Coffee varieties are the diverse subspecies derived through selective breeding or natural selection of coffee plants. While there is tremendous variability encountered in both wild and cultivated coffee plants, there are a few varieties and cultivars that are commercially important due to various unique and inherent traits such as disease resistance and fruit yield. These unique traits are what producers use to select breeds when developing crops. Therefore, at a micro level, breed selection is critical to the success of a producer and is one of the key components of cup quality.[1]
At a macro level, the viability of the coffee industry as a whole is dependent upon breed selection. Already, the majority of coffee produced originates from producers using selected breeds.[2] For this reason, breed selection is an important aspect of sustainability within coffee production.[3]
Terminology
There is considerable confusion as to which term to use when speaking about coffee subspecies. For the sake of clarity, within this article the terms will be used in accordance with loose guidelines put forth by the Specialty Coffee Association of America:
Variety: This rank of taxa delineates differences between plants that are smaller than in subspecies but larger than forms. A variety retains most of the characteristics of the species, but differs in some way. Cultivar: Any variety produced by horticultural or agricultural techniques and not normally found in natural populations; a cultivated variety. Most of the varieties we know in specialty coffee are really cultivars. Bourbon and Typica are some of the most widely known cultivars.[4]
Put simply: In this article, varieties are naturally occurring subspecies, and cultivars are cultivated subspecies. In addition, a third term, "breed" will be used as an umbrella term to simplify discussions in which the nuances between the terms 'variety' and 'cultivar' have no bearing.
History
Before the end of the 19th century, arabica was indeed the exclusive producer of all coffee in the world,[5]:48 but the first documented outbreak of coffee leaf rust (CLR) disease decimated crops around the world, prompting many farmers to explore alternative crops.[6]
While some countries almost completely replaced coffee production with alternative crops, Indonesia began introducing robusta, which has both a high yield in fruit and a high level of resistance to CLR. Unfortunately, robusta also produces lower quality coffee. During the first half of the 20th century, East Java pioneered systematic breeding designs on robusta coffee, which would become "exemplary to all subsequent breeding programmes of robusta coffee in India and Africa."[5]:53 This knowledge of robusta is critical for modern coffee breeding because robusta is the main source of pest and disease traits not found in arabica.[7]
Prior to the mid-1900s, arabica coffee breeding involved simple line selection with an emphasis mostly on favorable adaptation to local growing conditions, fruit yield, and cup quality. But in the late 1970s and 1980s, various countries started breeding programs designed to create cultivars resistant to CLR.[5]:48–49 The intensity of these later breeding programs was a direct response to the serious threat CLR posed to crops. The results of these and other breeding programs have produced a number of important cultivars worth mentioning (see list below).
Selection criteria
Farmers have designed standards for crops they would cultivate.[5]:56–59 Recent advances in breeding techniques have provided farmers with higher-yielding breeds[5]:61 with better disease resistance and better cup quality—all traits critical to the success of a producer. Below are some traits a producer may use to select breeds for crop development.
Cup quality refers to how well the seed or fruit itself tastes. This is considered the trait of the most importance.[8]
Yield is the measure of the amount of fruit produced by a given breed. It is usually expressed as kilograms or tonnes per hectare per year, assuming conventional plant densities of 1,100 - 1,400 trees per hectare.[5]:56 High yield is one of the prime objectives of producers, and breeding specifically to achieve higher yield is a relatively new trend.[9]
Resistance to diseases has become a dominant factor in not only natural selection but also of breeding new cultivars. Breeding for disease resistance has been mainly restricted to CLR and coffee berry disease (CBD) but also includes other diseases of locality.[5]:58
Resistance to pests is not normally a trait developed by breeding, but is rather a trait selected from among breeds.[5]:58 Certain breeds of coffee have been found to be resistant to nematodes and leaf miner. As with diseases, robusta has been found to be the more resistant species compared to arabica.
For those who wish to grow coffee as a houseplant, and for growers who want plants that utilize the least amount of space (and therefore money) while still producing the greatest yield, small size of an individual plant is preferred.
The amount of caffeine matters to many, as caffeine has stimulating effects, but is detrimental in excessive amounts.
The maturation rate is the time that is required before a new plant will start producing fruit. An early maturation rate is desired.
