Coffea arabica

Coffea arabica (), also known as the Arabica coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee and madder family Rubiaceae. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated and is the dominant cultivar, representing about 60% of global production. Coffee produced from the less acidic, more bitter, and more highly caffeinated robusta bean (C. canephora) makes up most of the remaining coffee production. The natural populations of Coffea arabica are restricted to the forests of South Ethiopia and Yemen.

Description

An evergreen shrub. It grows to 3-5 m high and spreads to 3 m across. The stem is slender and the branches are flexible. The leaves are glossy green, oblong, and tapering towards the tip. They occur opposite each other and have easy to see veins. The leaves are 10-15 cm long by 5 cm wide. The flowering stalks grow from these side branches and have 1-4 flowers. The flowers are white, with 5 petals. They have a scent. Flowers occur in clusters in the axils of leaves. The fruit are green but change to red when ripe. They contain 2 seeds. The seeds are grey-green. They are about 12 mm long. They are flattened on the side where they are pressed together. Coffee seeds are commonly called "beans".

Edible Uses

Coffea arabica accounts for 60% of the world's coffee production. The dried seeds ('beans') are roasted, ground and brewed into one of the two most popular beverages in the world. Coffee is also widely used as a flavouring in ice cream, pastries, candies and liqueurs, and an extract from the seeds serves the same purpose. The seeds have been used as a masticatory since ancient times, and when cooked in butter can be made into rich flat cakes. Dried, roasted green seeds are used as an appetizer, and chocolate-covered roasted seeds are eaten as a gourmet snack. The red fruits and leaves are chewed for their stimulating properties. The cooked leaves have a strong brown colour, a good texture and a relatively neutral flavour with only a hint of bitterness; they contain more caffeine than the fruit and are sometimes brewed as a tea substitute.

Traditional Uses

The seeds are used for coffee. The seeds are roasted and then ground to make a drink. Coffee extract is used for flavouring ice cream, candies, pastries, and soft drinks. The roasted seeds are eaten as snacks. The red fruit and leaves are chewed for their stimulant properties. The leaves are used as a tea substitute.

Medicinal Uses

The seeds contain caffeine, a widely used stimulant added to proprietary painkillers to enhance the effect of aspirin and paracetamol. They also contain theobromine and theophylline, and chlorogenic acid, which is both stimulant and diuretic as well as a known allergen. The seed is a bitter, aromatic, stimulant herb with diuretic effects that also controls vomiting. It is reported to be analgesic, aphrodisiac, anorexic, antidotal, cardiotonic, CNS-stimulant, counter-irritant, hypnotic, galactagogue and nervine. Though not typically classified as a medicinal herb, coffee is a highly effective general stimulant with a particular effect on the central nervous system, improving perception and physical performance. It has been found to help in some cases of headache or migraine. An enema made using coffee beans is an effective cleanser for the large bowel. Coffee is a folk remedy for asthma, atropine poisoning, fever, flu, headache, jaundice, malaria, migraine, narcosis, nephrosis, opium poisoning, sores and vertigo.

Known Hazards

The seeds contain chlorogenic acid, which is a known allergen.

