Most coffee drinkers know two species, arabica and robusta. A third, Coffea stenophylla, may matter far more in a warming world.
Stenophylla grows wild in West Africa. Botanists feared it was lost for decades. It was found again in Sierra Leone in 2018.
Why scientists care
Researchers at Kew Gardens tested the species. It grows in average temperatures several degrees above what arabica tolerates. The gap is about 6 degrees Celsius (11 degrees Fahrenheit).
That heat tolerance could help farms near the equator. Arabica struggles when nights stay warm.
Does it taste good
Tasters described the fruit as sweet, with less bitterness than robusta. Some compared it with high-quality arabica. Samples are still few.
A coffee that survives heat and still tastes good would change the plan for a whole industry.
The hurdles
Wild stenophylla yields little. It also has a long ripening time. Breeders must cross it with productive plants without losing the flavour.
That work takes years. No farmer will plant it at scale soon. But the seeds are safe in banks, and that is a start.
