Potential beverage quality of three wild coffee species (Coffea brevipes, C. congensis and C. stenophylla) and consideration of their agronomic use

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture Vol. 103; no. 7; pp. 3602 - 3612
• Main Authors: Bertrand, Benoît, Davis, Aaron P., Maraval, Isabelle, Forestier, Nelly, Mieulet, Delphine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.05.2023; John Wiley and Sons, Limited; Wiley
• Subjects: Agricultural sciences; Agriculture; Agronomic crops; Agronomy; beverage quality; beverages; Climate change; Climatic conditions; Coffea; Coffea congensis; Coffee; Commercialization; flavor; Flavor compounds; Flavors; Food and Nutrition; Food engineering; Fruit; fruits; global warming; Horticulture; Hybrids; Interspecific hybridization; Life Sciences; Literature reviews; Sciences and technics of agriculture; seed weight; Seeds; Sensory evaluation; Sensory properties; sensory test; specialty market; Species; Species diversity; wild species; wild species; global warming; sensory test; specialty market; coffee; qualité des aliments; Wild species; Specialty market; Coffea stenophylla; caractère agronomique; Global warming; Coffea congensis; Coffee; Coffea brevipes; Sensory test
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.12347
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010

BACKGROUND Of the 130 known coffee (Coffea) species, very few have been properly evaluated for their beverage quality. The diversity of wild coffee species is considered critical to the long‐term sustainability of the coffee sector, particularly under climate change. The challenge is finding coffee crops that satisfy agronomic criteria, now and under the altered climatic conditions of the future, as well as consumer requirements for flavour. We evaluated the sensory characteristics of three wild coffee species with four independent sensory panels, and the key environmental/agronomic requirements of these wild species based on a literature review. RESULTS Coffea congensis and C. stenophylla have a lower unroasted seed weight compared to C. arabica and C. canephora, while C. brevipes has the largest. Sensory analysis showed that the main differences between species was for the fruitiness attribute. Coffea stenophylla was the fruitiest wild species, and was considered an Arabica‐like coffee. The flavour profile range of C. stenophylla covers herb‐like, vegetal, floral and fruit; C. brevipes resembles C. stenophylla in some respects. Opinions concerning C. congensis were contradictory and several judges considered the industry‐standard coffee flavour wheel not suitable for the beverage produced from this species. CONCLUSION The three wild species have the required sensory qualities for commercialization. According to published data, C. stenophylla has agronomic potential, especially in warmer climates than Arabica areas. Coffea brevipes and C. congensis have the potential to be easily crossed with C. canephora to form interspecific hybrids capable of adapting to different climatic and agronomic conditions. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.