According to The International Trade Centre, Arabica coffee accounted for roughly 61 per cent of the world's coffee production between 2004 and 2010.[10] It would be higher if Arabica were not as susceptible to disease as it is.[11] Coffee from the species C. arabica has many different varieties, each with unique characteristics.
Unroasted coffee beans of the Robusta variety (Coffea canephora)
Vietnam is the world's largest Robusta producer, with Robusta accounting for 97% of Vietnam's coffee output.[12]
While not separate varieties of bean, unusual and very expensive robustas are the Indonesian kopi luwak and the Philippine Kapéng Alamid and Kahawa Kubing.[13] The beans are collected from the droppings of the common palm civet, whose digestive processes give it a distinctive flavor.
In the Philippines, a notable Robusta variety is Kahawa Sūg, also known as the "Sulu coffee". It has been produced in the Sulu archipelago since the 1860s.[14][15]
Other species
Although not as commercially viable as Arabica or Robusta,[16] other species of coffee exist and contain unique varieties. These include Kapeng barako or Café Baraco, (English: Barako coffee), a Liberica variety grown in the Philippines, particularly in the provinces of Batangas and Cavite. It was introduced during the period of Spanish colonization and the Philippines quickly rose to become the 4th largest producer of coffee in the early 19th century. Production was cut short, however, due to "coffee rust" infestation.[16]Coffea charrieriana is a caffeine-free coffee found in Cameroon.[17] Scientists from Kew Gardens rediscovered Coffea stenophylla in Sierra Leone. Previously stenophylla had not been seen in the wild since 1954, but in December 2018 Professor Jeremy Haggar, of the University of Greenwich, and Dr Aaron Davis of Kew Gardens travelled to the forests of Sierra Leone to seek it out.[18] Stenophylla can grow at higher temperatures than Arabica and has a better flavour profile than Robusta.[19]
A variety discovered in Finca Los Bellotos, El Salvador by Sofia and Fernando Alberto Pacas. It was first thought to be Geisha because of its aromatic profile. After studying its phenotype characteristics and DNA testing, however, it was determined to be a new, unclassified variety genetically similar to varieties found in the Agaro region of Ethiopia.
Around 1708, the French planted coffee on the island of Bourbon (now called Réunion) in the middle of the Indian Ocean, all probably from the same parent stock—the plant the Dutch gave them. Unsurprisingly, it mutated slightly and was planted throughout Brazil in the late 1800s and eventually spread through Latin America. It was not possible to achieve the same level of flavour as when in Réunion, however, due to Réunion's volcanic earth and the soil properties. Bourbon produces 20–30% more fruit than Typica strains.[23]
Catuai
C. arabica
Latin America
This is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra bred in Brazil in the late 1940s.[24]
Developed from two cultivars that originated by natural mutation of Bourbon Red, originally a tall coffee shrub, found in the Serra do Caparaó.[27] It produces a higher yield than Bourbon, due to the plant being shorter and with less distance between the branches, matures more quickly, and is more disease resistant than older, traditional arabica varieties.[28] Its mutation is not unique; it led to the formation of the Pacas variety in El Salvador (from Bourbon) and the Villa Sarchi in Costa Rica (from Bourbon). Genetically it is very similar to Bourbon although it produces a poorer cup quality, mainly due to the variety yielding more.[24]
From the region of Harar, Ethiopia. Known for its complex, fruity flavor that resembles a dry red wine. All three Ethiopian varieties are trademarked names with the rights owned by Ethiopia.[30]
Geisha or Gesha variety, grown in the highlands of Boquete in Chiriquí Province, Panama, highly sought after at auction, achieving high prices. Originally from the village of Gesha, Ethiopia. It was planted in the 1950s as a rust-resistant crop and rediscovered in the early 2000s. The most expensive varietal at coffee auctions, fetching US$350.25 in 2013.[34] Breaking its own record as the most expensive coffee in the world at US$803.00 /lb of Natural (processed) Geisha in the "Best of Panama" auctions in 2018.[35]
From the island of Java, in Indonesia. This coffee was once so widely traded that "java" became a slang term for coffee. Java encompasses a regional style, not a cultivar of coffee.[39]
K7
C. arabica
Africa
A Kenyan selection of French Mission Bourbon selected at Legelet Estate in Muhoroni, Kenya. Selected based on cupping trials.