Distribution

It is native to NE tropical Africa. A tropical and subtropical plant. It grows best in rich deep soils in a protected partly shaded position. It is drought and frost tender. It cannot stand flooding. It needs a temperature above 10°C. In West Africa it grows between 1,000-2,000 m altitude. In PNG it is mostly between 700-2,000 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 10-11. In XTBG Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Arabia, Asia, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Central America, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Easter Island, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia*, Fiji, Georgia, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya*, Malawi, Marquesas, Martinique, Mexico, Middle East, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Africa, North America, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Rotuma, Sahel, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, St Helena, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Yap, Yemen, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Coffea arabica can be grown at elevations from 1,300 to 2,800 metres in equatorial regions, with 1,500 - 1,900 metres being most common. The minimum elevation reduces to about 500 metres at a latitude around 15°N or S, whilst in the subtropics, it can be grown from sea level to 1,000 metres. The plant can tolerate low temperatures but not frost. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range of 14 - 28°c but can tolerate 10 - 34°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,400 - 2,300mm, but tolerates 750 - 4,200mm. With too much rainfall, the plant tends to develop wood at the expense of flowers and fruits. One to two months of less than 50mm rain facilitates uniform flowering. Heavy rain during and after harvest is not desirable. Coffea arabica prefers a position in light shade. Shading improves leaf and shoot growth but reduces root growth. Coffea arabica prefers deep friable soil on undulating land. Plants are unsuited to stiff clay or sandy soils but are considered tolerant of acid soils. It prefers a pH in the range of 5.5 - 7, tolerating 4.3 - 8.4. Plants can begin to bear within 2 - 3 years and fully bear at the age of 6 - 8 years. The optimum yield of clean, dry coffee beans is 2- 3 tonnes/ha, obtained in Kenya. The average yields are about 0.5 tonnes/ha in Brazil and 0.9 tonnes/ha in Africa. Coffee plants can produce economic yields for 30 - 40 years on average, though this can vary from 10 - 70 years and plants of 80 - 100 years are known. Two to four years after planting, Coffea arabica produces small, white, highly fragrant flowers. The sweet fragrance resembles the sweet smell of jasmine flowers. Following the flowers, red berries appear, which are harvested for the coffee beans inside. The plant is tetraploid, and over 30 mutations have been recognized. In bisexual flowers, pollen is shed shortly after the flower opens, and the stigma is receptive immediately. Self-pollination can occur, as seed sets, even when the flowers are bagged. Pollination is also by honeybees, which collect nectar and pollen from the flowers. Inferior coffee results from picking berries too early or too late. Dwarf varieties are available.

Propagation

Propagation is usually by seed. Optimum germination temperature is around 30–32°C; below 10°C germination is very slow. Seed viability is comparatively short and it is advisable to sow within two months of harvesting, as older seed takes longer to germinate and loses viability over time. Seeds can be planted with the attached parchment, but germination is quicker when this is removed. Seedlings can be raised in shaded nurseries and planted into permanent positions when 6–12 months old. Propagation is also possible by layering, air layering, budding, or single leaf-bud cuttings, which is the most commonly used cutting method.

Other Uses

The plant is often intercropped with food crops such as corn, beans or rice during its early years of growth, and is useful as an understorey plant or hedge. Coffelite, a type of plastic, is made from coffee beans. Coffee combined with iodine is used as a deodorant. The seeds contain caffeine, which has been described as a natural herbicide — it selectively inhibits germination of Amaranthus spinosus seeds. The bark can be made into pulp and parchment or used as manure and mulch. The whitish wood is hard, dense, heavy, tough, durable and takes a polish well; it is suitable for tables, chairs and turnery. Coffea arabica can be grown in a large container of 35 litres or more, and will also grow as an indoor plant, though it is unlikely to fruit indoors.

Production

Plants normally self pollinate. The fruit develops over 9 months. Coffee bushes bear fruit after 3-4 years and can continue to do so for 50 or 60 years. For best quality the outer layer of the seeds is removed in a pulping machine then fermented while wet for 12-24 hours before drying in the sun and having the parchment removed in a hulling machine. Five kgs of fresh berries would yield about 1 kg of dried clean coffee.

Other Information

It is cultivated.

Notes

There are about 40 Coffea species. They are mostly in Africa. In Botanical Gardens in Slovenia presumably in a hot house.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Buna Cafe, Cafeto, Carry, Coffee (Arabian), Kabe, Kafa, Kafe, Kajui, Kapeng arabica, Koffie, Kohfi, Koofiy, Kopi arabika

References (91)

• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 135
• Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 207
• Awas, T., 1997, A Study on the Ecology and Ethnobotany of Non-cultivated Food Plants and Wild Relatives of Cultivated crops in Gambella Region, Southwestern Ethiopia. Addis Ababa University. p 61
• Barwick, M., 2004, Tropical and Subtropical Trees. A Worldwide Encyclopedic Guide. Thames and Hudson p 125
• Bennett, B. C., 1990, Useful Plants of Amazonian Ecuador. US Agency for International Development. Fifth Progress Report. New York Botanical Gardens. p 39

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