Sierra Leone: How a forgotten plant species can be the lifeline of the coffee industry

A kind of coffee has been rediscovered in Sierra Leone, half a century after it was last seen. Similar to Arabica, it is more heat resistant, which makes it very valuable to the sector, which has seen its coffee production affected by rising temperatures Growing quality coffee is becoming increasingly difficult as average temperatures rise and rainfall becomes more erratic, making it increasingly difficult to feed demand. But a rediscovery could make a difference for the industry. The Stenophylla coffee plant, originally from West Africa, which was believed to be extinct, was found in wild conditions in Sierra Leone by a group of researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, in the United Kingdom. The discovery took place during a mission in 2018, which was looking for exactly this species of coffee. The team found a wild plantation with about 15 Stenophylla plants growing in the hills of Kambui, Sierra Leone. The plant has not been seen since 1954 in Sierra Leone and since 1980 ...