Maragogipe ('y') is considered to be a natural mutation from Typica. It was first discovered near Maragogipe, in Brazil's state Bahia. Maragogype is well known for producing big beans.
Maracaturra is a man-made hybrid plant between Caturra and Maragogype.|It was first bred in order to capture the flavor profile of Maragogype with the higher yield and efficiency of the Caturra Varietal.
Red Bourbon and Orange Bourbon are types of Bourbon that have been selected from spontaneous mutation.
Pacamara
C. arabica
Latin America
Pacamara is a hybrid between the Bourbon mutation Pacas and Maragogype. It was bred in El Salvador in 1958 probably to achieve a Typica variety that produces larger beans.
Ruiru 11 was released in 1985 by the Kenyan Coffee Research Station. While the variety is generally disease resistant, it produces a lower cup quality than K7, SL28 and 34.[42]
Probably the most commonly planted Arabica in India and Southeast Asia,[43] known for its balanced cup and subtle flavour notes of mocca. Released during the 1940s, it is a cross between the Kents and S.288 varieties.[43]
Brazil Santos is usually used as a grading term for Brazilian coffee rather than a variety of Arabica. The name refers to the port in Brazil where coffee passed through, and was regarded as higher quality than "Brazilian coffee". Brazilian Santos is usually of the Bourbon variety.
A hybrid between the Costa Rican Villa Sarchi and the Timor variety. Because of its Timor parent, Sarchimor is quite resistant to leaf rust disease and stem borer. As well as Costa Rica, it is grown in India.
Selected by Scott Labs from the French Mission variety grown in Kenya. Selected for its superior cup quality (although inferior to SL28), but not resistant to CBD, CLR or BBC.
Actually the S795 varietal, grown at high altitudes on the island of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes), Indonesia. Kalossi is the small town in central Sulawesi that serves as the collection point for the coffee and Toraja is the mountainous area in which the coffee is grown. Sulawesi exhibits a rich, full body, well-balanced acidity and is multi-dimensional in character. Sulawesi itself is not a cultivar of coffee.
Mandheling is named after the Mandailing people located in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The name is the result of a misunderstanding by the first foreign purchaser of the variety, and no coffee is actually produced in the "Mandailing region". Lintong on the other hand, is named after the Lintong district, also located in North Sumatra. This is not a specific cultivar, but rather a region with a specific processing style.
Timor is not actually a variety of coffea arabica, but a hybrid of two species of coffee; coffea arabica and coffea canephora (also called Robusta). It was found on the island of Timor around the 1940s and it was cultivated because of its resistance to leaf rust (which most arabica coffee is susceptible to). It is called Hybrido de Timor in the Americas and Tim Tim or Bor Bor in Indonesia. Another hybrid between the two species is called Arabusta but generally only found in Africa.
Variety of coffee (arabica) Bred in 2014 in the south of India in g.Madras, 1996 ChennaiTamil Nadu. Grown at an altitude of 1500 m above sea level, which in itself is a good indicator. Differ by more quantitative tannin to 14–15% and trigonelline 1.5–1.7%.
Coffea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. Coffea species are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. The seeds of some species, called coffee beans, are used to flavor various beverages and products. The fruits, like the seeds, contain a large amount of caffeine, and have a distinct sweet taste.
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks.
Coffea arabica, also known as the Arabica coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee and madder family Rubiaceae. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated and is the dominant cultivar, representing about 60% of global production. Coffee produced from the less acidic, more bitter, and more highly caffeinated robusta bean makes up most of the remaining coffee production. The natural populations of Coffea arabica are restricted to the forests of South Ethiopia and Yemen.
A coffee bean is a seed from the Coffea plant and the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit. This fruit is often referred to as a coffee cherry, and like the cherry, it is a fruit with a pit. Even though the coffee beans are not technically beans, they are referred to as such because of their resemblance to true beans. The fruits most commonly contain two stones with their flat sides together. A small percentage of cherries contain a single seed, called a "peaberry". Peaberries make up only around 10% to 15% of all coffee beans. It is a fairly common belief that they have more flavour than normal coffee beans. Like Brazil nuts and white rice, coffee beans consist mostly of endosperm.
Coffea canephora is a species of coffee plant that has its origins in central and western sub-Saharan Africa. It is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. Though widely known as Coffea robusta, the plant is scientifically identified as Coffea canephora, which has two main varieties, robusta and nganda.
