Arabica, robusta ... excelsa? A coffee bean you’ve never heard of may someday be your brew

Catherine Bashiama runs her fingers along the branches of the coffee tree she’s raised from a seedling, searching anxiously for its first fruit buds since she planted it three years ago. When she grasps the small cherries, Bashiama beams. The farmer had never grown coffee in her village in western South Sudan, but now hopes a rare, climate-resistant species will help pull her family from poverty. “I want to send my children to school so they can be the future generation,” said Bashiama, a mother of 12. Discovered more than a century ago in South Sudan, excelsa coffee is exciting cash-strapped Sudanese and drawing interest from the international community amid a global coffee crisis caused mainly by climate change. As leading coffee-producing countries struggle to grow crops in drier, less reliable weather, prices have soared to the highest in decades and the industry is scrambling for solutions. Experts say estimates from drought-stricken Brazil, the world’s top coffee grower, are that this year’s harvest could be down by some 12 per cent. “What history shows us is that sometimes the world doesn’t give you a choice, and right now there are many coffee farmers suffering from climate change that are facing this predicament,” said Aaron Davis, head of coffee research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London. Excelsa could play a key role in adapting. Native to South Sudan and a handful of other African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Uganda, excelsa is also farmed in India, and particularly in Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The variety thrives at altitudes between 1,000 and 1,300 metres above sea level, which explains why, in Vietnam, the country’s central highlands - particularly Lam Dong and Dak Lak provinces - have become prime growing regions, as well as Batangas in the Philippines. The tree’s deep roots, thick leathery leaves and big trunk allow it to thrive in extreme conditions such as drought and heat where other coffees cannot. It is also resistant to many common coffee pests and diseases. Yet it comprises less than 1 per cent of the global market, well behind the arabica and robusta species that are the most consumed coffees in the world. Experts say excelsa will have to be shown to be practical at a much larger scale to bridge the gap in the market caused by climate change. Unlike neighbouring Ethiopia or Uganda, oil-rich South Sudan has never been known as a coffee-producing nation. Its British colonisers grew robusta and arabica, but much of that stopped during decades of conflict that forced people from their homes and made it hard to farm. Coffee trees require regular care such as pruning and weeding and take at least three years to yield fruit. Earlier this month in Nzara County in Western Equatoria state – regarded as the country’s breadbasket – residents reminisced about their parents and grandparents growing coffee, yet much of the younger generation hadn’t done it themselves. There’s so little known about this coffee that we feel at the forefront [in] trying to unravel it, and we’re learning every day Ian Paterson, managing director of Equatoria Teak, a sustainable agroforestry company Many were familiar with excelsa, but didn’t realise how unique it was, or what it was called, referring to it as the big tree, typically taller than the arabica and robusta species that are usually pruned to be bush- or hedge-like. The excelsa trees can reach 15 metres (about 49 feet) in height, but may also be pruned much shorter for ease of harvesting. Coffee made from excelsa tastes sweet – unlike robusta – with notes of chocolate, dark fruits and hazelnut. It is more similar to arabica, but generally less bitter and may have less body. “There’s so little known about this coffee that we feel at the forefront [in] trying to unravel it, and we’re learning every day,” said Ian Paterson, managing director of Equatoria Teak, a sustainable agroforestry company that has been operating in South Sudan for more than a decade. The company has been doing trials on excelsa for years. Initial results are promising, with the trees able to withstand heat much better than other species, the company said. It is also working with communities to revive the coffee industry and scale up production. Three years ago it gave seedlings and training to about 1,500 farmers, including Bashiama, to help them grow the coffee. The farmers can sell back to the company for processing and export. Many of the trees started producing for the first time this year, and Paterson said he hopes to export the first batch of some 7 tons to speciality shops in Europe. By 2027, the coffee could inject some US$2 million (HK$15.5 million) into the economy, with big buyers such as Nespresso expressing interest. But production needs to triple for it to be worthwhile for large buyers to invest, he said. That could be challenging in South Sudan, where lack of infrastructure and insecurity make it hard to get the coffee out. One truck of 30 tons of coffee has to travel some 1,800 miles (3,000 kilometres) to reach port in Kenya to be shipped. The cost for the first leg of that trip, through Uganda, is more than US$7,500, which is up to five times the cost in neighbouring countries. It is also hard to attract investors. Despite a peace deal in 2018 that ended a five-year civil war, pockets of fighting persist. Tensions in Western Equatoria are especially high after the president removed the governor in February, sparking anger among his supporters. Alison Barnaba, the state’s minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment, said there are plans to rehabilitate old coffee plantations and build an agriculture school, but details are murky, including where the money will come from. South Sudan has not paid its civil servants in more than a year, and a rupture of a crucial oil pipeline through neighbouring Sudan has reduced oil revenue. Growing the coffee is not always easy, either. Farmers have to contend with fires that spread quickly in the dry season and decimate their crops. Hunters use fires to scare and kill animals and residents use it to clear land for cultivation. But the fires can get out of control and there are few measures in place to hold people accountable, say residents. Still, for locals, the coffee represents a chance at a better future. Bashiama said she started planting coffee after her husband was injured and unable to help cultivate enough of the maize and ground nuts that the family had lived on. Since his accident she has not been able to send her children to school or buy enough food, she said. Another farmer, 37-year-old Taban John, wants to use his coffee earnings to buy a bicycle so he can more easily sell his other crops, ground nuts and cassava, and other goods in town. He also wants to be able to afford school uniforms for his children. People aren’t thinking long-term like coffee crops, during war. Coffee needs peace. Elia Box, coffee farmer in South Sudan Excelsa is an opportunity for the community to become more financially independent, say community leaders. People rely on the government or foreign aid, but when that doesn’t come through they’re not able to take care of their families, they say. But for coffee to thrive in South Sudan, locals say there needs to be a long-term mentality, and that requires stability. Elia Box lost half of his coffee crop to fire in early February. He plans to replace it, but was dispirited at the work it will require and the lack of law and order to hold people accountable. “People aren’t thinking long-term like coffee crops, during war,” he said. “Coffee needs peace.”

Arabica, robusta ... excelsa? A coffee bean you’ve never heard of may someday be your brew

There’s a coffee crisis due to climate change. It’s ravaging harvests. A coffee variety native to Africa and grown in Asia may be a saviour