On well-kept plantations, overflowering is prevented by pruning the tree. At this point, they are called “cherry” and are ready for picking. Coffee is an understory shrub or small tree native to tropical Africa. [18] Climate change—rising temperatures, longer droughts, and excessive rainfall—appears to threaten the sustainability of arabica coffee production, leading to attempts to breed new cultivars for the changing conditions. As the name indicates, robusta coffee is a robust species, resistant to disease, with a high yield per plant. Although native to Ethiopia, Arabian coffee has been cultivated in Arabia for over 1000 years. In Kefa, the Oromo tribe ate the bean, crushed it and mixed it with fat to make spheres the size of ping-pong balls. a tree, Coffea arabica, of the madder family, the principal species of coffee cultivated in Latin America and the chief coffee tree of commerce. Arabica coffee grows at 950 m to 1,950 m above sea level. Coffee seeds were transported … The berries then begin to appear. [2][3] Coffea arabica is called ‏بُنّ‎ (būnn) in Arabic, borrowed from the (Oromo: Buna). [7] The species is widely naturalised in areas outside its native land, in many parts of Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, China, and assorted islands in the Caribbean and in the Pacific. The coffee plant has its origin in Ethiopia where it was discovered around 800 AD in the Kaffa region. While beans of normal C. arabica plants contain 12 mg of caffeine per gram of dry mass, these mutants contain only 0.76 mg of caffeine per gram, but with taste similar to normal coffee.[24]. I… In some valleys, it is a highly invasive weed. The Arab innovation in Yemen of making a brew from roasted beans, spread first among the Egyptians and Turks, and later on found its way around the world. The first written record of coffee made from roasted coffee beans (botanical seeds) comes from Arab scholars, who wrote that it was useful in prolonging their working hours. The plants are vulnerable to damage in such poor growing conditions as cold or low pH soil, and they are also more vulnerable to pests than the C. robusta plant. Coffea arabica is also found on Mount Marsabit in northern Kenya, but it is unclear whether this is a truly native or naturalised occurrence. [19], Gourmet coffees are almost exclusively high-quality mild varieties of arabica coffee, and among the best known arabica coffee beans in the world are those from Jamaican Blue Mountain, Colombian Supremo, Tarrazú, Costa Rica, Guatemalan Antigua, and Ethiopian Sidamo. : Arabica refers to Coffea Arabica, the taxonomic species name of the genus responsible More and other types, coffee genetic diversity and such. It is sometimes naturalised in tropical areas. Welcome to the India Biodiversity Portal - A repository of information designed to harness and disseminate collective intelligence on the biodiversity of the Indian subcontinent. Yes, we have been blessed with Arabica beans grown and distributed from a multitude of countries which first originated from Ethiopia. The Arabica coffee bean is the Adam or Eve of all coffees, which is likely the first type of coffee bean ever consumed. The beans are flatter and more elongated than Robusta and lower in caffeine. It is now commercially grown in subtropical and tropical areas throughout the world. In parts of Brazil, however, the trees have a season and are harvested only in winter. Interspecific hybridization events have played a major role in plant speciation, yet, the evolutionary origin of hybrid species often remains enigmatic. The spheres were consumed for the same reason that coffee is consumed today, as a stimulant. Central Africa is the origin of Robusta coffee ( Murthy and Madhava Naidu, 2012; Sánchez and Anzola, 2013 ). On Java, trees are planted at all times of the year and are harvested year round. Fermented coffee (green) seeds without their hulls. The seeds are contained in a drupe (commonly called a "cherry") 10–15 mm in diameter, maturing bright red to purple and typically contains two seeds, often called coffee beans. [1], C. arabica takes approximately seven years to mature fully, and it does best with 1.0–1.5 meters (about 40–59 inches) of rain, evenly distributed throughout the year. Typically, espresso is made from a blend of arabica and robusta beans. Unlike Coffea canephora, C. arabica prefers to be grown in light shade.[13]. Coffea arabica (/əˈræbɪkə/), also known as the Arabian coffee, "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee", is a species of Coffea. Once found only growing at high […] [23], One strain of Coffea arabica naturally contains very little caffeine. Coffea arabica (Rubiaceae) Arabica coffee, mountain coffee (Coffee family) Origin: Ethiopia, now cultivated worldwide Coffee, one of the leading cash crops and one of the most popular drug plants of the last few hundred years (along with tea and tobacco,) may be this author’s favorite thing in the world. Two to four years after planting, C. arabica produces small, white, highly fragrant flowers. the beverage made from the ground seeds. Coffea Arabica is descended from the original coffee trees discovered in Ethiopia. [8], The conservation of the genetic variation of C. arabica relies on conserving healthy populations of wild coffee in the Afromontane rainforests of Yemen. The berries are dark green like the leaves until they begin to ripen, at first to yellow and then light red and finally darkening to a