Hemileia vastatrix is a multicellular basidiomycete fungus of the order Pucciniales that causes coffee leaf rust (CLR), a disease affecting the coffee plant. Coffee serves as the obligate host of coffee rust, that is, the rust must have access to and come into physical contact with coffee in order to survive.
Bourbon is a cultivar of Coffea arabica. It is one of the two main varietals from which many new cultivars are bred, the other being Typica. Both originated in Yemen.
Kapeng barako, also known as Barako coffee or Batangas coffee, is a coffee varietal grown in the Philippines, particularly in the provinces of Batangas and Cavite. It belongs to the species Coffea liberica. The term is also used to refer to all coffee coming from those provinces. Barako in the languages of the Philippines means "stud", and is associated with the image of masculinity. Barako has a strong flavor and fragrance reminiscent of aniseed.
Mycosphaerella coffeicola is a sexually reproducing fungal plant pathogen. It is most commonly referred to as the asexual organism Cercospora coffeicola.
Colletotrichum kahawae is a fungal plant pathogen that causes coffee berry disease (CBD) on Coffea arabica crops. The pathogen is an ascomycete that reproduces asexually. The asexual spores (conidia) are stored within acervuli. This disease is considered to be one of the major factors hampering C.arabica production in the African continent, which represents the current geographic range of the fungus. Coffee berry disease causes dark necrosis in spots and causes the green berries of the coffee to drop prematurely. High humidity, relatively warm temperatures, and high altitude are ideal for disease formation. Given the severity of the disease and the lack of effective control measures, there is great concern that the fungus may spread to other coffee producing continents, such as South America, which could have catastrophic consequences.
Coffea liberica, commonly known as the Liberian coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae from which coffee is produced. It is native to western and central Africa, and has become naturalised in areas including Colombia, Venezuela, the Philippines, Borneo and Java.
Indonesia was the fourth-largest producer of coffee in the world in 2014. Coffee cultivation in Indonesia began in the late 1600s and early 1700s, in the early Dutch colonial period, and has played an important part in the growth of the country. Indonesia is geographically and climatologically well-suited for coffee plantations, near the equator and with numerous interior mountainous regions on its main islands, creating well-suited microclimates for the growth and production of coffee.
The Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia (SCAI) is a trade association that represents stakeholders of Indonesia coffee Industry . The organization was founded in 2007 and as of October 2020 have more than 800 active members. "Excellence in Diversity" is the motto for SCAI, due to the facts Indonesia may have the most variety of coffee in the world and also representing its members that comes from very diverse background but shares same idealism on how to develop Indonesia coffee industry.
Coffee production in India is dominated in the hill tracts of South Indian states, with Karnataka accounting for 71%, followed by Kerala with 21% and Tamil Nadu. Indian coffee is said to be the finest coffee grown in the shade rather than direct sunlight anywhere in the world. There are about 250,000 coffee growers in the country; 98% of them are small growers. As of 2009, Indian coffee made up just 4.5% of the global production, being the 7th largest producer of coffee. Almost 80% of Indian coffee is exported; 70% is bound for Germany, Russia, Spain, Belgium, Libya, Poland, Jordan, Malaysia, U.S.A, Slovenia and Austria. Italy accounts for 20.37% of the exports. Most of the export is shipped through the Suez Canal.
Coffee is Uganda's top-earning export crop. In 1989 Uganda's coffee production capacity exceeded its quota of 2.3 million bags, but export volumes were still diminished by economic and security problems, and large amounts of coffee beans were still being smuggled out of Uganda for sale in neighbouring countries. Uganda is one of the few countries in the world with indigenous coffee, with Robusta coffee growing wild around Lake Victoria.
S795 (Selection-795) is a coffee cultivar important for being one of the first strains of C. arabica found to be resistant to coffee leaf rust (CLR).
Thailand is one of the top 25 coffee producers in the world as of 2014, but its status as a coffee origin has not been widely known. Thailand traditionally produced mainly Robusta for industrial use, but the country has quickly become an exciting emerging origin for specialty Arabica and fine Robusta coffees. The origin is unique in that it exports very little coffee and most of the consumption remains in the country. There is a booming specialty coffee ecosystem where farmers, roasters, cafes and consumers symbiotically co-exist. It is often seen as an example of a working coffee ecosystem for an origin where coffee produced is sustainable from both economic and environmental perspectives.
