A new study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, has shed light on the origins of coffee Arabica, said to be the most popular type of coffee worldwide. The findings suggest that Arabica emerged more than 600,000 years ago in the forests of Ethiopia. Around 60% of the world's total coffee products are made using beans of this species. Companies like Starbucks and Tim Hortons exclusively use Arabica. Despite its popularity, it is vulnerable to several diseases, and can only be cultivated in a few places in the world with favourable conditions. The flavours of Arabica are said to be sweeter and softer compared to other coffee species and further boast a more nuanced set of aromas. It has a lower caffeine content with greater acidity, which helps reduce bitterness.
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Arabica emerged more than 600,000 years ago in the forests of Ethiopia. Photo Credit: iStock
Arabica formed as a natural hybrid of the Coffea canephora and Coffea eugenioides species. Moreover, this crossbreeding predates "modern humans and the cultivation of coffee", the press release highlighted. "We've used genomic information in plants alive today to go back in time and paint the most accurate picture possible of Arabica's long history, as well as determine how modern cultivated varieties are related to each other," says the study's co-corresponding author, Victor Albert. He adds, "A detailed understanding of the origins and breeding history of contemporary varieties are crucial to developing new Arabica cultivars better adapted to climate change". For instance, the researchers analysed the composition of one arabica variety that is resistant to coffee leaf rust, highlighting sections of its genetic code that could help protect the plant, AP reported.
The press release also mentions that the cultivation of Arabica coffee may have started principally in Yemen, around the 1600's. "Indian monk Baba Budan is believed to have smuggled the fabled "seven seeds" out of Yemen around 1600, establishing Indian Arabica cultivars and setting the stage for coffee's global reach today" the report states.
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