuk Palestin di tengah-tengah genosid berterusan Israel
Ribuan manusia di seluruh dunia turun ke jalanan untuk menyuarakan sokongan kepada Palestin dan menuntut keadilan.
Indonesia kecewakan China, raih kejuaraan badminton berpasukan campuran remaja dunia
Indonesia menewaskan China untuk muncul Juara Badminton Berpasukan Campuran Remaja Dunia dengan kemenangan 110-103 (mata terkumpul).
Bomba selamatkan tiga subkontrakor terkandas di kren pengangkat
Ketiga-tiga mangsa lelaki itu masing-masing berusia 24, 26 dan 32 tahun terkandas dengan anggaran ketinggian dua tingkat.
Hulu Perak daerah terbaharu dilanda banjir kilat
Banjir kilat berlaku disebabkan hujan lebat berterusan selama dua jam di sekitar Gerik.
Kejayaan pembangunan Sabah jadi kayu ukur pada PRN, PRU16 - Rafizi
Rafizi berkata kerjasama antara parti adalah perkara yang terus dibincangkan dalam kerangka semangat Kerajaan Perpaduan.
88 badan pensijilan halal luar negara dapat pengiktirafan JAKIM
Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) telah memberikan pengiktirafan kepada 88 badan pensijilan halal luar negara setakat Mei tahun ini.
eWarga Emas bentuk sistem penyampaian perkhidmatan berkesan, bersepadu - Noraini
Portal sistem warga emas (eWarga Emas) dibangunkan bagi membentuk sistem penyampaian perkhidmatan warga emas yang berkesan dan bersepadu.
MITRA lulus lebih RM95 juta untuk 11 program masyarakat India
Kesemua program yang dalam pelaksanaan itu memberi tumpuan kepada usaha memperkasakan sosioekonomi komuniti India dalam negara.
Kestabilan sosiopolitik Sabah bolehkan agihan ekonomi saksama - Juhar
Smber daya, kekayaan alam semula jadi dan potensi ekonomi dalam masyarakat dapat dibahagi dengan cara memberi peluang sama kepada rakyat.
Kenanga jangka OPR stabil 3.0 peratus pada 2025
Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd menjangka Kadar Dasar Semalaman (OPR) kekal stabil pada 3.0 peratus sepanjang 2025.
Korban insiden lori tangki meletup di Sierra Leone meningkat 131 orang
Angka korban dalam insiden lori tangki yang membawa muatan bahan api meletup di Freetown, Sierra Leone minggu lalu meningkat kepada 131 orang, lapor Agensi Anadolu.
99 maut, 100 cedera dalam letupan lori tangki minyak di Sierra Leone
Mayat manusia yang terbakar dan rangka kenderaan dapat di sepanjang jalan di pinggir Freetown, Wellington.
Tragedi banjir lumpur, Sierra Leone berkabung tujuh hari
Pengumuman itu dibuat menerusi siaran televisyen Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation selepas banjir lumpur berlaku pada Isnin di pinggir bandar Freetown.
Jumlah kematian Ebola kini 5,420 orang: WHO
Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia itu mendedahkan, sejumlah 15,145 kes jangkitan dilaporkan sejak akhir Disember 2013.
Malaysia sumbang 20.9 juta sarung tangan kepada negara terjejas Ebola
Malaysia menghantar kira-kira 20.9 juta keping sarung tangan perubatan kepada lima negara Afrika yang terjejas oleh virus Ebola yang boleh membawa maut.
Ebola: Wisma Putra keluar nasihat perjalanan ke Afrika
Rakyat Malaysia dinasihat supaya mengelak daripada melakukan lawatan ke negara Afrika yang dilanda wabak Ebola, khususnya Sierra Leone, Republik Guinea dan Liberia.