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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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