Brazil: The plant that can save world coffee production

Coffea Stenophylla RGB Kew Caption: Coffea Stenophylla beans have a naturally sweet and fruity flavor. RGB photo Kew A species of "forgotten" coffee plant, capable of growing in warmer conditions, can help save the drink from climate change. Scientists predict that we will soon be drinking Stenophylla, a rare wild coffee from West Africa that tastes like traditional Arabica coffee, but grows in warmer conditions. As temperatures rise, it becomes increasingly difficult to grow good coffee. Studies suggest that by 2050, about half of the land used to grow high-quality coffee will be unproductive. Finding wild coffee that is tasty and tolerant of heat and drought is "the Holy Grail of coffee production," says Aaron Davis, head of coffee research at Kew Gardens, London's botanical garden. "As someone who has tasted several wild coffees, I can say that in general they are not good, they don't taste like arabica, so our expectations were very low," he tells BBC News, talking about types ...