Coffea stenophylla, also known as highland coffee or Sierra Leone coffee, is a species of Coffea originating from West Africa.
Coffea racemosa, also known as racemosa coffee and Inhambane coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It has naturally low levels of caffeine, less than half of that found in Coffea arabica, and a quarter of that in Robusta coffee.
Starmaya is an F1 hybrid coffee tree that can be propagated by seed rather than through somatic embryogenesis (SE). It was propagated from a parent plant that is male-sterile. This facilitates controlled pollination because breeders do not have to manually castrate each individual flower of the autogamous coffee tree.
References
↑ Oberthür, Thomas; Läderach, Pete; Pohlan, H.A. Jürgen (2012). Specialty Coffee: Managing Quality (1sted.). International Plant Nutrition Institute. p.65. ISBN978-9834450311.
↑ Wintgens, Jean Nicolas (2012). Coffee: Growing, Processing, Sustainable Production (Seconded.). Wiley-VCH VerlangGmbH & Co. KGaA. p.61. ISBN978-3-527-33253-3.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Clifford, M.N.; Willson, K.C. (1985). Coffee: Botany, Biochemistry and Production of Beans and Beverage. Westport, Connecticut: The AVI Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN0-87055-491-3.
↑ Waller, J.M.; Bigger, M.; Hillocks, R.J. (2007). Coffee Pests, Dieases & Their Management. CABI. ISBN978-1845931292.
↑ University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. "Coffee". ucanr.edu. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
↑ Montemayor, Michael Schuck (2007). Captain Herman Leopold Schück: the saga of a German sea captain in 19th century Sulu-Sulawesi seas. University of the Philippines Press. ISBN9789715424851.
↑ Lécolier, Aurélie; Besse, Pascale; Charrier, André; Tchakaloff, Thierry-Nicolas; Noirot, Michel (2009). "Unraveling the origin of Coffea arabica 'Bourbon pointu' from la Réunion: A historical and scientific perspective". Euphytica. 168: 1–10. doi:10.1007/s10681-009-9886-7. S2CID25378179.
↑ Kufa, Taye. (2017). What Make Ethiopian Coffees Special: A View from Coffee Research 15 th African Fine Coffee Conference & Exhibition Reshaping the African Coffee Industry for Productivity & Investment Taye Kufa (PhD) Presentation Outline.
↑ Ruiru 11 was released in 1985 by the Kenyan Coffee Research Station. While the variety is generally disease resistant, it produces a lower cup quality than K7, SL28 and 34.
↑ Anacio, Danesto B. (2016). "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Perspective: Lessons from the American Episcopal Missions in Sagada, Northern Philippines". In Servaes, Jan (ed.). Sustainable Development Goals in the Asian Context. Springer. p.73. ISBN9789811028151. Archived from the original on 2021-10-11. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
↑ Malanes, Maurice; Nakamura, Midori; Tacloy, John (10 October 2016). "History of Coffee in the Cordillera". Kapi Tako. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
↑ Gichimu, Bernard. (2012). Batian Coffee; Its Merits and Demand Trends.
↑ Neilson, Jeffrey (2012). "What Makes a Cup of Coffee Special? The influence of processing methods, varietals and growing location on cup quality for Arabica coffee from Eastern Indonesia". The University of Sydney. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.2583.8489.
↑ Baker, Peter. (2016). Sumatran coffee on the boil. Coffee and Cocoa International. 42.
↑ Gimase, James & Thagana, W & Kirubi, D & Gichuru, E & Gichimu, Bernard. (2019). GENETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF ARABUSTA COFFEE HYBRIDS AND THEIR PARENTAL GENOTYPES USING MOLECULAR MARKERS. Plant Cell Biotechnology and Molecular Biology. 15. 31-42.
↑ Wintgens, Jean Nicolas (2012). Coffee: Growing, Processing, Sustainable Production (Seconded.). Wiley-VCH VerlangGmbH & Co. KGaA. p.78. ISBN978-3-527-33253-3.
↑ Gichimu, Bernard. (2014). Genetic Characterization of Arabusta Coffee Hybrids and their Parental Genotypes using Molecular Markers. Plant Cell Biotechnology and Molecular Biology.
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