Taxonomy_of_the_coffee_plant

Next to Arabica and Robusta, few other species can are commercially available, e.g. as roasted coffee.
One such species is Coffea liberica that has a trading volume of under 1 % of all coffee. Next to Liberica
also Excelsa is listed as a trade species. But recent publications from A.P. Davis suggest to group based
on genetic analyses a couple of species in the “liberica alliance”, which consists of C. liberica var. liberica
(actual Liberica coffee), C. liberica var. dewevrei (formerly known as Excelsa coffee), as well as C.
montekupensis, C. bakossi and C. mapiana.
Liberica coffee originated from the coast of West Africa, but being a beverage species it is now found in
most of tropical Africa and also cultivated on the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. This is likely due to
the large beans that this coffee species produces, which is somehow correlated with high quality, even
though the coffee produced from Liberica is far from the high quality that can be produced from Arabica
coffee. Liberica grows as a very large tree that can grow up to 25 m. Consitently, Liberica has also very
large leaves (up to 50 cm in length), which is a good identifying characteristic in the field. Being a large
plant, also the cherries are a lot larger and harder compared to Robusta and Arabica. With 12 to 14 months
the cherries also need a longer time for maturation.
There are also some advantages in growing this species. It is rust resistant and it has a high drought
tolerance, which means it can grow in most of the drier regions on the African continent.
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