Key Takeaways
- Climate change threatens global coffee production, potentially halving suitable growing areas by 2050.
- Botanist Aaron Davis leads efforts to find and cultivate forgotten coffee species like Stenophylla.
- Stenophylla, rediscovered in Sierra Leone, offers superior taste and resilience to heat and drought.
- Scientists are cross-breeding wild coffee species to develop climate-resilient hybrids.
- Consumers can mitigate coffee's climate impact by choosing shade-grown varieties and avoiding single-use pods.
Deep Dive
- A special "Apple News Today" episode features Marta Zaraska's *Smithsonian Magazine* article, "How a Forgotten Bean Could Save Coffee from Extinction."
- Global coffee consumption stands at 2 billion cups daily, with Arabica and Robusta species supplying the vast majority.
- Climate change threatens Arabica and Robusta crops due to unpredictable rainfall, with a 2014 study predicting suitable areas could halve by 2050.
- Botanist Aaron Davis is searching for Stenophylla, a rare coffee species last seen in 1954, believed to be drought and heat-resistant.
- Aaron Davis's interest in botany began in the 1980s, leading to a PhD and early coffee-finding missions.
- His specific focus on Stenophylla intensified approximately 15 years ago after discovering it mentioned in an antique book.
- Historical documents praise Stenophylla beans for their superior taste and resilience to heat and drought.
- 60% of wild coffee species face extinction due to habitat loss and climate change, driving Davis's search for resilient varieties.
- Discovered in 1834 and actively farmed, Stenophylla coffee vanished by the mid-20th century, possibly due to Robusta's introduction.
- In 2018, Davis and his team searched the Caseue Forest Reserve in Sierra Leone, locating a single *Coffea stenophylla* plant.
- Scientists gathered beans from several *stenophylla* plants, enabling Davis to taste the coffee in 2020.
- A tasting panel confirmed *stenophylla*'s high quality, noting sweet flavors with peach, jasmine, chocolate, and elderflower undertones.
- Coffee consumption origins are traced to 9th-century Ethiopian folklore about a goatherd named Caldi and energized berries.
- Arabica coffee likely originated in Ethiopia and South Sudan, was domesticated in Yemen, and became favored in the US by the Civil War.
- The *Caffea* genus contains diverse species with varying fruit, caffeine, and flavor profiles, a subject of botanical study.
- Davis's early work included identifying *Caffea* species in Madagascar, leading to the discovery and naming of *Caffea rakatana soloi*.
- Naturally caffeine-free coffees often have "odd flavors" due to alternative acid production.
- Despite climate resilience, *stenophylla* faces challenges like low yield, making widespread adoption unlikely in the short term.
- Researchers are cross-breeding *stenophylla* and *racimosa* with other varieties to develop drought-resistant, hardier hybrids.
- Tanya Humphrey of World Coffee Research emphasizes identifying and promoting coffee diversity for new varieties.