Inside a new experiment to find the climate-proof coffee of the future
8 months, 1 week ago

Inside a new experiment to find the climate-proof coffee of the future

Salon  

David Ngibuini is a second-generation coffee farmer in Kenya's central highlands, an area of cool temperatures and rich volcanic soil that's long been one of the best places to grow coffee on Earth. That's the idea behind Innovea, a new project led by the nonprofit World Coffee Research, that seeks to supercharge the breeding of improved arabica varieties — unique variations of a given species that have been selected for certain characteristics. According to Vern Long, CEO of World Coffee Research, or WCR, which is based in the United States and funded by the coffee industry, new varieties are one of the best ways to "improve a crop's productivity and reduce risk." "The idea is to identify the genes we're looking for and move on with those plants instead of others," said Jane Cheserek, lead breeder at Kenya's government-run Coffee Research Institute, WCR's Kenyan partner. One 2018 study by the Kenya Coffee Platform, an industry association, estimated that only 49 percent of Kenya's coffee smallholders earned a "living wage" from the crop.

Research World Coffee Kenya Trees Variety Long Breeding Varieties Arabica Wcr Grist Ngibuini Innovea  coffee  inside  arabica  climateproof  experiment  long  varieties  future  research  breeding  variety  trees  wcr  world

History of this topic

South Sudan farmers pin hopes on rare climate-resistant coffee
4 weeks ago

South Sudan farmers pin hopes on rare climate-resistant coffee

Al Jazeera  

Catherine Bashiama runs her fingers along the branches of the coffee tree she has nurtured from a seedling, anxiously searching for its first fruit buds since planting it three years ago. The farmer had never grown coffee in her village in western South Sudan but now hopes that a rare climate-resistant variety will help lift her family out of poverty. …

Brazil Coffee Crop Disappoints After Beans Affected by Drought
9 months ago

Brazil Coffee Crop Disappoints After Beans Affected by Drought

Live Mint  

-- Brazil, the world’s top coffee producer, is on track to harvest a weaker-than-expected crop in a frustrating development for already tight global markets. “There is certainly a concern about production shortfall,” said Simão Pedro Lima, an executive at cooperative Expocacer, who added that the average size of beans is probably going to be lower than in previous years in …

Your morning coffee may be hundreds of thousands of years old
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Your morning coffee may be hundreds of thousands of years old

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Using genes from coffee plants …

Better Australian coffee varieties for farmers, but a decade before consumers get a taste
3 years, 4 months ago

Better Australian coffee varieties for farmers, but a decade before consumers get a taste

ABC  

When you next sip on a locally grown single-origin Arabica coffee, the variety of tree it is sourced from might not matter to you, but it does to growers. Key points: Researchers are trialling 25 coffee varieties from across the world in the Australian environment Growers have narrowed down their favourites to four from Brazil, Mexico, Honduras and France COVID …

Can a wild coffee bean save the brew from climate change?
3 years, 11 months ago

Can a wild coffee bean save the brew from climate change?

Live Mint  

A once-prized coffee species, rediscovered in West Africa decades after it was thought to have disappeared, is just as tasty as high-end Arabica and more resilient to climate change, scientists said Monday, adding that the forgotten bean could help future-proof quality coffee. Aaron Davis, Head of Coffee Research at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, who led the research said that …

A Coffee Crisis Is Brewing And It Could Make Your Morning Joe Less Tasty
5 years, 5 months ago

A Coffee Crisis Is Brewing And It Could Make Your Morning Joe Less Tasty

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Whether it’s a quickly chugged-down morning cup, a lukewarm afternoon jolt from the coffee machine at work, a pumpkin spiced latte in the fall or a specialty cold brew in the summer, coffee has cemented itself as an important ritual in the lives of many Americans. “I think there’s a lot of people today who are looking …

Coffee production threatened by climate change and deforestation
6 years, 2 months ago

Coffee production threatened by climate change and deforestation

Salon  

The more that scientists study Earth’s changing climate, the better we understand the myriad risks posed by rising carbon dioxide emissions. Researchers state in the report that 60 percent is especially high compared to a “global figure of 22 percent for all plants.” Coffee trading around the world relies specifically on two species: Arabica and robusta. In the last century, …

Mea Cuppa for a bean species
7 years, 3 months ago

Mea Cuppa for a bean species

Deccan Chronicle  

The girl with a game plan for coffee farmers and the bean itself is an avid traveller, and nature lover. “Both of these experiences, first as a young student and then later as a social scientist influenced my ideas on how Black Baza Coffee should come about,” shares Arshiya. The social side Her solo venture, Black Baza Coffee, was started …

Coffee could be 'drastically affected' by climate change by end of century
8 years, 10 months ago

Coffee could be 'drastically affected' by climate change by end of century

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Eighty scientists have published a …

Discover Related