What is Coffee?

What is Coffee?

The coffea plant is a genus of the Rubiaceae family. Classification of coffee plants is complicated, as there are many species, varieties and strains. The two species from which most commercial coffee comes are the coffea arabica, a complex species with numerous varieties, and the coffea canephora species, usually called robusta, which is the name of its most productive variety.

Other species of coffee trees include coffea liberica, discovered in Liberia in 1843, and coffea dewevrei, better known as excelsa, both of which have robusta-like qualities and are generally rather unsavory, to say the least. Much effort has gone into development of hybrid coffee trees, but the general consensus is that although the new strains add productivity, hardy resistance and perhaps longer life to coffee trees, the hybrid flavors are simply not as good as the old ones.

All coffee is grown in the wide tropical belt surrounding the Equator between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, but depending on their species and variety, the plants vary enormously in appearance. The evergreen foliage may be practically any shade in a range from yellowy-green to deep green or even bronze, and the shiny leaves are corrugated, more so for robusta than arabica. Some plants remain small shrubs, while others would tower at 18m / 60 feet if they were not kept pruned for ease of harvesting.

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