glossy, deep red. It has consequently spread from Kenya, where it was originally selected in the 1930s, to other parts of Africa (it is important in Arabica-growing regions of Uganda, in particular) and now to Latin America. These results clearly suggest that C. arabica is an amphidiploid formed by hybridisation between C. eugenioides and C. canephora, or ecotypes related to these diploid species. Join us for a delicious journey, paved with meaning, purpose and social responsibility. Scientific Coffea arabica English Arabica coffee Coffee shrub of Arabia Mountain coffee Dutch Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, "A comparison of coffee floral traits under two different agricultural practices", "Udawattakele: 'A Sanctuary Destroyed From Within, "The impact of climate change on indigenous arabica coffee (Coffea arabica): Predicting future trends and identifying priorities", Understanding the difference between Arabica and Robusta, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coffea_arabica&oldid=995355449, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 20 December 2020, at 16:16. [16] In the Udawattakele and Gannoruwa Forest Reserves near Kandy, Sri Lanka, coffee shrubs are also a problematic invasive species. Gourmet coffees are almost exclusively high-quality mild varieties of arabica coffee, and among the best-known arabica coffee beans in the world. The genome organisation of C. arabica was confirmed by GISH using simultaneously labelled total genomic DNA from the two putative genome donor species as probes. Arabica coffee production in Indonesia began in 1699 through the spread of Yemen's trade. Coffea arabica: Origin: Ethiopia and South Sudan: Light Requirements: Bright, indirect light. Some 33 species can be found in Africa, 14 species in Madagascar and 3 species in South-East Asia and Mauritius. Coffee species such as Coffea canephora P. (Robusta) and C. arabica L. (Arabica) are important cash crops in tropical regions around the world. By 1700, seeds from Yemen were being cultivated in India. The flatter and more-elongated Arabica bean is more widespread than Robusta but more delicate and vulnerable… Coffea arabica was first described scientifically by Antoine de Jussieu, who named it Jasminum arabicum after studying a specimen from the Botanic Gardens of Amsterdam. Pierre Tristam is an award-winning writer who covers Middle East, foreign affairs, immigration, and civil liberties. Linnaeus placed it in its own genus Coffea in 1737. "The plant: Origin, production and botany". Coffea arabica is the only polyploid species of the genus Coffea, as it carries 4 copies of the 11 chromosomes (44 total) instead of the 2 copies of diploid species. Notes on wild. In reinvesting our efforts back to the people who are responsible for cultivating the coffea plant, we are able to bear the fruits of coffee beans for all to enjoy. The plant species Coffea Arabica got its name around the 7th century when the bean crossed the Red Sea from Ethiopia to present-day Yemen and lower Arabia, hence the term "arabica.". Other articles where Coffea arabica is discussed: coffee: …species of the coffee plant, Coffea arabica and C. canephora, supply almost all of the world’s consumption. The most valuable part of this cash crop are the beans inside. [17], It is expected that a medium-term depletion of indigenous populations of C. arabica may occur, due to projected global warming, based on IPCC modelling. He has been writing for more than 20 years. 1. family: Rubiaceae 2. scientific name: coffea 3. species: arabica coffee 4. origin: Ethiopia 5. vegetation: ever-green, overlapping 6. height: 80-150 cm 7. leaves: young leaves light green and shining, later darker green 8. heyday: summer 9. blossoms: white, radial 10. fruit: red coffee cherries with two seeds eachCoffee arabica, which is usually from south-western Ethiopia, is the economically most important of around 60 species. Meyer, Frederick G. 1965. The Typica group, like all Arabica coffee, is supposed to have originated in southwestern Ethiopia. Coffea arabica is a polyploid species, carrying four copies of the eleven chromosomes typical of the genus Coffea, totaling 44 (2n = 4x = 44). The prize of the berries is the beans inside, usually two per berry. Technically, it is described as an allotetraploid genome, the result of a hybridization between two diploid species, Coffea canephora and Coffea eugenioides, which doubled arabica's chromosome number to 44. They are sometimes shaken off the tree onto mats, which means ripe and unripe berries are collected together. History of the Bean Its origins date back to about 1,000 BC in the highlands of the Kingdom of Kefa, which is present-day Ethiopia. It is also seen as a potential environmental weed or "sleeper weed" in northern New South Wales and other parts of coastal Queensland. Coffea arabica is native to northeast Tropical Africa (Southern Ethiopia, South Sudan (Boma Plateau); and possibly East Tropical Africa (Kenya, Mt Marsabit). The flowers only last a few days, leaving behind only the thick, dark-green leaves. They contain More Arabica Arabica refers to Coffea Arabica, the taxonomic species name of the genus responsible for around 75% of the worlds commercial coffee crop. C. arabica is an allotetraploid (2n = 4x = 44) originating from a hybridization event of the two diploid species C. canephora and C. eugenioides (2n = 2x = … Arabica is by far the dominant bean used today, representing about 70% of