HALO Examines the Origin of the Coffee Tree

Coffee trees produce a fragrant, white flower up to three times a year. After each bloom, the trees produce their cherries from which the coffee beans are harvested and processed for consumption. Each species of coffee tree has a distinct flower ranging in size and shape.

Coffea Arabica originated in the forests of Ethiopia and South Sudan before famously being transported around the world.

Coffea Eugenioides has a lower caffeine content than Arabica. They are indiginous to East African highlands including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and western Tanzania.

Coffea Canephora is commonly known as ‘Robusta’ because of its robust qualities. It has its origins in western and central sub-Saharan Africa and was described nearly 100 years after the arabica. The Robusta is a popular commercial crop for its higher bean yield and caffeine content.

Typica is an arabica plant transported from Ethiopia to Yemen to Java in the 1700s. It is identifiable as a tall cultivar of arabica with large fruit and seeds. Typica Cultivar Examples: Java was brought to neighboring islands Timor and then East African Cameroon where it was later “released for cultivation in 1980” and has since been introduced in Central America. Maragogype was first recognised in Brazil in 1870. Kent was likely from coffee bred on the Kent Estate in India and since the 1930s has been widely planted in India.

Bourbon is an arabica plant brought from Yemen by the French to an island east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, then called Île Bourbon but now known as Réunion. They have very strong stems but are “susceptible to all major diseases and pests”. Bourbon Cultivar Examples: Bourbon Pointu/Laurina’s dates back to 1947 from present-day Réunion. The “Laurina mutants were the first varieties to be patented by the roasting industry.” SL28 Ethiopian selection was brought from Tanzania to Kenya but is now most widely grown in Zimbabwe. SL34 is an Ethiopian selection and is one of the main varieties grown in Kenya. Villa Sarchi was found in Costa Rica and then released in 1957.

Pacas was found in El Salvador in 1949. Pacamara was developed in El Salvador as a cross between Maragogype and Pacas and was released in 1958. (Try HALO Pacamara) Caturra was found in Brazil in 1937 and yields both yellow and red cherries. Mocha (or Mokka) is “likely named for the port of Mocha in Yemen” as it was grown in Yemen and later brought to Réunion. Batian was bred by the Kenyan Coffee Institute and released in 2010.

Hybrids are offspring of different species, variants, cultivars or lines that are formed by cross-pollinating plants of different types. Typicas that occurred naturally in on the island of Timor in Southeast Asia include Catimor, Colombia, Icatú, IHCAFE 90, Ruiru 11, Anacafe 14, Sarchimor, Castillo, and Oro Azteca. Coffees with Other Hybrid Lineage include Jember/S795, S288, S26, Kalimas, Menado, and Kawisari. This particular image is of an Arabica Hybrid F1 called Starmaya

Ethiopian and Sudanese Coffees like the Gesha are a wild Ethiopian coffee brought to Costa Rica and are now widely cultivated in Central America. Ethiopian and Sudanese Coffee Examples: Harrar Yirgacheffe Djimma Lekempti Sidamo (Try HALO Ethiopian Sidamo) Agaro Mugi Wellega Melka Longberry Harrar Haru Gera Mettu Awada Wenago Mechara Alghe Cioccie S6 Dalle Abyssinia Gawe Melko-CH2 Ababuna Tegu Rambung Tafarikela Dega Ennarea Dilla Ghimbi USDA 762 Barbuk Sudan Rume Sudan