Coffee tree and its species

Arabian coffee tree

Branch with flowers and immature fruits;

1 — unfolded whisk;
2 & mdash; stamens;
3 & mdash; pestle with cup;
4 & mdash; ovary in longitudinal section;
5 and 6 & mdash; seed from dorsal and abdominal sides;
7 & mdash; fruit in cross section;
8 & mdash; seed in cross section;
9 & mdash; the same with the root of the embryo shown;
10 & mdash; germ root.

The usual coffee beans give a coffee tree.
It belongs to the family of madder (Rubiaceae), which unites about five thousand species of plants.

Among them, there are about 60 species per genus of coffee, including:

• 33 species discovered in Africa,
• on the islands of Mauritius and Reunion & mdash; 3,
• in Southeast Asia & mdash; 10,
• on the island of Madagascar - 14.

These are quite diverse plants: among them there are deciduous, evergreen, and mighty tall trees, and shrubs. However, all of them are united by a common characteristic & mdash; the presence of caffeine in seeds and leaves.

The fruit has a strong outer skin (exocarp), under which is a juicy yellowish pulp (mesocarp). The pulp envelops paired hemispherical seeds, which are enclosed in a greenish parchment shell (endocarp).

The so-called pea berry contains only one seed. There are also & laquo; elephants & raquo; & mdash; fused pairwise flat coffee beans and 3 & mdash; 4 or more seeds in the fruits of the mutant polysperma.

Of all the types of coffee tree, only Arabian coffee, or Arabica (coffee Arabica), Congolese coffee, or Robusta (coffee Canephora) are economically important.

Liberian coffee, or liberica, and high coffee (coffee Dewevref) are also of little economic importance.

 

Coffee & laquo; Arabica & raquo;

Arabian coffee is an evergreen tree up to five meters tall.

If it is not looked after, it can reach a height of 10 meters. However, at the same time, its yield will decrease, and it will be difficult to pick berries. Therefore, the tree is usually cut at a height of 120-480 centimeters, cultivating low trees.

The Arabian coffee tree has long, flexible and spreading branches, whole leaves up to 20 centimeters long and up to 5 centimeters wide on short petioles. The flowers are white and fragrant. Each inflorescence consists of four flowers, but not all of them can be tied. Flower buds are dormant until precipitation falls.

Moisture stimulates their awakening, and 8-12 days after moistening, flowers bloom from them.

They self-pollinate and are also pollinated by wind and insects. After two days of flowering, the flowers begin to wilt and then fall, leaving an ovary.

Under optimal conditions, after 8-9 months, the fetus grows & mdash; berry almost spherical in shape. When ripe, it changes color from green to yellow and finally red.

In the ripened state, the berry reaches one and a half centimeters in diameter.

Currently arabica coffee & mdash; undisputed world leader among other types of coffee. It accounts for about 90% of all coffee plantations.

The arabica coffee tree has a number of botanical varieties, including abyssinica, bourbon, maragojip, etc.

Arabica Bourbon

Arabica L. var. Bourbon) & nbsp; was at one time brought by the French to the island of Reunion. It has proven to be more productive than other varieties.

There was a time when Bourbon Arabica dominated Brazilian plantations. However, subsequently, when laying new plantations, the championship passed to the new botanical variety Mundo-novo & mdash; a natural hybrid of two varieties of arabica.

Arabika Maragojip

The arabica variety Maragojip differs in that it produces the largest, but rather nostril, porous grains. This mutant coffee was first discovered near the city of Maragojip in the eastern Brazilian state of Bahia and quickly spread around the world.

Adapting to local conditions, it acquires the taste and aroma characteristics of the soils on which it grows.

Apparently, this factor introduced disagreement into the ranks of coffee connoisseurs. Some consider Maragojip coffee grains to be excellent, almost the best in the world in terms of taste, while others, on the contrary, find their characteristics mediocre.

If you also consider that Maragojip coffee does not have a high yield, it becomes clear why it is not represented in the global coffee market.

Coffee & laquo; Robusta & raquo;

Robusta, or Congolese (c. Canephora pierre) coffee grows wild in the equatorial forests and savannahs of the Congo River basin, predominantly between 10 & deg; north latitude and 10 & deg; south.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, this type of coffee tree has become widespread in the world. Today it is an important economic crop, spread mainly on the lower parts of the slopes, where the more whimsical arabica cannot survive due to disease damage. It is no coincidence that the word & laquo; robusta & raquo; translates as & laquo; strong & raquo;, & laquo; steady & raquo;.

Congolese coffee has varieties:

• the tree form of Robusta, or Canephora, which is characterized by a large height of trees and therefore needs pruning,
• Nganda.

The Congolese coffee tree reaches a height of 2-10 meters. It has larger leaves of light green color than arabica coffee. It blooms at the age of three. The flowers are white-pink. Fruits ripen 10 & mdash; 11 months after flowering and are a rounded berry with a diameter of 1.2 centimeters.

The robusta coffee drink differs in some characteristics from the arabica coffee drink.
It is considered to be less tasty and not so aromatic. But, on the other hand, it has undoubted advantages over arabica: it is more productive and cheaper, better tolerates diseases and contains more caffeine.

After instant coffee hit the market, the attitude towards robusta changed for the better. It turned out to be very suitable for the production of this drink, primarily from an economic point of view. In addition, Robusta has another noteworthy quality: it successfully complements arabica, combining its fullness of taste with its aroma.

Coffee & laquo; Kopi Liuvak & raquo; (Kopi Luwak)

Grade & laquo; Kopi Liuvak & raquo; or & laquo; Kape Alamid & raquo;, produced in Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, southern India), is the & nbsp; most expensive coffee , since it must pass through the gastrointestinal tract of musang (or Asian palm civet) to acquire a special taste & mdash; a small animal of the viverra family.

Without the last link, the taste and aroma of this coffee is very mediocre.

However, it is known that "Taiwanese specialists" from the slopes of the Formosa Mountains recently proposed a cheaper analogue of coffee & laquo; Kopi Luvak & raquo; & ndash; & laquo; Monkey Coffee & raquo;, with the same original method of processing raw coffee beans only "using" monkeys.

Liberian Coffee

Liberica bull & nbsp; & mdash; this tree is 6 & mdash; 12 meters tall with a pyramidal crown and very large leaves 16 & mdash; 35 centimeters long and 6 & mdash; 15 centimeters wide.

Berries, elongated in shape, with a diameter of 2 & mdash; 3 centimeters. This species of coffee tree occurs in the wild in the tropics near Monrovia in Liberia, West Africa.

Liberian coffee is currently cultivated in equatorial Guinea, Senegal and other African countries, as well as in Ceylon, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

It is resistant to many diseases except rust. Since the tree produces fruits of mediocre quality, it is mainly used as a rootstock and for hybridization.

Liberic coffee is only locally important and not widely used.