global production. Learn the History of Coffee, Hemagglutinin and Food Poisoning From Beans, B.A., Politics and History, New York University. At this point, they are called "cherries", which fruit they then resemble, and are ready for picking. Arabica Coffea The origin of this species is attributed to Ethiopia and Yemen, where the plant grew wild and where the first evidence was found of consumption of the related beverage: coffee. Arabica is considered the merlot of coffee, it has a mild taste, and to coffee drinkers, it can be described to have a sweetness, that is light and airy, like the mountains it comes from. There are two commercially important coffee species: coffea arabica and coffea canephora (robusta). These are as dark green as the foliage, until they begin to ripen, at first to yellow and then light red and finally darkening to a glossy, deep red. [12] Commercial cultivars mostly only grow to about 5 m, and are frequently trimmed as low as 2 m to facilitate harvesting. The Three Sisters: the Traditional Intercropping Agricultural Method. Arabica is the most flavoursome coffee variety and is used for no less than three-quarters of total global coffee production. The word “coffee” may be a corruption of Kaffa, the province of Ethiopia where C. arabicaoriginated and may have been domesticated. Flowers opening on sunny days result in the greatest numbers of berries. In almost all languages the name coffee refers to this region, but funny enough in Ethiopia the name is quite different; Ethiopians call it Buna. The name arabica was given to this species of coffee by the botanist Carolus Linnaeus who incorrectly believed that it originated on the Arabian peninsula in modern-day Yemen. Distribution Despite its name, C. arabica originated in Ethiopia, where it grows at elevations between 1,375 to 1,830 m. It is believed to have been introduced into Arabia prior to the 15th century. The coffee plant (Coffea arabica L., 1753) is a shrub species belonging to the Rubiaceae family. With continuous active selection and breeding activities, many varieties like Batian and Ruiru II in Kenya have emerged with improved This can be problematic and deleterious, however, as coffee plants tend to produce too many berries; this can lead to an inferior harvest and even damage yield in the following years, as the plant will favor the ripening of berries to the detriment of its own health. C. arabica is native to the highlands of southwestern Ethiopia, whereas C. canephora is native to the lowland forests from Liberia east and south to Kenya and the Congo basin. Does Caffeine Affect the Taste of Coffee and Cola? Sometime in the 15th or 16th century, it was taken to Yemen. It is commonly used as an understorey shrub. Arabica coffee was first found in Yemen and documented by the 12th century. The flowers are white, 10–15 mm in diameter and grow in axillary clusters. Will do best close to an east or west-facing window. Endemic to the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia. The Arabica coffee bean is the Adam or Eve of all coffees, which is likely the first type of coffee bean ever consumed. The plant was cultivated in Yemen around 1000 AD, and later it spread around the world. The robusta species of coffee of beans make up the 30% difference of global coffee bean production. Coffea arabica, commonly called Arabian coffee, is an upright tropical evergreen shrub or small tree that grows to 10-15’ tall. [15] It was formerly more widely grown than at present, especially in Kona,[15] and it persists after cultivation in many areas. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to be cultivated, and is the dominant cultivar, representing about 60% of global production. Names. SL28 is among the most well-known and well-regarded varieties of Africa. Indonesian coffees, such as Sumatran and Java, are known for heavy body and low acidity. the seeds of this tree. Inferior coffee results from picking them too early or too late, so many are picked by hand to be able to better select them, as they do not all ripen at the same time. The berries are oblong and about 1 cm long. In written records Arab scholars are the first known to have roasted the coffee beans, if it wasn’t for the written records it may have been called something else. Ethiopia is considered the place of origin of Arabica coffee, in the province of Kaffa. Arabica is considered a milder, more-flavourful and aromatic brew than Robusta, the main variety of C. canephora. Its origins date back to about 1,000 BC in the highlands of the Kingdom of Kefa, which is present-day Ethiopia. [9] Nearly all of the coffee that has been cultivated over the past few centuries originated with just a handful of wild plants from Yemen, and today the coffee growing on plantations around the world contains less than 1% of the diversity contained in the wild in Yemen alone. [citation needed] It is usually cultivated between 1,300 and 1,500 m altitude,[citation needed] but there are plantations that grow it as low as sea level and as high as 2,800 m.[11], The plant can tolerate low temperatures, but not frost, and it does best with an average temperature between 15 and 24 °C (59 and 75 °F). Flowers opening on sunny days result in the greatest numbers of berries small, white, highly fragrant.... Meaning, purpose and social responsibility most well-known and well-regarded varieties of arabica and Coffea canephora ( robusta ),... 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