Some Other coffee varieties
Coffea Liberica
Coming from the forests of Liberia and Ivory Coast, it is a beautiful long-life plant, strong, luxuriant, with fruits and seeds dimension that is almost the double of the Arabica ones, and more resistant to parasitic attack. It is a plant that needs a high temperature and abundant water. Due to these characteristics, the Coffea Liberica is chosen as graft-holder to obtain, by cross, new varieties that are mostly present in the Ivory Coast and in Madagascar, its beans give an odorous and pleasant coffee. Some decades ago, its taste was mostly appreciated in the Scandinavian countries.
Coffea Excelsa – Until 2006 it was classified as a unique species but is now considered a variety of Liberica coffee
The plant has thin, rounded leaves with a smooth edge. When these leaves first form, they are a burnt reddish violet colour and turn to a green colour as they mature, though some leaves still have violet accents.
Discovered in 1904, this coffee originated in the Lake Chad area of Africa. This species is resistant to disease and dryness. It has a high yield and its aged beans give a coffee with odorous and pleasant taste, similar to arabica coffee.
Excelsa has a distinctive tart, fruity, dark, mysterious taste. In blends, it enhances the middle and back palate and lingering finish of the coffee, giving the cup more substance and power. Brewed on its own, it is a compelling and unique coffee experience, like a good Scotch.
Coffea Stenophylla
Discovered in the mid-1830s, a variety of coffee named Coffea Stenophylla was discovered in West Africa and was cultivated and exported from Sierra Leone up to the 1890s. It is resistant to dryness.
The one major difference between Stenophylla and arabica is the growing time. Stenophylla takes 9 years to mature into a high-yielding plant, while arabica trees grow to maturity in 7 years or less.
The flavour profile of stenophylla has been described as complex with natural sweetness, medium-high, acidity, and fruitiness. Additionally, desirable tasting notes have included peach, blackcurrant, elderflower syrup, jasmine spice, and other ingredients found in high-quality Arabica plants
The smell of its beans is comparable to the one of Tea, but the taste of the drink does not match the palate of all the tasters. Some specimens can still be located in botanic gardens.
Coffea Racemosa
Coffea racemosa is a lesser known species of coffee, one of the 124 coffea species. Racemosa is endemic to the coastal forest belt between northern Kwa-Zulu Natal, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, found growing wild in the coastal forests north of Lake St Lucia. Suited for the local climate, this coffee species is hardy, drought resistant, and resilient (it can withstand up to nine months in drought, and grows in sandy soils).
​Coffea racemosa is only found worldwide in a small and specific region, making it extremely vulnerable and protected species. It is often found in association with Brachystegia microphylla, within an altitude from sea level up to a maximum of 600 meters above sea level. It is a tertiary wild relative of, and potential gene donor to cultivated coffea species, such as C.arabica and C.canephora (robusta).
Coffea racemosa is most well known trait is its naturally low levels of caffeine, around half of arabica, and a quarter of robusta coffee. This naturally low caffeine status gives C.racemosa a healthy and unprocessed image.
C.racemosa was widely farmed by the Portuguese during the early 1800’s in Mozambique, but only a few plantations currently exist, one on Ibo Island, and the others in Kwa-Zulu Natal (Hluhluwe, Ballito, Port Edward).
Coffea Congencis
Coming from the banks of Congo, it produces a good quality coffee but the shrub is not very productive.
Coffea Neo-Arnoldiana
Also selected in Congo, it has a high yield.
Coffea Abeokutoe
Cultivated in the Ivory Coast, its beans remind of the Coffea Arabica.