The future of the beloved arabica bean is in jeopardy due to climate warming and susceptibility to pests and disease but there is hope on the horizon with a recent rediscovery of the Coffea stenophylla species of coffee plant.
Originating from Sierra Leone in Africa, a local forestry expert discovered the plant after a 5-year long search in the dense West African bush. This coffee plant had been lost to the world for over 50 years and its recent re-discovery has revived the hopes of coffee experts around the world, given the plant's climate-resilient properties as well as its great taste. It is the great taste profile that has every coffee enthusiast excited. When tasted by a panel of coffee experts in London in 2020, it was awarded a specialty score of 80.25 and identified Arabica-like qualities. In another tasting, this time in Reunion Island, the coffee experts revealed that stenophylla has a complex flavour profile, with a natural sweetness, medium-high acidity, fruitiness and good body. These results are very promising for the specialty coffee community.
There is more work and testing that needs to be done but this re-discovered species may be a viable complement, and eventual alternative, to the Coffea arabica.